Asst Professor Dr Steven A Martin

Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology

ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM AND RESEARCH | BUNUN ORAL HISTORY

Memories of a Culture, the Istanda Family of Laipunuk 內本鹿 

Filmed primarily at the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation (Bunun Village), Taoyuan Village, Yenping Township, Taiwan.

The sample footage provided here includes ethnographic narratives from four siblings, namely two brothers, Biung and Nabu, and two sisters, Ibu and Langus. Each informant recounts their personal experience in the high mountains of southern Taiwan, including historical and cultural events of their forced relocation to the lowland areas surrounding Taitung.

This research is the original work of Tommie Williamson, Nabu Istanda, and Steven Martin, and is intended for academic and cultural purposes. If you would like to use a video for research, gain access to the complete archival footage, or collaborate on a project, please contact me through this website and I will be happy to help.

Tama Biung Istanda | Oral History | Bunun | Laipunuk 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video, one of 15 clips, is an oral history audio/visual recording of Tama Biung Istanda (1920-2007), recounting his life experience in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by his nephew Nabu. Laipunuk was among the last frontier areas of Taiwan to be annexed into Imperial Japan, and the informant tells of his childhood experiences, cultural traditions, and arrival of Japanese police who forced his family to move.

Accepting that the Japanese were a "Great and powerful tribe", Biung joined the Tagasako Volunteers, a group of Taiwan aborigine soldiers. His on-camera story includes events during WWII and his survival in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.

• Martin, S. A. (2022). A Taiwan knowledge keeper of indigenous Bunun – An ethnographic historical narrative of Laipunuk (內本鹿), southern mountain range. Ethnography, 23(2) 153–180. https:/doi.org/10.1177/1466138120937037
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2022). The last refuge and forced migration of a Taiwanese indigenous people during the Japanese colonization of Taiwan – An ethnohistory. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 28(2) 206–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2021.2011545.
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2017). Cultural continuum among the Bunun of Laipunuk (Nei Ben Lu), southern Taiwan (pp. 215–246). In H. Chang and A. Mona [C. Tsai] (Eds.), Religion, law and state: Cultural re-invigoration in the new age. Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines and SMC: Taipei.
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2014). A new trial for the journey home to the Bunun villages of old Laipunuk, Taiwan: Contextualizing island Formosa through cultural heritage, digital mapping, and museology. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Formosan Indigenous peoples: Contemporary Perspectives (p. 89). Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, September 15–17.

Nabu (Uncle) Istanda 1929-2005 | Oral History | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video, one of three clips, is an oral history audio/visual recording of Nabu "Uncle" Istanda, recounting his life experience in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 (Nei Ben Lu), southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language his nephew Nabu. Laipunuk was among the last frontier areas of Taiwan to be annexed into Imperial Japan. The informant tells of his youth and cultural experiences, the arrival of Japanese police, and his family's forced relocation to the Talunas area (Taidong County).

Sections of this ethnography series have been published in Religion, law and state: Cultural re-invigoration in the new age as referenced below.

• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2017). Cultural continuum among the Bunun of Laipunuk (Nei Ben Lu), southern Taiwan (pp. 215–246). In H. Chang and A. Mona [C. Tsai] (Eds.), Religion, law and state: Cultural re-invigoration in the new age. Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines and SMC: Taipei.
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2014). A new trial for the journey home to the Bunun villages of old Laipunuk, Taiwan: Contextualizing island Formosa through cultural heritage, digital mapping, and museology. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Formosan Indigenous peoples: Contemporary Perspectives (p. 89). Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, September 15–17.

Langus Istanda | Oral History | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video, one of five clips, is an oral history audio/visual recording of Langus Istanda (1926-2015) recounting her life experience in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by her son Nabu. Laipunuk was among the last frontier areas of Taiwan to be annexed into Imperial Japan. The informant tells of her childhood experiences, cultural traditions, and arrival of Japanese police who forced her family to move.

An English-language translation of this video has been published in the International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS) as referenced below.

• Martin, S. A. (2011). Laipunuk (Nei Ben Lu)—The last frontier of the Taiwan aborigines during the Japanese occupation on Taiwan: Ethnographic narratives of a Bunun elder. The International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 7(1) 123–142.
• Martin, S. A. (2011). Rebuilding mama’s house—An ethnohistorical reconstruction and homecoming of the Bunun on Taiwan. Journal of International Studies, 1(2) 61–78. Phuket, Thailand: Faculty of International Studies, Prince of Songkla University.
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2022). The last refuge and forced migration of a Taiwanese indigenous people during the Japanese colonization of Taiwan – An ethnohistory. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 28(2) 206–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2021.2011545.

Ibu Istanda | Oral History | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an oral history audio/visual recording of Ibu Istanda who was in her mid-80s at the time of filming. On-camera support for the interview was provided by her younger sister, Langus. The first of two short interviews of Ibu "Auntie" Istanda before her passing, she tells of the hardships experienced in her youth. As with other family informants in this series, Ibu recounts her life experience in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by her son Nabu and her sister Langus.

AUDIO-VISUAL RECORDINGS FROM BUNUN INFORMANTS WITH EXPERIENCE IN LAIPUNUK

Zu Mei Lin (Bunun name Shiwa) | Ethnography | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an audio-visual recording of Shiwa (Chinese name Zhu Mei Lin). The interview focuses around the informant's understanding of her Hakka Chinese grandfather's marriage to Bunun and their relocation to Laipunuk from Lakuli, a Japanese trading station across the Central Range, west of Laipunuk. Shiwa's father, of Hakka Chinese and Bunun mixed blood, lived in Laipunuk and made and traded guns and gunpowder in the villages of Takivahlas, Halipusun, and Mamahav. Shiwa explains her family grew corn, millet, pumpkin, sweet potato, taro and tobacco.

