2022.12.01
Relay Column: Urban Encounters Through Wearing "Ethnic Costumes" – A Case Study of the Workshop of アーリンリン, a Taiwanese Indigenous Person (Kiwako Masuda)
PROFILE
Kiwako Masuda
Doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Keio University and Special Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Her specialties include cultural anthropology, indigenous studies, and race and ethnicity studies. She focuses on the indigenous peoples living in urban areas of Taiwan, researching their coexistence with different ethnic groups and pan-ethnicities. Her paper "台湾の都市における汎原住民的なつながり：台中市原住民族部落大学を事例に" was published in "三田社会学" Vol. 27 (2022). researchmap
I first met A Lin Lin when I was an exchange student in Taiwan.
One of the events I attended while searching for my thesis theme was a corner organized by her for trying on ethnic costumes.
Perhaps because of the strong impression of Han Chinese culture in Taiwan, it is surprisingly not well known that there are indigenous peoples, referred to as "原住民族" (1) of Austronesian descent. Currently, 16 ethnic groups (2) are publicly recognized as indigenous peoples, each with diverse languages and material cultures that represent their ways of dressing (3).
A Lin Lin is also a native of the Paiwan people. Through the event, I was able to try on Paiwan traditional clothing, take photos with A Lin Lin, and during our conversation, I learned that she runs a workshop that specializes in indigenous clothing and accessories nearby.
When I visited her again later, I found not only her workshop but also an entire "urban indigenous" settlement centered around it.
The "Ethnic Costumes" Worn by Urban Indigenous Peoples
Urban indigenous refers to indigenous people who have migrated from settlements in indigenous regions (4) to urban areas. It is said that more than half of the total indigenous population (5) is now urban indigenous.Most of the customers at A Lin Lin's workshop are urban indigenous people, and their purposes for using the workshop vary widely. Many come to rent indigenous clothing temporarily for events or competitions related to indigenous culture or for holding weddings.
The workshop provides not only Paiwan clothing but also accessories from six other ethnic groups (Amis, Rukai, Puyuma, Bunun, Atayal, Thao), ranging from formal attire for weddings to casual pieces. Some customers may simply come to borrow a "tribal" style vest without concern for the specific ethnic group, while others commission the creation of their own ethnic costumes instead of renting.
Since the 1980s, Taiwan has implemented policies focusing on "cultural industries" that highlight indigenous culture as something unique to Taiwan. Alongside this, policies linking traditional craftwork with women have been actively promoted (6). These policies support the establishment of "studios" (workshops) run by indigenous women engaged in traditional craft activities, and the number of such workshops has significantly increased in recent years (Tamoto 2021).
A Lin Lin's workshop can be considered part of these trends in Taiwan's cultural administration.
Connections Among Urban Indigenous Peoples Expanding from the Workshop
As mentioned at the beginning, there are several houses, shooting ranges, and groups of other workshops dealing with sculptures and bows and arrows around アーリンリン's workshop, forming an urban indigenous settlement (hereafter, the urban community).At the center, there is a large space resembling a plaza, where activities and competitions related to indigenous culture are held, and classes from the Indigenous Tribal University (7) take place as well. Many visitors to the urban community where A Lin Lin lives express that they feel as if they have returned home, even while in the city.
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