*3.1. Tayal Foodscape and Hidden Adaptation Strategy in Their Migratory History*

We start our millet story from Tayal's traditional migratory phenomenon. Our purpose is to understand the relationship between traditional food production and the ever-changing living environment. To the Tayal, migration is a common and communal activity, and more importantly, it is very possibly a result of lacking food supplies under the impact of climate change. In this paper, we learned from the Tayal elders about their migratory routes for the past four hundred years. Figure 1 shows the route, which is a GIS (Geographic Information System) map guided by the past elder Masa Tohui. We drew the map mainly based on the contents of Tayal's special ancient singing called "lmuhuw." It is the Tayal's unique way of telling their cultural stories. For an academic purpose of understanding "lmuhuw," different aspects of translation are needed, which include the recording of ancient singing itself, transcribing it into Tayal language, the translating activities to other languages such as Chinese and English, and finally the collaborative interpretation amongst the authors. The outcome is mainly presented in the form of GIS map, which is to be viewed side by side with the singing passages and the accompanied interpretation. This is a way of deeper understanding about Tayal's indigenous knowledge. Moreover, "lmuhuw" also contains the information about Tayal spatial memory, ecological observations of their living environment, adaptive strategies, and historical migratory social action responding to the environmental change. In a sense, the migratory routes and their mapping embody Tayal people's foodscape, in which the landscape such as forests, rivers, millet cultivation lands, and households is perceived as the container of food production. It also illustrates how the changing environments affect Tayal people's livelihood. Migration is a strategy of adapting to the changes.

**Figure 1.** The migration route, traditional territory, important places, and villages of Tayal people (map guided by the past elder Masa Tohui, drawn by Huei Chung Hsiao).

Traditional singing of "lmuhuw" is the best oral record of Tayal migratory history. It is Tayal people's narrative of their life, past, present, and future. The singing unfolds a deep culture of how the people respond to changes, which strongly links to their social institution. Tayal is a big tribe in Taiwan. It is divided into several subgroups with distinctive linguistic differences. Each sub-group called "llyung" (literally, the group of one river basin) has their own singing which contains the migratory history of the group. In her fieldwork, Pagung heard the singing from elder Yupas Pusing, recorded and translated it collaboratively with Atung Yupas and Watan Kahat. Her village Tbahu belongs to the Mknazi sub-group of Tayal people. Seeking the supplies of food is always the central concern of the migration, which is made explicit in the following passages from "lmuhuw":

Pin'ara ke nqu bnkis na Tayal lkotas ta lkmButa, lkmYaboh, lkmAyan

(A reminder from lkmButa, lkmYaboh, lkmAyan, the three great ancestors of the Tayal people)

laqi! maha ni si ta kaki squ qbuli na bnkis ta qani lga, musa ta pskyutan qu hwinuk ta la. mosa ta yan nqu qara na maqaw pqqolan nqu llaqi ta kinbahan la, mosa si psqquli mita wagiq la. nanu yasa qu usa ru usa hmkangiy kzikan mamu balung, usa hmkangiy 'san mamu matuk tnga na pazyeh, teta musa mbhuyaw pslabang mqyanux squ tgzyumuw na rhzyal qu laqi mamu kinbahan, teta simu minblaq mita squ sinnyaxan na wagi, mtasaw na qsya. yan na 'ali bzinuq mbhuyaw.

(Children! If we keep on guarding our original homeland, we may starve and become thin. Descendants! Perhaps we may even fight over mountain peppercorn just to fill our bellies, and sigh to the skies. Thus, you must rise up, and seek hunting grounds that you can weave through, fertile land that you can plow. Let future generations flourish on bountiful land, accompanied by sunshine and clear rivers, and grow as quickly as a flying arrow).

This passage suggests the impact of environmental change that causes shortage of food. Planning to migrate seems to be an alternative for the survival and thriving of the group. It also shows that the decision is made in a thoughtful way and with courage. Apparently, unlike the modern compulsory relocation project determined by the government, Tayal people have the free will to carefully choose where they are going to stay and they do it with sophisticated preparation.