The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by Nabu Istanda. An English transcript of this video is available upon request and interview content is appears in the publications listed below.

• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2017). Cultural continuum among the Bunun of Laipunuk (Nei Ben Lu), southern Taiwan (pp. 215–246). In H. Chang and A. Mona [C. Tsai] (Eds.), Religion, law and state: Cultural re-invigoration in the new age. Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines and SMC: Taipei.
• Martin, S. A., & Blundell, D. (2014). A new trial for the journey home to the Bunun villages of old Laipunuk, Taiwan: Contextualizing island Formosa through cultural heritage, digital mapping, and museology. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Formosan Indigenous peoples: Contemporary Perspectives (p. 89). Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, September 15–17.

Gu Song Shan | Ethnography | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an audio-visual recording of Bunun Gu Song Shan. On-camera support for the interview was provided by Langus Istanda. The first of two interviews, his talks about his life experience, villages and places in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by Nabu Istanda.

Gu Yu Chun Lan | Ethnography | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an audio-visual recording of Bunun Gu Yu Chun Lan. On-camera support for the interview was provided by her friend, Langus Istanda. The second of two interviews, she answers questions about Haisul, the notorious Bunun rebel and the events leading to the Laipunuk Incident and forced removal of the Bunun from Laipunuk by the Japanese field police. As with other family informants in this series, she recounts her life experience in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan. The interview was conducted in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by Nabu Istanda.

Yu Xing Yo (Bunun name Biung) | Ethnography | Bunun | Laipunuk | 內本鹿 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an audio-visual recording of Bunun Yu Xing Yo. On-camera support for the interview was provided by Langus Istanda. The first of two interviews, his talks about his life experience, including the village of Takivahlas, where the Istanda family first built their home in the mountains of Laipunuk 內本鹿 , southern Taiwan.

The interview was conducted at the Bunun Village (Bunun Buloa 布農部落) in the Isbukun dialect of the Bunun language by Nabu Istanda.

Bia Shirakimura 白木村 | Ethnography | Paiwan | Bia Culture 白聖賀 | Taiwan | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

This video is an audio-visual recording of Bia Shirakimura. On-camera support for the interview was provided by his Bunun wife, Langus Istanda. One of four clips in which Bia talks about his life experiences, including the Paiwan village of Bia (白聖賀 Bia Culture), growing up in Tubabalu (now called Tudan) South of Taidong City, and joining the Japanese military as a Takasago Volunteer. He tells us about meeting and marrying his Laipunuk Bunun wife, Langus Istanda, in Bashkal, near today’s Bunun Buloa, and the issues he faced from marrying out of his culture. The interview was mainly conducted in Japanese by Nabu Istanda.

ETHNOMUSICOLOGY AND THE STAGE AT BUNUN VILLAGE

Indigenous Music of Taiwan | Part 1 | Steven A. Martin | University Filmworks

The stage at the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation in Taidong, Taiwan, allowed an opportunity to record the musical traditions of the Bunun and other indigenous groups. The majority of the participants' families were originally from Laipunuk. Though personal interviews with the participants in this video, English-language synopses were developed (see bottom of the Ethnographic Research page).

As European powers contacted and influenced ethnolinguistic Austronesian-speaking peoples in Southeast Asia, vocal folk songs were particularly influenced by the introduction of new musical instruments. In contrast, the Bunun held on to acappella traditions, and vocal music retained rich and complicated in style and content. The acappella styles featured here range from the most basic to some of the the most complicated of all modern vocal music. With songs for nearly every occasion of life, content includes those for religious ceremonies, worship, nature, work and recreation.

Notes on the content of the video based on personal interviews with the participants. Six pieces of music.

1. Amis
2. Amis/ same as song 1 but with Puyuma melody.
3. Puyuma/ melody from Nanwan area near Taidong/may be the type of song and feeling when meeting a friend from your home town.
4. Amis/ new melody with Japanese influences.
5. Amis/ Puyuma/ from Katiputa (Puyuma village)/ new creation/ melody may come from Ziben Hotsprings area (on the road to Kaohsiung from Taitung)/ an Amis/ Puyuma composition with some Chinese language/many aboriginals sing this song today/words indicate solidarity/we are all family.
6. Amis/ Puyuma/ song used to bring the spirit of friends together/usually sung a-cappella style/ it has the sense of crying out for recognition.

Thank you for visiting my Ethnographic Film page.

I hope you enjoy the videos and the information in the links provided. If you feel motivated to learn more about my experience in ethnographic research, Taiwan Studies, or would like to arrange for me to give a public presentation, please let me know – I’d love to hear from you.

–Steven Martin

Cornerstone webpages, photos, and videos

• Taiwan Studies | Cornerstone page
• Ethnographic Research | Cornerstone page
• Nationalism and Ethnic Politics | Publication page
• SAGE Ethnography | Publication page
• Shung-Ye Museum | Book chapter page
• YouTube/ UniversityFilmworks
• 2005 Laipunuk youth program | Photos
• 2006 Research expedition | Photos
• 2006 Research expedition | Video

Course Portraits | Education Media | Ethnographic Research | Personal Interviews | Taiwan Studies | University Filmworks | YouTube Channel