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Joshua Yang Profile picture
@joshiunn
Aug 8, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
World's Indigenous Peoples Day is coming up & here's a lovely video from the Hawaiki Project, which connects indigenous people along the Polynesian migration pathway from Taiwan to Aotearoa (New Zealand). The linguistic connection is also fascinating 1/6
In Polynesian mythology, the words of Savaii, Savaiki, Avaiki, Havaii, and Hawaiki, are often used in the legends as the ancestral homeland of the Polynesians. Savaiʻi is the largest island in Samoa. It is likely Hawai'i also share the same origin. 2/6
facebook.com/HawaikiNuiLtd/ Image
There is an interesting similarity between "Hawaiki/Savaiki" in Polynesian languages and "Saviah/Savih/Saveq", the Taiwanese Bunun name of the sacred Jade mountain, also the the highest mountain in Taiwan at 3,952m. This is a Bunun tribe in 1900 photographed by Torii Ryūzō. 3/6 Image
The Indigenous Tsou youth group in the Hawaiki video is from the "Saviki" tribe. The oral stories of the Tsou also describe ancestral migration from the Jade Mountain region. This is the Chief of the Tsou tribe in 1928 photographed by F.M. Trautz. 4/6
facebook.com/groups/1535188… Image
Not an Austronesian language expert & the linguistic connection of Hawaiki-Hawai'i-Savaiki-Saviah-Saviki is purely a speculation. But it's wild to think that there is a possibility that the ancestral homeland Polynesians refer to is a faraway mountain on the island of Taiwan. 5/6 Image
Anyway, it is wonderful to see the exchange in recent years. Both have suffered from colonisation, in the forced process of being absorbed into Sinosphere & Anglosphere respectively. Kudos to Kolas Yotaka & the Hawaiki Project for this special project. 6/6
Side story: I personally learnt about the Saviki tribe a few years back when I applied for my family registry from the Japanese era. The family address in the Meji era was listed as 嘉義廳砂米其社 "Saviki tribe" in Japanese, which was actually quite of a surprise for the family.

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More from @joshiunn

Joshua Yang Profile picture
Feb 28, 2024
Taiwan's White Terror, an #Indigenous account, described in Paiwan chief Turivuan Danav's own words in his 1999 statement in court:
"For half a century, I have lived in agony, unable to find peace in death or life, suffering in a state of perpetual despair w/o a moment's peace." Image
Turivuan Danav, a Paiwan chief & one of the first Indigenous teachers in postwar TW, was known as the 'Paiwan President' in his time. Under colonial oppression, he advocated for an independent Taiwan & Indigenous republic, designed a national flag & drafted an anthem in Paiwan. Image
Some translated quotes from his statement:
"I have endured political sabotage from the foreign regime & the torment of white terror." "In '52, I began compiling the Indigenous Paiwan language, but my efforts were ruined due to the frequent late-night interrogations by officials."
Read 17 tweets
Joshua Yang Profile picture
Nov 4, 2023
In a moving ceremony at UniEdinburgh today, #Indigenous Paiwan reps & shamans from Taiwan repatriated the skulls of their ancestral warriors, beheaded in the Mudan battle w/ Japan in 1874 - an event that forever altered the fate of Taiwan & its ppl. 1/




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The 1874 Japanese invasion was a military response to the killing of shipwrecked Ryukyuans in Taiwan by Paiwan individuals. The punitive expedition was used by Japan to legitimise the empire's new colonial control of Ryukyu (Okinawa) & it marked an impt step in its expansion. 2/ Image
By "protecting civilians", Japan strategically demonstrated that Qing was not in effective control of Ryukyu & Taiwan, & exposed that Indigenous land had never been under Chinese jurisdiction, preluding Japan's later expansion. The Japanese-built tomb still stands in Taiwan. 3/


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Read 9 tweets
Joshua Yang Profile picture
Nov 26, 2021
I caught up w/ a 3rd-gen Chinese-Taiwanese school friend who returned to Taiwan recently. After a decade of studying & working in Shanghai, he believes that it's time to leave China for his own safety. His view went from pro-China to extremely anti-CCP over the past few years. 1/
Back in high school, his Waishengren (post-49 Chinese-Taiwanese) backgrounds did set him apart. His parents have great family connections in China & they have settled in Shanghai for business. Despite being good friends, we'd have arguments on TW's status & Taiwanese history. 2/
He was a staunch supporter of the ROC & truly took pride of Taiwan being the "real China". Like a lot of the top Waishengren students in the 2000s/10s, he aspired to study university in China & work in a fast-growing 1st-tier Chinese cities. He followed his Chinese dream. 3/
Read 8 tweets
Joshua Yang Profile picture
Oct 10, 2021
For those wondering why it's the Japanese transliteration 亞細亞 (アジア) & not the commonly used term 亞洲, it is indeed a Taiwanese cultural reference that traces back to the Japanese era. 亞細亞的孤兒 is a Japanese-language novel that reflects on the complex TW identity. 1/
Published in 1946, Orphan of Asia depicts a Taiwanese student who got caught in conflicting identities. Feeling marginalised & abandoned, the protagonist disappears w a mental breakdown. It's a powerful depiction of the psychological impact of colonialism. toolkit.culture.tw/en/literaturei…
The singer 羅大佑 picked up the title in 1983, wrote a song w/ an identical name & further explored the TW identity of being oppressed and marginalised. There are a lot of subtle analogies (red mud, white terror) that got under the radar of ROC censorship.
Read 4 tweets
Joshua Yang Profile picture
Oct 9, 2021
In Taiwan, the difference in collective memory has contributed to the diverse attitudes towards ROC symbolisms. While some Taiwanese despise the flag, in the Yunnan-Chinese-Taiwanese community in Taoyuan, ~30,000s of ROC flags are set up each year for national day celebration. 1/
The village in the 龍岡 Longgang area traces its root to the Yunnan KMT troops that were retreated to northern Thailand & Burma in the 50s. As their history has been closely tied to the expelled ROC, it is understandable that some ppl have a sentimental attachment to the flag. 2/
Interestingly, a sign claims that "patriotism is dying out due to intermarriage" (with the Taiwanese). This resonates what Dominic Yang describe as "the social trauma of the homecoming in Taiwan", the uneasiness that some KMT migrants experience in the wave of "Taiwanisation". 3/
Read 6 tweets
Joshua Yang Profile picture
Sep 29, 2021
Language loss is not only a loss of cultural autonomy, but a loss in connections. The past ROC language policy has robbed my grandma of meaningful connections w/ her own Mandarin-speaking grandkids. She sits at the dining table but she doesn't understand their conversations. 1/
Like a lot of working-class Taiwanese in the 50s, my grandma migrated to Taipei from the south in search of better opportunities for her family. Even though they settled in Taipei, she never had the chance to learn Mandarin due to her age, social circle & economic hardship. 2/
My grandma worked hard as a female factory worker throughout her life to raise her children. Yet, under the colonial language policy, her Taipei-raised family has become predominately Mandarin-speaking & it's difficult for her to even participate in her family conversations. 3/
Read 6 tweets

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