Swing romance at the Daramaku Harvest Festival of the Taromak Tribe

Written/Compiled and Reported by Li Xinyi, MOOK Travel Life Network

In recent years, the Taromak Rukai Harvest Festival and Swing Culture Festival in Dongxing Village, Beinan Township — a highly popular event during traditional harvest celebrations in Taitung — will hold its key events, including the joint ceremony’s traditional group dance and swing activities, this Friday (the 20th) and Saturday (the 21st) over two days at the Taromak Cultural Square. The village is currently actively constructing the “Fate House” and a 10-meter-high swing.

The Taromak Rukai community in Dongxing Village, Beinan Township, is the largest Rukai indigenous settlement in Taitung County, with around 1,700 villagers. Every mid-July, the tribe holds a grand harvest festival (known in their language as “Kalalisia”) to honor their ancestors and celebrate the bounty. Mount Kentur, nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, was the ancestral home of the East Rukai people 600 years ago. Hip bells are ornaments worn by Rukai warriors, while lilies symbolize the virtue of Rukai maidens. Yesterday, warriors from Dongxing Village went up the mountain to find bamboo, and the whole community is now busy constructing the “Fate House” and a 10-meter-high swing.

According to Hu Jinde, the village chief of Dongxing, the “Kalalisia” harvest season began on the 14th with girls from the tribe going up the mountain to collect vines for weaving ropes for the swing, which can reach tens of meters in height, and with male members building the swing using giant bamboo. Meanwhile, 15- and 16-year-old boys — 18 of whom have undergone two consecutive years of traditional training — received blessings from the tribal chief to mark their coming-of-age ceremony, transitioning into youth and spreading good news. The biggest highlight of the Rukai Harvest Festival and Swing Culture Festival is the massive swing structure, which is being built starting today (the 18th). Young members of the tribe venture up the mountain to fell huge bamboo poles, which are then constructed into the swing using traditional methods. The swing stands approximately 20 to 30 meters high, making it the largest among all the harvest festivals of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes. The swing ceremony is not only one of the most traditional aspects of the event but also a way for young men and women to publicly express their affection.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 East Rukai Harvest Festival and Swing Culture Festival on Friday begins at 9 a.m. It starts with Chief Kumingde performing an ancestor worship ritual to pray for blessings for the swing and the safety of the ceremony, ensuring the continuity of traditions. The chief then unveils the swing’s vine ropes, and his wife performs the opening dance and takes the first swing. This is followed by the “Fate Swing Dance,” the Taromak Tribe’s “Celebration of the Harvest,” a welcome dance performed by children from the Taromak Cultural Growth Class. In the afternoon, there will be swing dances by Rukai youths and open swing sessions, and in the evening, a night of celebration for the Rukai people. On the 21st, events include a Rukai princess swing dance competition, youth activities, a “Fate Swing Dance” by young men and women, a group dance, and the closing ceremony.

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