Tusa Puyuma Cultural Community Introduction
Located in Daren Township, Taitung County, Tuchang Village is primarily inhabited by the Paiwan people, a community characterized by a distinct class system divided into five levels: chiefs, nobles, shamans and priests, gentry, and commoners. The chiefs are hereditary and possess land, hunting grounds, and rivers; the noble class and above hold the rights to elaborate clothing and door carvings. In Tuchang Village, there are two ancestral spirit houses, each managed by three different chiefs, used for various clans to conduct rituals and prayers; they serve as a medium between gods, ancestors, and people. Rituals and divinations conducted by priests are necessary for war, agriculture, festivals, healing, and other activities, making the ancestral spirit houses key to community affairs. Due to their sacred nature, there are certain taboos associated with visiting or taking photos, which require prior consent. Tuchang Village retains its traditional Indigenous community flavor, bustling with talent, including Indigenous woodcarvers, artists, cultural workers, and traditional chief homes, creating an atmosphere rich in Paiwan culture, with symbolic motifs like the hundred pace snake and Taiwan lily present everywhere. Many households can be considered makeshift museums. Once known as the "Homeland of Hairy Crabs," the Tuchang community has grown closer in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, utilizing its unique advantages to create community features that allow people to engage with and understand Paiwan culture while preserving and passing down its artistic heritage. Within the community, visitors can experience Paiwan cultural arts, hear imaginative legends and myths, explore unearthed artifacts like slate coffins, and discover local prehistoric cultural sites. This is a place worth deeply exploring for a cultural and artistic journey, where the Indigenous style of the village can be recorded through imagery, and visitors can purchase unique Paiwan handicrafts at workshops within the community.
