Indigenous Literature of Taiwan

30-Second Overview:
In 1932, the first written work by an Indigenous intellectual appeared in Li Fan no Tomo (The Friend of Colonial Administration), marking Taiwan's Indigenous literature's transition from oral to written tradition.
Today, the languages of Taiwan's 16 Indigenous tribes face endangerment—fluent speakers are mostly aged 70-80+,
with scholars calling the next 10 years the "critical period for language preservation."
From Sun Da-chuan's mountain-sea culture to Syaman Rapongan's oceanic writing, contemporary Indigenous literature serves not only cultural revival but also as Taiwan's literary bridge to the Pacific Austronesian world.

In 1994, a Bunun youth stood at a podium at Columbia University in New York and told a room full of scholars in English: "Our literature has no script, but it is older than any literature with script."

That was Sun Da-chuan, who would later become a key theorist of Taiwan Indigenous literature. In that moment, he was proving a fact that shocked Western academia: Taiwan Indigenous oral literature represents one of the world's oldest Austronesian literary traditions—2,000 years older than Malay literature, 1,000 years older than Hawaiian Indigenous literature.

But what's more surprising is that this world's oldest literary tradition is disappearing at an unprecedented rate.

📝 Curator's Note
The paradox of Taiwan Indigenous literature: it's Taiwan's oldest literary bloodline, yet Taiwan's youngest "modern literature."
Stories told orally for millennia weren't written down until 1932.

1932: The Historic Turn from Voice to Script

1932 marks the most important watershed in Taiwan Indigenous literary history. That year, the Japanese colonial publication Li Fan no Tomo began featuring works by Indigenous intellectuals, formally launching Taiwan Indigenous literature into the written era.

For thousands of years before this, Indigenous literature existed entirely through oral transmission: myths, legends, ritual songs, prayers. The ancient Atayal creation myth "Humans Born from Stone" may have been recited for 3,000 years. The Bunun eight-part harmony "Prayer for Millet Harvest" is considered one of the world's oldest polyphonic chants.

These works had no written form, but they lived in the voices of tribal members, in every ceremonial ritual, in mothers' lullabies putting children to sleep.

After 1932, everything began to change.

✦ "When a people's literature jumps from voice to page, it's not just a formal change—it's a revolution in their entire way of thinking."

The Urgent Reality Behind the Numbers

16 tribes, 42 dialects, 588,660 people. These are today's basic statistics for Taiwan's Indigenous peoples. But another set of numbers is more concerning:

What does this mean? The words of Pan Hung-ming, chairman of the Taiwan Indigenous Languages Development Association, are direct: "In the next 10 years, when tribal elders who speak complete tribal languages pass away without successful transmission, language and culture will truly enter extinction."

UNESCO has classified all Taiwan Indigenous languages as "endangered languages"—varying in degree but all facing crisis. Among the world's 2,000 endangered languages, Taiwan's 16 tribal languages account for one-sixteenth.

The Saisiyat situation is most severe. Saisiyat language teacher at Wufeng Elementary, Feng Wei-ping, reveals a heartbreaking reality: "Saisiyat has a word 'minhaeha:o',' meaning 'if someone hunts wild boar but doesn't share, making neighbors wait until they fall ill, one must go apologize'—an entire tribal ethic condensed into one word, but Chinese has no corresponding translation."

Such vocabulary, once lost, means losing not just language but entire ways of cultural thinking.

1987: Post-Martial Law Literary Revival Movement

Taiwan's 1987 lifting of martial law brought the second major turning point for Indigenous literature.

In 1989, Rukai tribe member Taiban Sasala founded Yuan Bao (Indigenous News). In 1990, Atayal Walis Nokan and Paiwan Liglav A-wu jointly established Hunter Culture magazine. In 1993, Sun Da-chuan founded "Mountain-Sea Culture Magazine Society," a decision later recognized by the Museum of Taiwan Literature as one of "Taiwan New Literature's Major Historical Events."

This wasn't coincidental. The 1980s Taiwan nativist movement challenged "Chinese culture" monism, beginning to affirm multicultural values. Indigenous peoples suddenly discovered they no longer needed to hide their identities—their cultures became important proof of Taiwan being "different from China."

But this transformation brought a complex question: what language should Indigenous people use for writing?

Most Indigenous writers chose Chinese. This was a painful pragmatic decision—tribal languages lacked modern writing systems, and Chinese was the only language that could reach broader audiences.

Syaman Rapongan wrote in Eyes in the Sky: "Using Chinese characters to write about Tao oceanic culture is like using someone else's vocal cords to sing my own songs."

The Global Breakthrough of Oceanic Literature

Syaman Rapongan's works changed not only Taiwan literature but also international understanding of Taiwan.

His Eyes in the Sky (2012) narrates from a fish's perspective, immediately subverting traditional anthropocentrism. British literary scholar Ti-han Chang calls this typical "geostory"—a new narrative form transcending national boundaries, connecting humans and nature.

More importantly, Syaman Rapongan's oceanic writing repositions Taiwan within Pacific context. Taiwan is no longer "China's periphery" but "the center of the Pacific Austronesian world."

