Habitation Environment The Bunun live in the central part of the mountains of central Taiwan. These mountains form one of Taiwan’s largest topographical features, with a terrain that is both high and steep. Throughout the area, annual rainfall tends to be in excess of 2,000 mm and increases with altitude, so that in some parts the rainfall can be as heavy as 5,000 mm. Average temperatures are lower than in the surrounding districts, with an average July tempera-ture of less than 26℃. The rate of decrease in temperature for every 100 metres of altitude is 0.45℃ in January, and between 0.5 and 0.6℃ in July.
In the mountains where the Bunun live summer is the rainy season, and during this period there is a prevailing southwesterly wind. The weather tends to be wet and overcast, with little sun-shine. The ground consists mostly of stony soil, and the steeply sloping terrain is disadvantageous to farming. Certain areas consist of rock formations, generally of slate, and there is also some groundwater.
The Bunun The Bunun are made up of six cognate groups, the Taketodo, the Takebaka, the Takevatan, the Takbanuath, the Isibukun and the Takopulan. According to their tradition, the earliest area of Taiwan they inhabited was the western plain. The Takbanuath claim to originate from the area of Lukang (Lokaag), while the Isibukun speak of their ancestral homeland as covering the area of linchipu(Linkipao), Touliu (Taulak) and Nantou (Lamtao).
Even after moving from the plains into the mountains they did not remain settled in one place for long, for they were constantly on the move in search of fresh hunting grounds or possibly to avoid the incursions of Chinese settlers or plains aborigines. From the central and northern parts of the western plain they moved into the central mountains along the valley of the Choshui River, and at first they settled along the upper reaches of the Choshui River and its tributaries. Later some of the Takbanuath, Isibukun and Takevatan groups crossed right over the central mountain range into the area where Hualien county and Taitung county converge. About 150 years ago, some of the Takbanuath and Isibukun also moved into the Hsin-wu-lu River basin, and later still moved into the Penlu district of Taitung county and into the Laonung River basin on the northeastern side of Chisan town in Kaohsiung county. At present the Bunun population numbers 40,855(according to 2000 figures), who are distributed across eight rural districts in four counties, namely: Jenai & Hsinyi districts in Nantou county; Sanmin & Taoyuan districts in Kaohsiung county; Haituan & Yenping districts in Taitung county; and Wanjung & Chohsi districts in Hualien county. For all their modest numbers, the Bunun have spread themselves very widely, covering the whole mountainous area of central Taiwan and penetrating into the mountains on both sides of the Taitung rift valley as well as the mountains of Kaohsiung county in southern Taiwan.
Ancestral Shrine of Tavarong Village Bunun settlements are generally established along river valleys. Whereas the mountains of northern Taiwan, where the climate is wet throughout the year, are mostly covered in primeval forest, in southern Taiwan the winter months are a season of dry weather and the mountains are not densely afforested. Thus the Bunun villages in the northern part of the central mountains are sited to take advantage of the numerous streams providing good water supply. In the eastern and southern parts of the central mountains, however, where the Bunun live at altitudes of between 100 metres and 2,000 metres above sea level, and even higher in some cases, the scattered nature of their arable land has led to the settlements being rather widely spread out, with considerable distances between homesteads.
The Bunun calendar divides the year into twelve months of thirty days each, and they keep track of the passage of time by means of knotted cords. Each knot represents a day, and when thirty knots have been completed for a full month a short stick is inserted into the thirtieth knot as a marker. When the Bunun menfolk go deep into the mountains on hunting expeditions they still track the time by knotting a cord. Their agriculture depends mainly on the cultivation of hillside plots cleared by burning, and their staple crop is millet. Bunun seasonal ceremonies also revolve round the millet cultivation cycle. The year begins with the tilling of dry fields and the sowing of millet seeds, and it draws to a close amid a series of celebratory rituals following the millet harvest. Each month is divided into eight portions according to the phases of the moon, and the monthly rituals are timed to coincide with its waxing and waning.
As a result of feuding and disputes over hunting grounds the Bunun have often been involved in tribal warfare, which provides an opportunity for shows of bravery and for head-hunting. Bunun village chiefs would take charge of both political affairs and warfare, and when the chief grew too old to lead his warriors into battle the council of village elders would elect a younger warrior as their battle leader. Once the old chief had died, the younger leader would assume his political role and become the new village chief. In this context, the term warfare also includes normal hunting and field clearance as well as actual fighting.
In earlier times, the Bunun practiced the customs of tattooing their bodies and extracting certain teeth. These were intended both as marks of social identity and as signs of adulthood. Young girls would bear tattoo marks from beginning menstruation in their early teens in preparation for marriage. Men would be tattooed on their chest and forearms as a protective talisman. Despite the pain of applying the tattoos, these also provided sexual stimulation. Tooth extraction involved removing either the front teeth or the incisors, and was carried out on both men and women. If a woman’s front teeth were extracted her tongue would be visible behind, again acting as a subconscious sexual invitation. With the gradual evolutionary changes in Bunun society these customs have already begun to disappear.
Bunun Domestic Buildings As the Bunun are spread over such a wide area, the building materials they use tend to differ from place to place. Also, the more members of a household there are, the larger they build their house. To save time traveling between the homestead and distant fields during the busy season, a working hut is or often built close to the fields similar in shape to a house, only on a smaller scale.
Bunun houses are usually laid out on a rectangular or oblong plan, with the entrance opening set into the longer side. Each side of the entrance there are beds, which take up the first third of the interior. A passage leads between these to a narrow granary, and if the family is numerous extra beds may also be affixed to the sides of the granary. At the end of the passage between the beds and the granary there is a hearth. In slate-built houses or those at high altitudes, the floor level lies slightly below ground level. In front of the house lies a courtyard surrounded by a low stone wall, and nearby there is a chicken coop and a pigsty. The frame for animal bones is situated beneath the eave over the entrance, and sometimes these bones are hung on nearby branches. The display frame for human skulls is built in front of or alongside the chief’s house.
Since the Bunun live in a more dispersed fashion than any other tribe, they call to each other when they are working by means of musical cries. The echoing sounds of their calls and the answering cries create an attractive harmony. These vocal harmonies form the background of their ceremonial singing. The Bunun“millet song”* even uses harmonies of a fifth, although such singing only results from practicing up the kind of singing they use in everyday life. In spite of a lack of formal training the Bunun are yet able to produce pure and natural vocal music, a delightful aspect of their culture. They also play a number of musical instruments, such as a Jew’s harp, a bowed fiddle and a flute. Ritual ceremonies and dances also form part of their lives, and in addition to the monthly cycle of rituals they also perform a wild song of victory to welcome their heroic warriors back from battle.
Their living environment has contributed to giving the Bunun an honest, open and brave character, with a conspicuously fine achievement in the field of music and dancing. Their handicrafts, in the form of basketry and wood carving to meet their need for daily utensils, are also an outstanding feature of Bunun culture.
