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The New York Times ─《Taiwan, an Island of Green in Asia》

紐約時報 ─《台灣,亞洲的綠色島嶼》

2014/12/07刊載於紐約時報(page. TR11)

 

「在台灣環境保護的根源來自於原住民文化…..馥蘭朵烏來渡假酒店近期與米靈岸音樂劇場合作,打造原住民風格的表演作品《米靈岸湖畔音樂晚宴》。這是一場結合音樂與精緻擊鼓儀式,並傳遞原住民古老智慧與文化保存意識的音樂劇。」

「At the root of Taiwan’s environmental movement are its indigenous culture……the Volando Spa & Resort recently started aboriginal-inspired performances pieces like Miling’an, a musical fire ceremony and elaborate drumming rituals embedded with aboriginal conservation messages.」

 

露出

At Taipei’s Ningxia Road Night Market on a cool evening last spring, the local food blogger known as Peray showed me his favorite stalls among hawkers selling food like milkfish, charred cuttlefish and sea snails. Like many of Asia’s markets, the Ningxia Road is a neon-lit cabinet of curiosities teeming with unimaginable marine life hauled from the surrounding sea. “Where’s the shark fin soup?” I asked, assuming nothing was off-limits. “That’s been banned here,” Peray said with a proud grin. “We love seafood in Taipei, but on an island you quickly understand the ocean’s limits.”

 

Asia’s environmental movement is often described as “on-again, off-again,” but in 2012, Taiwan was the first in Asia to ban shark-fin soup, a dish especially beloved by mainland Chinese. The ban, intended to curb the overfishing, led to Taiwan’s subsequent barring of marine mammal meat (seals, whales and dolphins), signaling a green era of pride that’s made profound island-wide changes. Recent years have seen stricter animal conservation efforts, new eco-parks, deeper recognition of indigenous cultures and a new high-speed rail system estimated to have significantly reduced automobile emissions since its 2007 opening and linking travelers to Taiwan’s rain forests, aquamarine mountain rivers and hot springs. The changes created a substantial spike in visitors — Taiwan saw a 26.7 percent increase in international tourist visits during the first half of 2014, making it the world’s largest tourism increase recorded in 2014, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The expanding rail has brought more exposure to Taiwan’s biodiversity, and may have led to more serious animal conservation policies. A mass rapid transit link to Taoyuan Airport opens in 2015, followed by new high-speed connections to Miaoli, near Shei-Pa National Park, and Changhua and Yunlin — jumping off points to explore Taiwan’s wilderness. That wilderness is home to some of the world’s highest concentrations of butterfly and bird species. Populations of purple milkweed butterflies — one of 400 butterfly species on the island and once sold to black market dealers for its worth as a collectors’ item — have rebounded thanks to the rerouting of expressway trucks that cut across their ancestral migratory paths. In January, theTaiwan Black Bear Conservation Association sponsored an exhibit on the endangered Formosan bear, often overshadowed by China’s panda. And in May, Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau protected 300 square miles of shoreline for the critically endangered white dolphin. It was Taiwan’s first protected marine habitat and said to be the world’s first white dolphin reserve.

Taiwan’s sovereignty is not recognized by China, which creates tension between the two countries. So as China’s pollution made headlines, Taiwan began making responsible environmental changes. When China marginalized its ethnic groups, Taiwan reintroduced indigenous Formosan languages to its schools. In April, atomic energy opponents in Taiwan halted the development of a nuclear plant, urging the president to call for a public referendum on energy, while China has 28 nuclear reactors under construction. When Beijing’s smog levels became hazardous, Taiwan announced a network of ecotourism routes peppered with green buildings like the solar-paneled Beitou Library, the Daan Forest Park metro station, with a sunken garden, and new eco-parks like Jou Jou, which opened in August to promote art and environmental protection.

It wasn’t that long ago that Taiwan’s lush green mountains were obscured by clouds of smog. “Back in 1991, I saw Taiwan’s interior mountains once or twice a year,” said Steven Crook, a longtime British expatriate and author of the Taiwan Bradt Travel Guide. “Now I see them dozens of times each year. Air quality improved thanks to N.G.O.s like Society of Wilderness and Wild at Heart that educated people, preserved locations, and continue to ensure that government and corporations don’t get away with nonsense.”

At the root of Taiwan’s environmental movement are its indigenous cultures. Wulai, a mountain township and a protected water reservation area 25 minutes from Taipei by taxi, is known for its mountainous hot springs, river-tracing excursions, a combination of hiking, climbing and swimming up the turquoise Nanshih River, and the 8,000-year-old aboriginal Atayal community whose lifestyle is being touted as a more carbon-efficient model. Taiya Popo, a restaurant on Wulai’s main drag, serves traditional Atayal cuisine, much of it vegetable-based like pumpkin dumplings, rice-stuffed bamboo and stir-fried fern. To capture a growing eco-travel niche, the Volando Spa & Resort recently started aboriginal-inspired performances pieces like Miling’an, a musical fire ceremony and elaborate drumming rituals embedded with aboriginal conservation messages.

