The Bunun (Bunun: ; Chinese: 布農; pinyin: Bùnóng), also historically known as the Vonum, are a Taiwanese indigenous people. They speak the Bunun language. Unlike other aboriginal peoples in Taiwan, the Bunun are widely dispersed across the island's central mountain ranges. In the year 2000, the Bunun numbered 41,038. This was approximately 8% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the fourth-largest indigenous group. They have five distinct communities: the Takbunuaz, the Takituduh, the Takibaka, the Takivatan, and the Isbukun.

In the Bunun language, the name "Bunun" literally means "human," "human being," "man," or "people."

History

thumbnail|left|Bunun in 1900. Photograph by [[Torii Ryūzō.|alt=|250x250px]]

Until the coming of the Christian missionaries in the beginning of the 20th century, the Bunun were known to be fierce warriors and headhunters. The Bunun were one of the "high-mountain peoples" (along with the Atayal and the Taroko) who traditionally lived in small family units in Taiwan's Central Mountain Range and were hostile to all outsiders, whether they be Chinese immigrants or surrounding aboriginal peoples. Whereas most other aborigines were quite sedentary and tended to live in lower areas, the Bunun, along with the Atayal and Taroko were constantly on the move in Taiwan's Central Mountain Range, looking for new hunting grounds and practicing slash-and-burn agriculture. Their staple foods were millet, yam, and game.

thumb|Taiwan in 1901, with the Bunun marked as "Vonum Group".|alt=|328x328px

During the Japanese rule (1895–1945), the Bunun were among the last peoples to be "pacified" by the Japanese government in residence. After an initial period of fierce resistance, they were forced to move down from the mountains and concentrated into a number of lowland villages that were spread across the Island. As a result, the family unit became less important and life centred on individual village units. The Japanese government restricted hunting practices (mainly to control the use of firearms) and introduced wet rice cultivation. The Bunun Aboriginals under Chief (lāhè· āléi) engaged in guerilla warfare against the Japanese for twenty years. Raho Ari's revolt was sparked when the Japanese implemented a gun control policy in 1914 against the Aboriginals in which their rifles were impounded in police stations when hunting expeditions were over. The began at Dafen when a police platoon was slaughtered by Raho Ari's clan in 1915. A settlement holding 266 people called Tamaho was created by Raho Ari and his followers near the source of the Laonong River and attracted more Bunun rebels to their cause. Raho Ari and his followers captured bullets and guns and slew Japanese in repeated hit and run raids against Japanese police stations by infiltrating over the Japanese "guardline" of electrified fences and police stations as they pleased. Raho Ari formally ended guerrilla activities against the Japanese in April 1933. Many Bunun were recruited as local policemen and during World War II, the Japanese army had Bunun regiments.

In 1941 the Bunun were relocated following the Pasnanavan incident.

Throughout the 20th century, several waves of missionaries of various denominations spread across Taiwan. They were particularly successful with the aboriginal inhabitants of the island and after the last missionary wave in the 1940s, that originated in Japan, a majority of aborigines were converted to Christianity. Today, most Bunun either belong to the Catholic Church or to the local Presbyterian Church.

After the arrival of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang in October 1945, difficult days began for the aboriginal population. The "one language, one culture" policy of the Nationalist government prohibited to use of any language other than Standard Mandarin, for official use as well as in daily life, and indigenous cultures were systematically discriminated against and encouraged to assimilate into mainstream culture. Bunun culture was eroded by the joint pressure of their new faith as well as the government's sinification policies. The situation improved only recently after two decades of democratic reforms.

Culture

Clothing

Originally, the Bunun people crafted their clothing from animal skins and linen. However, through integration with the Han people, they have started to use materials such as cotton and wool.

Men's clothing features an open white vest with vibrant multi-colored geometrical patterns at the opening and on the back. These patterns primarily feature the colors pink, green, yellow, red, and dark blue. Bunun people wear this vest with a short black skirt and a colorful abdominal bag, functioning as a type of undergarment.

Additionally, the Bunun people adorn themselves with various ornaments and accessories, such as headbands exclusively worn by males, hats, and necklaces. Most of these accessories are crafted from glass beads or shell pieces.

Music

The Pasibutbut is a song of Bunun Sowing Festival, sung polyphonically in four-part harmony (Common 8 heterophonic voice, usually 5-12 heterophonic voices). The Taiwan composer Jin Fong Yang (楊金峯) analyzed the structure of this song. The Japanese musicologist Takatomo Kurosawa (黑澤隆朝) recorded Bunun musicians in 1943.

The latuk (Chinese: 弓琴; pinyin: Gōngqín) is a traditional instrument constructed similarly to a hunting bow, hence it is also referred to as the Bunun bow-harp. The body of the bow is constructed out of either Makino (Phyllostachys Makinoi) or Fargesia bamboo. While the string was traditionally composed of Peach Wood, Hemp, and Rattan, today steel strings are used. The instrument is played by placing one's mouth on the end of the bow, plucking the string, and manipulating overtones with mouth shaping and breath to produce melody, similarly to the Jew's Harp. The name derives from ‘la’ meaning to pluck, and tuk, an onomatopoeia for the sound the instrument makes. The Bunun people traditionally play the latuk during leisure time alone, especially after dusk to midnight. The instrument functions as a means of self-entertainment and emotional expression, such as the relief of loneliness or grief, rather than being played in public or ceremonial settings The latuk first appears in archival records in 1776 in the Qing Imperial Illustrations of Tributary Peoples (番社采風圖考)  Commissioned by the Qing court, it records the various historical use-cases including courtship, comforting and, unlike today, use in celebrations. As late as 1943, The Bunun latuk is recorded by Takatomo Kurosawa (黑澤隆朝) as being used by Bunun men in courtship; ‘They would hide beneath the eaves of their beloved’s house and play self-composed love songs.’

Lunar calendar

It is certain, however, that the moon was considered to be one of the major spirits, and almost all activities in daily life had to be aligned with the lunar calendar. This could go very far, for instance, in a certain lunar month it was forbidden for women to wash themselves. The Bunun are the only aboriginal people in Taiwan that developed a primitive form of writing to record lunar cycles and their relationship to important events such as the harvest or the slaughter of pigs.

thumb|250x250px|Bunun knives.

The prescriptions related to the lunar calendar are part of a larger system of prescriptions and taboos that used to govern all aspects of Bunun life. Many of these had a ritualistic character and all were part of an age-based pecking order where an absolute obedience to one's elders was demanded. For instance, in order to determine whether a man could go hunting, he had to wait till one of the elders had had a prophetic dream (matibahi). If the dream was good, he could go out hunting. A bad dream indicated that great mishap would befall the hunter if he would go in the woods, and the elders would forbid him to go. Most of these rules got into disuse after the coming of Christianity (which branded them as superstition), but present-day Bunun society has still retained a number of social rituals and still imposes a strong obligation on children to behave in a respectful and obedient way towards anyone that is older than themselves.

Agriculture

Taiwan oil millet was one of the staple crops of the Bunun people until their 1941 relocation. In the 21st century Taiwanese oil millet cultivation has been revived. Haplogroup O-M88 is rare among other aboriginal peoples of Taiwan and its vicinity, being found more commonly among populations of southwestern China and the northern parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, such as Tai peoples and Vietnamese.

Tourist attractions

  • Bunun Cultural Museum
  • Bunun Leisure Farm

See also

  • Demographics of Taiwan
  • Taiwanese indigenous peoples
  • Taiwanese Bunun Ancestral Remains Repatriation Case

References

  • Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation
  • Council of Indigenous People, Executive Yuan, Taiwan