Dongjiang New Village Tribal Area Introduction
Dongjiang New Village is located about 300 meters up from the direction of Nanwan Bridge towards Donghe Village. This village is the only non-traditional settlement in the area. The Atayal people in this township are mainly distributed in Donghe Village and Nanjian Village; most of the residents of Nanjian Village now live in Dongjiang New Village. The formation of Dongjiang New Village was due to a geological survey conducted in 1976, which raised concerns about potential subsidence in the local strata, leading the government to assist in relocating the Atayal tribal people who originally resided there to Nanjian Village (now part of the 24th and 25th neighborhoods of Nanjian Village), which resulted in Fengmei Village being incorporated into the current Donghe Village. The area of Sasasezeman (in Saisiyat language) generally extends from the Kangji Suspension Bridge to the old street of Nanjian, covering the nursery garden and Dongjiang Hot Springs, originally inhabited predominantly by the Saisiyat people, who were later joined by Hakka people, causing many Saisiyat individuals to migrate to the mountains. Over time, the current residents of this village have lost memory of the early village name. The inhabitants of the village largely remained involved in local industries; due to the limited area of Dongjiang New Village, many families have returned to their original residences as the population grew and industries moved to the mountains. When conducting ancestral spirit rites, villagers also return to their original homes to hold ceremonies. One of the characteristics of this village is the diverse religious beliefs among its residents, including the True Jesus Church Dongjiang Church, Presbyterian Church Dongjiang Church, and Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Atayal people of Nanjhuang Township initially migrated from other regions; for instance, Elder Dai Muqin, who currently resides in Dongjiang New Village, mentioned that his ancestors originally came from a village in Daxi, Taoyuan and near the upstream of Daxi in Hsinchu County. Around 1941, when he was about 5-6 years old, they moved to Balun Village in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County, where they lived for about five years. Due to pressures from the Japanese, they then fled from Balun to Leshan for 4-5 days, from Leshan to Hakani Mountain for another 4-5 days, and finally walked down to Rakus before ultimately relocating to Bilin Creek (Lushan Village) until they moved to Dongjiang New Village in 1976 for other reasons.