“The biggest shift is with the attitude of Taiwanese people,” Mr. Crook said. “The countryside is no longer seen as backwards and boring, but rather a place where people can relax, exercise, learn about ecology and better understand what makes Taiwan Taiwan.”

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天下雜誌 新北款款行 ─《米靈岸呼喚古老智慧》

天下雜誌新北款款行特刊140號

 

「這碗小米酒,代表部落的一塊小米田,」米靈岸藝術總監胡健舉起一碗小米酒與在場三十多位友達光電員工與家人共飲,這是當天米靈岸部落「森林FUN挑戰」活動的尾聲。這些大小朋友在文山農場裡的森林裡,認識野生植物、學射箭、攀繩、學做陷阱,利用松樹脂、枯葉、樹枝生火烤豬肉。在獵寮享用月桃葉小米粽「奇拿富」、馬告排骨湯、與炭烤豬肉配黃瓜彩椒的原住民風味餐後,大家共飲小米酒,並圍圈學跳排灣族的八步舞。這個小米酒是屏東大武山上排灣族老人用自己種的小米,以紅藜發效的古法釀造而成。除了這種入門的體驗外,米靈岸還有進階的原住民生活體驗「獵人行腳」,由真正的泰雅族獵人帶隊到烏來深山,進行狩獵探險。

 

場景轉到烏來馥蘭朵渡假酒店戶外,臺灣第一部定目劇「米靈岸湖畔音樂劇」在此上演,以山谷、溪水、湖面為幕,鼓聲隆隆、提琴低迴、女巫吟唱、獵人舞蹈,深情再現部落古老傳說。每位觀眾也可拿到一塊來自大武山、上面刻著自己名字的石板門票。

 

「Miling’an米靈岸」是排灣族語:說唱故事的意思。「我們希望能夠傳承部落的文化和生活態度,分享給更多的人,」米靈岸兩位創辦人,首席歌者芮斯與藝術總監胡健異口同聲表示。

 

胡健與芮斯相交近二十年,共同創辦米靈岸,也像一則傳奇。胡健回憶他第一次見到芮斯,是大學畢業不久,在敦化誠品附近的反對蘭嶼放置核廢料的人群裡,聽見芮斯的歌聲,「像是走進一座古老的森林裡。」胡健的父親是馬來西亞華僑,後回中國工作。胡健在南京出生,十歲全家移居香港,二十歲來臺灣念書,在台大念大氣科學,「我喜歡大自然,那時想像畢業後可到高山上的氣象台工作,」胡健後來雖然沒有從事氣象相關工作,但他的志業終究還是跟高山有關。經由芮斯,胡健認識了她的家人與族人,並深深被排灣族的生活與文化吸引,後來還被排灣族部落的頭目媽媽收為養子,成為排灣族一員。「胡健天真的個性,跟我們原住民很像,」芮斯形容。

 

出生屏東瑪家部落的芮斯,是位排灣族公主。成年後憑著天生好歌喉,在臺北各處駐唱。唱到近三十,碰到人生關卡,想要弄清「自己是誰,到底為誰而唱。」於是,芮斯帶著胡健重返部落,回到神話中,大武山祖靈發源處。前後近三年時間,他們在山中閉關,住在沒水沒電的石板屋裡,與森林、動物為伍,自己升火煮飯,到溪邊洗澡,體驗部落祖先的生活。

 

「之後我可以感覺到看不見的力量,我唱歌不再是為了展現自己的文化,展現我們排灣族的態度,」得過金曲獎傳統藝術類最佳演唱獎的芮斯,透過深入了解自己的文化而找回自己,「我們排灣族其實很內斂,婦女平常不會載歌載舞。我常告訴團員,站著也是一種文化,」有別於觀光化,米靈岸音樂劇場要以真實呈現部落的生命體驗與情感來打動人心。

文/周慧菁  攝影/柯曉東

(刊載於天下雜誌 新北款款行 特刊140號  P.88-P.89)

 

 

 

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森林FUN挑戰,年終特惠價實施中!

milingan_funtour2014

 

一年到頭總是繁忙度日,你厭倦了城市生活嗎?

趁著今年秋冬天暖,來體驗一場原住民獵人文化之旅吧!

米靈岸團隊這次特別推出年終特惠價,

提供米粉們在今年年底前能以最平易的價格體驗森林FUN挑戰,

歡迎大家趁此機會來玩玩,

我們將帶您走入原始部落,用五感體驗森林裡最細微的變化,

學習取之自然用之自然的部落獵人文化。

 

年終限時優惠:

 

成人價                 $998 /人 (原價$1,500)

 

優待價                 $798 /人 (原價$1,200)

 

學生優惠價         $798 /人 (原價$1,500)

 

* 優待價適用於3~12歲孩童、65歲以上長者,未滿3歲不收費

* 如使用學生優惠價,活動當日需出示本人學生證

* 團體優惠:滿20人以上再享95折,40人以上享9折,60人以上享85折,學生恕不適用

* 費用包含入園券、100萬旅遊平安險、餐費
 

報名/洽詢專線: 02-2916-1666 / 0977-237-917   牛小姐

 
 
 
更多詳情請見:森林FUN挑戰介紹
 
 
 

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