On September 12, 2015, an indigenous tribe, the Kaviyangan married their ancestral pillar to the president of the National Taiwan University (NTU). The pillar Muakaikai was taken from its tribe by...Show moreOn September 12, 2015, an indigenous tribe, the Kaviyangan married their ancestral pillar to the president of the National Taiwan University (NTU). The pillar Muakaikai was taken from its tribe by the Japanese colonizer to the anthropology museum of NTU during the colonial period (1895-1945). As a national treasure, Muakaikai bares the colonized history of its tribe and the possibility of a new cooperative approach between the museum and the source community. Although the authorized heritage discourse still guides the practices of heritage in Taiwan nowadays, the Kaviyangan resisted it with their traditional cultural practice, and eventually came up with an innovative way of dealing with Muakaikai’s repatriating issue. In the heritagization process of Muakaikai, the Kaviyangan people not only built a long-term relationship with the museum but also strengthened their collective identity and intimacy to the tribe.Show less
On September 12, 2015, an indigenous tribe, the Kaviyangan married their ancestral pillar to the president of the National Taiwan University (NTU). The pillar Muakaikai was taken from its tribe by...Show moreOn September 12, 2015, an indigenous tribe, the Kaviyangan married their ancestral pillar to the president of the National Taiwan University (NTU). The pillar Muakaikai was taken from its tribe by the Japanese colonizer to the anthropology museum of NTU during the colonial period (1895-1945). As a national treasure, Muakaikai bares the colonized history of its tribe and the possibility of a new cooperative approach between the museum and the source community. Although the authorized heritage discourse still guides the practices of heritage in Taiwan nowadays, the Kaviyangan resisted it with their traditional cultural practice, and eventually came up with an innovative way of dealing with Muakaikai’s repatriating issue. In the heritagization process of Muakaikai, the Kaviyangan people not only built a long-term relationship with the museum but also strengthened their collective identity and intimacy to the tribe.Show less
