Office of International Programs
Faculty Research
Smangus - Working with the Ataya in the Mountains of Central Taiwan
By Kerry R. Foresman, Professor of Biology, Division of Biological Sciences
In 2004 a cooperative agreement between UM and Providence University in Taichung, Taiwan
was established. As a result of this agreement I have begun long-term studies in Taiwan
working with Dr. Yih-Ren Lin and his students in the Department of Ecology. Our research
focuses on the changes which are occurring within one of the indigenous tribes on the island,
the Ataya.
The Atayal Village of Smangus
Endemic Cypress trees
(Chaemacyparis formosensis)
The Atayal indigenous peoples of Taiwan are thought to have originated from immigrations of
Austronesians from the Malay Archipelago beginning approximately 6,000 years ago. This tribe
is one of nine on the island, classified as "aboriginal people", inhabiting the most remote north
central region. Because of its isolation, the language and culture of this tribe is relatively well
preserved. Numerous Atayal communities exist in this region, each historically isolated on
mountain tops, 2,000 - 2,500 meters in elevation, approximately 400 years ago. Two such
communities, Smangus and Cisbu, encompassing approximately 40 households, are
considered to be the most isolated communities in Taiwan. In 1995 the first primitive road was
built to Smangus; electrical power arrived shortly thereafter, and in 2004 a microwave phone
line was established.
Ancestral lands of the Ataya
Providence Students surveying the natural
resources
Until recently, these villagers subsisted on hunting and slash-and-burn agriculture. In 1895
Japan acquired Taiwan and developed a thriving logging trade by the early 1920's particularly
targeting the ancient Formosan cypress trees. With the recent advent of a road to these
villages the Taiwanese government has renewed interest in the development of this area, with
a potential market for these forests. This, coupled with the affects of repeated typhoons in this
region, has raised the issue of relocating the village of Cisbu away from their ancestral lands.
Within the past two years the Atayal peoples began a formal dialogue with the government in
an attempt to protect their ancestral forests and to establish a "protected" zone, through the
possible creation of a new national park, Maqaw. Though these efforts have stalled, the tribe
has also begun to develop eco-tourism to solidify their economy, relying on the remaining
cypress forests and wildlife to spark the interests of tourists. The Taiwanese government
appears to be moderately supportive of these efforts; as one example, the Forestry Bureau of
the government has recently agreed to support a natural resources management project for
the village. In order to strengthen the Atayal hold on their ancestral lands and to provide
empowerment to this tribe, a wide-ranging study is being proposed to "develop the framework
to protect Indigenous people's intellectual property rights" modeled after similar attempts for
Canada's Indigenous peoples [University of Victoria (UVic)/Taiwan Collaborations through the
Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT)]. Dr. Yih-Ren Lin, and faculty from UVic are discussing
implementation of a Community Information System (CIS). This system is used to document
and save indigenous knowledge which is related to land use and resources. The first step
toward this goal is to preserve cultural and linguistic knowledge, and to document the land
resources of these ancestral lands. A team of scientists, including myself, will develop these
long-term research initiatives. My role will be to establish long-term wildlife surveys of the
ancestral lands and teach the Atayal villagers and students from Providence University how to
conduct these surveys so that a database of these natural resources can be developed.
Little is known of the wildlife populations throughout this region; many endemic species are
thought to occur here and historical reports of rare species such as the clouded leopard, of
cultural significance, are known. The ancestral lands encompass over 27,000 hectares of
dense coniferous and broad leaf forests with a rich diversity of plant and animal species.
Muntjac captured by remote camera
In April I returned to the village of Smangus and spent ten days working with the villagers and
fifteen students from the university to initiate our baseline database studies. I set up remote
sensing cameras throughout the forest to demonstrate this technology, quickly obtaining
photos of muntjac, red-bellied squirrels, and a variety of other small mammal species. A harp
trap and mist net were set for bats with the help of two graduate students, Shou-Li Yuan and
Chia-Hong Chen, from another university with which UM has a formal agreement, Tunghai
University. In two evenings we caught five species of bat, two associated with bamboo forests
and three with broad leaf forests. Three of the individuals caught are poorly understood
taxonomically and were not even identifiable to the species level.
Murina sp. captured in bamboo forest
We are particularly interested in documenting knowledge of the natural resources which the
Ataya have, spending a great deal of time interviewing tribal elders both in the classroom and
in the field about their understanding and use of these resources. I was able to gather
information on historical hunting practices and taught how to construct and use animal traps
still used today to obtain wild species. Using the Ataya knowledge as a foundation we are
applying newer techniques for data acquisition and employing GIS technology for data
analyses. Together with Yih-Ren and others I will be developing a conservation management
plan for these aboriginal lands. Our hope is that the Taiwanese government will adopt this plan
and allow the villagers to directly manage the natural resources of their native homeland.
Icyh Sulung - Chief of Smangus
Working with the villagers
Co-Investigator:
Dr. Yih-Ren Lin, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan and
the School of Social Transformation Studies, Shih Shin University, Taipei, Taiwan. Ph.D.
Collaborators:
Dr. Chih-Liang Chao, Department of Tourism, Providence Universty, Taichung, Taiwan; Ph.D.
Atayal Members:
Lahwy Icyh, Ino Yuming and Icyh Sulung
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Copyright 2003