Wutai Stone Slab Settlement Introduction
Wutai Township is the highest township in Pingtung County, with an elevation of about 1,000 meters. It is one of the indigenous Rukai tribe's settlements, and has long been known as a sacred site for the Rukai people. The Rukai tribe possesses profound wisdom in daily life and artistic culture, usually manifested in their slate houses, stone carvings, embroidery, and weaving crafts. The slate houses, built from local stone materials and shaped by hand, provide a cool and comfortable living environment, and are a proud architectural feature of the Rukai people. Wutai Slate Path is the best place to appreciate the essence of Rukai culture. This pedestrian pathway, paved with slate, gradually ascends along the mountainside, encompassing the Rukai Cultural Museum, the Catholic Church, and Wutai Elementary School within the path’s area, following the route of the peculiar hundred-step snake. The railings of the pathway are uniquely decorated with traditional ceramic pots; upon closer inspection, one might find that the surfaces of the pots are engraved with patterns of the hundred-step snake and various designs, with distinct meanings—triangular patterns represent mountains and rivers, horizontal lines symbolize rivers, and circles indicate unity, among others. Additionally, at the entrances of each alley, diamond-shaped patterns resembling the hundred-step snake are painted in red, yellow, black, and white, primarily serving as a substitute for crosswalks, which is quite an interesting design. Moreover, along the way, many patterns of lilies can be seen; in Rukai legend, lilies are related to the origins of their ancestors, thus holding a sacred status. Generally, Rukai women must undergo a marriage ceremony or a flower-buying ceremony to wear a complete lily adornment, which consists of a red gold phoenix flower along with a lily. The flower-buying ceremony refers to unmarried women, under economic capacity, choosing a day to slaughter a pig, brew wine, and make rice cakes to present offerings to the tribe’s chief to acquire the right to wear flowers, being one of the important life ceremonies for Rukai women. Walking through the alleys, one can easily feel the cultural richness portrayed in totems, ceramic pots, slate houses, slate statues, blacksmith workshops, and bronze craft studios, making it clear that the Rukai people exhibit exceptional talent and confidence in their artistic creations, while also deeply savoring the unique charm of Rukai artistic culture.