This shift carries political significance. The Tao flying fish culture in Syaman Rapongan's writing shares similar oceanic knowledge systems with Indigenous peoples of the Philippines' Batanes Islands and Cook Islands. His works have prompted international scholars to seriously discuss "transpacific indigenous ecocriticism."

Wu Ming-yi's creation of "Wayo Wayo islanders" in The Man with the Compound Eyes (2011), whose belief systems draw direct inspiration from Tao culture, isn't coincidental—Indigenous literature has become an important resource for Taiwan literature "going global."

The 15th Taiwan Indigenous Literature Awards: Institutional Maturation

The 2024 15th Taiwan Indigenous Literature Awards offered NT$810,000 in total prizes, with an August 16 registration deadline.

This figure represents 30 years of institutional achievements in Indigenous literature:

• 1993-2026: From Mountain-Sea Culture Magazine Society to Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation
• 2001: National Dong Hwa University established College of Indigenous Studies with "Department of Indigenous Languages and Communication"
• Academic explosion: National Chengchi University, National Cheng Kung University, and others successively established Indigenous literature courses

But the real indicator is the expansion of the writer community. From the early "Indigenous movement generation" (Sun Da-chuan, Walis Nokan, Syaman Rapongan, Badai) to new generation writers like Ma Yi-hang, Cheng Ting, and Huang Xi, Taiwan Indigenous literature has formed a three-generation succession system.

💡 Did You Know
Badai's The Flute of the Stork uses Puyuma tribal history as background, but it's not an "ethnographic novel"—
it literarily reconstructs forgotten history. This "historical reconstruction" has become an important feature of contemporary Indigenous literature.

The Life-and-Death Race Between Language and Literature

The current problem: not enough time.

According to the UN "International Decade of Indigenous Languages Global Action Plan" (2022-2032), among the world's 2,000 endangered languages, 1,500 are expected to completely disappear by century's end.

All 16 Taiwan tribal languages are on the list.

Taiwan Indigenous Languages Development Association surveys show that current fluent tribal language speakers of the "last generation" are mostly 70-80 years old. In 10 years, when these people pass away without effective transmission, languages will shift from "endangered" to "extinct."

The government is already taking action:

• 2017: Indigenous Peoples Languages Development Act passed, making tribal languages "national languages"
• Tribal language certification: 16 languages, 42 dialects, overall pass rate exceeding 50%
• Master-apprentice program: One-on-one transmission, but scale remains limited

But victory in this language preservation war ultimately depends on literature.

Culture without language is merely superficial tourism. Pan Hung-ming's words identify the core: Indigenous literature isn't just literary creation—it's the final battlefield for language survival.

Literature as a Bridge to the Austronesian World

In world literature coordinates, Taiwan Indigenous literature occupies a unique position.

Taiwan is the homeland of 250 million Austronesian speakers, preserving the most ancient Austronesian vocabulary. Renowned University of Hawaii scholar Robert Blust believes studying Taiwan Indigenous languages equals studying the origins of entire Pacific civilization.

This gives Taiwan Indigenous literature a global perspective. When New Zealand Māori writer Witi Ihimaera's Whale Rider achieved international success, Taiwan readers discovered Syaman Rapongan's "The Little Boy and the Big Shark" told nearly identical "human and ocean beast" mythological themes.

This isn't coincidence but connected cultural memory.

Taiwan Indigenous literature's internationalization isn't about becoming "world literature" but about reconnecting Pacific cultural networks severed by colonialism.

In recent years, Taiwan Indigenous writers' works have been translated into English, Japanese, and Korean, with authors dialoguing with Canadian and Australian Indigenous writers at international conferences. These exchanges prove: Taiwan Indigenous literature isn't a tributary of Taiwan literature but an important component of Pacific literature.

Conclusion: The Last Singers

Today in 2026, when you flip through Badai's novels in a Taipei bookstore or listen to Bunun eight-part harmony on a music platform, you're witnessing a miracle:

A literary tradition that should have disappeared has not only survived modern impact but bloomed anew.

But this miracle is fragile. Languages disappear faster than glaciers melt. Every young person who no longer speaks tribal language might be the last audience for some ancient story.

Indigenous literature faces not just literary creation challenges but civilization transmission responsibilities. They must preserve the most ancient voices in globalization's torrent, recreate traditional wisdom in modernity's languages.

This is Taiwan literature's most difficult task and most precious gift.

Because when the last Saisiyat speaker dies, what disappears isn't just a language but a way of seeing the world. When the last Atayal ancient song is forgotten, what's severed isn't just melody but dialogue with ancestors.

Indigenous literature's mission is ensuring that day never comes.

References

• Taiwan Indigenous Literature - Wikipedia
• 2024 15th Taiwan Indigenous Literature Awards - Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation
• Languages Lost 4: Caring for Indigenous Culture Can Be International - United Daily News
• Taiwanese Literature in Transition: Indigenous Writing and Eco-literature as Method - Taiwan Insight
• Implementing Indigenous Peoples Languages Development Act - Executive Yuan
• Mountain-Sea Culture Magazine Society Digital Archive
• Council of Indigenous Peoples
• Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Name Rectification Movement - Wikipedia
• Taiwan Native Language Literature - National Museum of Taiwan Literature