Furthermore, Tayal people migrate in solidarity and recognize themselves as oneness despite the coming split due to migration, as the next passage indicates:

qutux lozi ga, laqi! usa ru usa blaq pgwayaw squ son mamu mtasaw nqu llyung, laxi usa mkkiy nqu qlcing, laxi usa pqeway na pakaw. kya qu qmayat squ tluqiy, ini ga blaq balay pgwayaw qu tunux na bubu, teta simu minblaq mbhuyaw.

(Also, children! Find a heart as clear as water, do not become cold and indifferent to each other. Do not cut off contact using thorns and fences. If there is someone you like, choose wisely and determine the bloodline, so you may thrive and grow in strength).

Some other "lmuhuw" passages show the Mknazi's migratory routes over the past four hundred years (Figure 2). They identify Quri Sqabu, Papak Waqa, and Hbun Tunan as significant landmarks and as integral to the Tayal territory. In the Tayal creation story, "Pinsbkan" is their ancestral home, meaning "birthplace of the rock cracks". It is a metaphor for all the future generations moving north along the rivers and mountain ridges, expanding their territory, finding fertile lands, and dividing into various subgroups. In this paper, we focus on how one of the subgroups Tbahu village's ancestors migrated to the group's current place as well as their geographical knowledge related to the environment. Figure 2 maps the Mknazi migratory route of Pagung's ancestor, IkmButa, from the Tayal origin place, as it is recollected from the traditional singing of lmuhuw as follows:

rasun lkmButa mkura sa quri Sqabu

(Chief IkmButa led his people toward the mountain saddle, Sqabu)

mbiyaq squ son mha hbun na Mhebung (go downward to the so-called rivers' confluence, Mhebung) Tqzing (the first village name from the three ancester brothers' split point) usa ru usa mbiyaq squ hbun Tunan (continue to go downward to the rivers' confluence, Tunan) hbun Pehwan (the rivers' confluence, Pehwan) hbun Bilaq (the rivers' confluence, Bilaq) hbun Gogan (the rivers' confluence, Gogan) ru usa squ son mha llyung Mstranan (continue to go to the riverbasin of Mstranan) ru llyung Mstngtung (go to the riverbasin of Mstngtung)

**Figure 2.** The main Mknazi migratory route of Pagung's great ancestor, IkmButa from the Tayal origin place (GIS map by Pagung Tomi).

Chief IkmButa is one of the three ancestral brothers and the direct ancestor of Pagung's villagers. In Tayal vocabulary, quri and hbun respectively mean the mountain saddle and the rivers' confluence. Both are the key landmarks for the Tayal to navigate the mountains. Hundreds of small place names describe their ecological observations along their migratory route. The observations embedded in the place names are evidence of their knowledge regarding how to adapt to the changing environment. This knowledge is vital to their safety and food supplies. Examples abound as shown in Figure 3 and Table 1.

**Figure 3.** Some Tayal place names of ecological and geomorphological significance on the migratory route (GIS map by Pagung Tomi).




Moreover, any migratory action is a careful collective plan that includes many preparations in advance, such as the probing of possible residential sites and their land condition for future food sources. In "lmuhuw," as the phrase "so-called" implies that the route had been well explored by the heralds before the group set out on their journey. The Tayal remember their ancestral migration through "lmuhuw," which tells stories of not merely survival but flourishing of the indigenous groups. As diverse, healthy, and sustainable food and cultivation systems provide needs of present and future generations, the Tayal continue to thrive and flourish. It is worth noting that without aid of modern technology, the Tayal ancestors have retained their ecological and geographical knowledge through singing their "lmuhuw". The reason for the migration is very much connected to the impact of environmental change. How to survive on a harsh migratory journey was strongly connected to the millet culture, as examined in the following sections.
