Kamcing Exhibition

BY BRUCE YOUNG MAY 17 , 2018

During the Japanese occupation the Bunun people were forced to move down from the mountains where they would be easier to control. As a result, many new villages were formed, one of these is Kamcing village in Guan Shan. This village is hosting an exhibition to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of their resettlement. The exhibition tells the history of the establishment of Kamcing village.

Umas is a high school student at Junyi who is one of the hosts of this exhibition. He is a member of the Kamcing tribe and a resident of Kamcing village. We interviewed him about the exhibition.

Q: What ideas inspired you to start this project?

A: We began planning this event in 2016. One of our planners found a document which showed it had already been 100 years since Kamcing village was established. Then she posted an article on facebook. “It has been 100 years. We can’t just let it pass. What should we do?” When an Independent Curator, as well as The National Museum of Prehistory, discovered this article, they first organized an activity to let the youth of tribe walk back to their original tribe to see the historical life of their ancestors. By doing that, they could understand the lives of the elders. After that, the National Museum of Prehistory held an exhibition, because they finally got funding to hold this activity.

Q: Where are all the photos of your activities from?

A: All the photos were collected from every family in the tribe, but mainly three grocery stores opened by Han Chinese people. They were the wealthiest people in Kamcing. One of the family members had a camera. He kept taking pictures when there were some activities. Then he sold them to people for 10 NT. It was very expensive at that time. Some people bought them, but some didn’t. Those which weren’t sold stayed in the store. Then there was also a photo studio in Guanshan. It was also a meeting place for Kamcing people to do business.The photographs for this event were probably provided by these two families as well as each household in the village.

Q: Where is your exhibition?

A: Kamcing Tribal House

Q: Who is preparing this activity ?

A: This exhibition is mainly hosted by the youth in the tribe, people who come back to the tribe more often and have the ability to do things. For example, there’s a guy. He is a soldier and doesn’t live in the village. But he often comes back on vacation.

Q: Are you displaying other artifacts except pictures?

A: We had considered that before, but we decided not to display private goods to respect the elders. We made some boards and some stories about Kamcing. It’s mainly for students, wanderers, and children who have returned during the Ching Ming Festival, to let them know about the history, and also to let elders recall the past.

Q: Did you learn something different after this activity?

A: I learned a lot of history and the way to communicate with elders. I also discovered a way that I can contribute to my tribe. Sometimes we faced some kinds of technology and didn’t know how to use them, or didn’t know how to interview tribe members. I used some skills I learned and used in Junyi. But I think learning wasn’t the main purpose of this team; it was offering something.

Q: Did you meet with any opposing voices during the activity?

A: Yes we did. Because we didn’t actually have a seminar at first, we just did it directly. We did interviews on Father’s Day and many people got confused. So we explained and invited everyone to provide a story after re-organizing the seminar. But people were reluctant to participate, because many had been fooled before. Some development associations have collected information for their own purposes

Q: Are most of the people who visit the exhibition tribe members or outsiders?

A: Most are from the tribe, and a small part of them are from outside.