博物之島 MUSEUMS

Author／Translator: Hsieh, Chia Chun (Executive Column Editor, Museum Island by the Ministry of Culture)

Located on the eastern coast of Taitung County, Chenggong Township is renowned for its rich fishing culture. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and adjacent to the Xinguang Fishing Port, the Chenggong Township Indigenous Heritage Museum not only boasts a stunning coastal view but also serves as a crucial hub for preserving and promoting the traditional culture of the Amis.

In May 2024, the museum launched the "Missing Person Notice: ' Kacaw ', Where Are You! ___ Chenggong Local Life Special Exhibition" (I Cowa ci Kacaw?),  running until January 31, 2025. The exhibition opens with the lost notes of Kacaw・Ngaayho from the Harvest Festival (Malikoda) and features a "Missing Person Manual." Through interactive experiences, visitors are guided to explore the daily life, traditional rituals, and local stories of the indigenous community.

Unlike traditional Indigenous exhibitions that emphasize material culture, this exhibition adopts a puzzle-solving approach, engaging visitors in an interactive exploration of the tribe’s daily life and cultural traditions. It features five themed sections: "Neighborly Inquiry," "Encounter with the Forest Hunters," "Asking Relatives," "Journey to the Tribe" and "Return to the Origins."

^{The notebook left behind by Kacaw at the entrance of the exhibit, which, when opened, reveals cultural learning notes. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

The Lost Notebook: A Bridge to Indigenous Knowledge

The exhibition's narrative unfolds with the preparations for the Harvest Festival, centering around key spaces of the community, such as the neighborhood, forests, coastline, and activity center. It combines vibrant display designs to create an engaging exhibition atmosphere. Visitors can step into the role of "searching experts," assisting the community elders in finding the missing Indigenous youth, Kacaw.

Upon entering the exhibition, visitors are first greeted by the "Neighborly Inquiry" section, designed to resemble a living room space. Here, they are invited to explore the Amis genealogy puzzle and naming logic to uncover Kacaw's surname, gender, and family tree. Meanwhile, pieces of the "Missing Person Manual" puzzles are scattered across various sections of the exhibit. Visitors must solve the corresponding challenges to assemble a code. For example, based on the manual's description of the landscape, "the sound of the waterfall," visitors are tasked with locating Kacaw's hometown, the Chong'An Village (Tomiyak, 重安部落), on a map postcard. This approach immerses visitors into the local stories and geographical context of various Amis communities in Chenggong Township.

Interestingly, the clues gathered from the Missing Person Manual include Amis language words, such as Loma (home) and Lotok (mountain), allowing visitors to learn simple Amis vocabulary during the interactive experience.

^{A map-postcard featuring the place name stories of the various Amis communities in Chenggong Township. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

^{The exhibition presents the local difficult history of the "Lalood no Madawdaw" (The Lalood Battle／麻荖漏戰役) through a booklet, allowing visitors to learn about the large-scale resistance against Japanese police oppression. The museum specifically uses the term "Lalood no Madawdaw" instead of the Japanese official name "Chengguangao Incident " （成廣澳事件）to offer a perspective from the Amis viewpoint. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

Ingredients Wisdom Across Mountain and Sea

The exhibition also features specially designed NPCs (Non-Player Characters), such as the hunter grandfather and the sea woman aunt, who guide visitors through the daily life of the tribe. As the storyline unfolds, visitors will enter the "Chance Encounter with the Forest Hunters" section. Through the hunter grandfather, along with oral history recordings from the community, visitors will learn about the pre-hunting rituals, equipment, and trap records. Additionally, through 3D puzzles, visitors will familiarize themselves with the animals hunted and their names in the Amis language.

In addition, the exhibition also showcases the unique sea woman culture of the coastal  Amis communities 【Note 1】. The section not only displays common seafood items, such as seaweed, shellfish, and processing tools found on dining tables, but also documents the names of various marine harvests in the Amis language, collection methods, and cooking techniques used by the aunt (sea woman).

^{Left: The hunter grandfather guides visitors in learning hunting skills and animal knowledge.／Right: Visitors must complete a 3D puzzle of the animals, searching for clues in the Amis names of each animal. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

^{The section presents the Amis names, collection methods, and cooking techniques of various marine harvests through lively illustrations. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

Become Part of the Tribe Through Solving the Missing Youth Mystery

Finally, visitors enter two sections representing the "Tribal Activity Center": "Journey to the Village" and "Return to the Origins." These sections focus on the various preparations for the Harvest Festival.

Through solving puzzles, visitors gain deeper insight of complex ritual knowledge, such as the purpose of the Harvest Festival, the tribal age organization (Kapot), and the traditional song of Chong'An Village, "The House-Building and Ground-Stamping Song." (《蓋屋夯土歌》) Through puzzle-solving, visitors must use clues from the Missing Person Manual to calculate Kacaw's current age group and learn about the tribe's system of class-based naming. 【Note 2】

^{The exhibition presents a chart depicting the social hierarchy of Chong'An Village, as well as the regional variations in the term "Harvest Festival." The illustrations in the chart, featuring dancing and singing puppets surrounding the prayer for a bountiful harvest of millet, also hiding clues to the knowledge of the Harvest Festival. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

^{After solving the puzzle, visitors help Kacaw reclaims the traditional "lover's pouch," an essential part of the Amis attire. They can then wear it for a photo opportunity. (Photo by Hsieh, Chia Chun)}

At the end of the exhibition, visitors are invited to consolidate the clues gathered from each section by matching the tribal language words to their correct Chinese meanings to piece together the final code, helping Kacaw reclaim the essential "lover's pouch" (Alofo) for the Harvest Festival. The storage box also includes instructions on how to wear it properly, inviting those who successfully solve the puzzle to wear it.

The exhibition transforms the story of a missing person into an engaging puzzle game, weaving together tribal language, ritual traditions, and local stories. As visitors solve the puzzles, they gain insight into the cultural richness of the Amis people while experiencing how community members work collectively to preserve valuable ritual traditions. The use of the "puzzle game" format allows the local heritage museum to overcome spatial and resource constraints, creating a more participatory experience and making each visitor a part of the tribe's story.

【Note 1】The term "sea woman" refers to women who dive to collect marine products. They are skilled in harvesting seaweed, shellfish, sea urchins, and more from the ocean, and possess extensive marine knowledge. This cultural tradition not only highlights the important role of women in Amis society but also embodies the harmonious coexistence with the natural environment.

【Note 2】The Amis tribal age hierarchy is divided into two types: "inheritance naming" and "creation naming." The inheritance naming system, primarily in the Nanshi area of Hualien, uses fixed age class names passed down through generations. The creation naming system, found in southern Amis communities like Malan, assigns age class names based on significant events of the year, reflecting how the Amis people use the creation of age class names to preserve important tribal histories.／Source: Taiwan Indigenous Culture Knowledge Network, Amis Social System

❚ English Editor: Cheung, Billy Chi-Yiu （M.A., Graduate Institute of Museum Studies, TNUA）