The Relativity of Time

Huang’s article talks about the traditional ways the Amis tell time. I thought this article was incredibly interesting and it really kept my attention throughout the whole thing. I really like how Huang described the four different ways of time keeping in the Amis village of Iwan. I had no idea that there were several different influences on the way they keep time within the indigenous communities, so this was really interesting to read.

I found it fascinating the way the Amis differentiate between night and day, and the way they figure out the time based on nature. They know when to wake up, eat and work based on the movements of the sun. Time can also be deduced based on the movements of shadows. On rainy or overcast days, the Amis can estimate the time based on how hungry they feel (p.323). To me this is so neat because the Amis have such a strict, everyday routine that they know basically what time of day it is based on the sun, or based on how hungry they are. I just find this really intriguing!

I think it is a shame that the Japanese decided to implement clocks and watches as timekeeping devices on the Amis. It was forced onto them when they did not want it. They invented new words to coincide with what the Japanese wanted from them in terms of timekeeping and punctuality (p. 326). Out of the four imposed ways of keeping time, I think the Japanese imposing clocks and “modern” time upon the Amis is the most upsetting. It completely changed how they went about their days. Children were forced to go to school. Adults were forced into labour, especially as construction workers. They generally worked without payment or for half of the ordinary pay (p. 326-327). This implementation of time even made it more convenient for the KMT rule (p. 328), which of course greatly impacted the indigenous communities.

One of the major things I thought while reading this article was how much simpler life must be without being so worried about time. Nowadays, all we do is worry about time. We have to be places on time. We do not have much time left to live our lives. We spend too much time on the computer and not enough time outside. Everything we do is based on time. I feel like everything could be so much easier if we worried less about time. Time is relative. It is a human invention used to keep order. But the Amis did not keep time like we do now and they had order in their villages. Based on Huang’s article, it seems to me that the Amis in Iwan and a good working social order and were very able to keep up with their agricultural practices. I do not think it will ever happen, but it might be nice one day if we all decided to abandon our “modern” sense of time and start using the sun and the stars to guide us through our daily activities.

Reference:

Huang, Shiun-wey. 2004. “’Times and Images of Others in an Amis Village, Taiwan.” Time & Society 13 (2/3): 321-337.

Indigenous Rights in Taiwan

Ku’s article discusses minority and indigenous rights within Taiwan. The difference between these two groups of people is important. The minority groups include Mongolian and Tibetan immigrants. The indigenous peoples are those who were living on the island before the Chinese arrived. They receive different rights because of this difference.

One thing I found very interesting, as well as very important, is that the Alliance of Taiwan Aborigines (ATA) decided to use the term ‘aborigine’ to describe themselves. They chose this term because of its implication of being the first inhabitants of the island. This gave the movement for indigenous rights a much stronger voice because it holds these peoples as being the original masters of Taiwan (2005, p. 103). The fact that they chose their own term to describe themselves is very important. It means that these peoples care about how they are being treated and demand respect from others. Choosing how they identify is a sign of assertiveness on the part of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. It is also extremely important that the ATA created a Manifesto of Taiwanese Aboriginal Rights in 1988 to form a common destiny among the aborigines (p. 104). They knew how they were being discriminated against and wanted to change that. They knew some of their human rights were being violated and wanted to gain rights and respect from the Han people. However this statement received little public attention, which is a shame since I am sure that it was a well thought out manifesto that should have been respected. These people deserve to have the same human rights as everyone else.

I also found it interesting that within the DPP, pro-independence advocates believe that the indigenous peoples who are most qualified to declare independence since they have always been on the island and therefore there is no problem of unification for them. However, most aborigines are against independence (p. 106). I find it interesting that the pro-independence advocates believe there would not be a problem of unification amongst the indigenous peoples. Historically speaking, these different groups of people have fought against each other and have practiced head hunting expeditions against each other. Surely things are different now, but there could possibly still be some tension amongst the different aborigines groups. They may not want to unite with other groups to try and fight for independence because of their history with one another.

I feel like it is also relevant to mention that aboriginal politicians spoke up about the manifesto created by the ATA, demanding the right to practice regional autonomy in the areas where aboriginal peoples have traditionally lived. They also demanded an upgrade in the level of administrative authority aboriginal politicians have in the central government (p. 111). These demands are extremely crucial in the movement for indigenous rights. If Taiwan’s aborigines want more rights, they have to fight hard to get them. Which is, I will admit, completely unfair to them since they should already have these rights.

Reference:
Ku, Kun-hui. 2005. “Rights to Recognition: Minority/Indigenous Politics in the Emerging Taiwanese Nationalism.” Social Analysis 49 (2): 99-121.

Cop Culture in Taiwan

Martin’s text really encapsulates the struggles that police officers face in Taiwan. Police in Taiwan have to balance maintaining the law and maintaining the socio-economics of their beats. Martin describes how police are liable for any criminal activity that happens within their beats. They are penalized for their failure to have detected and reported any criminal activity (p. 668). The way it is set up for 119 (Taiwan’s 911) calls leaves a paper trail that leads directly to the officer on duty. When a citizen calls 119, the system automatically routes the call to the county police station. Here it becomes a matter of formal record. Then it is relayed to the appropriate substation, who then radios the policeman on duty. This leaves a paper trail identifying that officer personally as legally accountable for the management of the situation (p. 691). I suppose this could be a good way to make sure that the police are doing their jobs and doing them correctly. But at the same time it feels like they are not trusted by their superiors and by the rest of the legal system.

However the officers do not always uphold the law, especially when it comes to the restaurant stalls and shops that are illegally set up on the sidewalks. Guo, one of the officers that Martin spent a lot of time with, tells Martin that he does not write a lot of tickets for these people. He also helps them out legally. When he takes pictures of their stalls, he makes sure to let them know when he is coming so that they set up later. This way, he takes a picture of an empty space to use as the “after” picture and once they set up their stall, he takes a picture of that to use as the “before” picture (p. 669). To his superiors, it looks like he told them to clean up the stalls when in reality he is helping to keep the socio-economic order of the area in place. These people need these stalls to make money for their families. For most, it is their only income.

I do not personally think it is fair for these policemen to be held legally responsible for any crime they fail to notice. It is not their fault that they did not detect that brothel or chop shop in their beat. They should not be penalized for it. Their job is to respond to crimes reported to them and to crimes they detect. I do not know how it works to become a police officer in Taiwan, but to me it feels like they do not have enough policemen on the streets, and that may be something that should change. One officer is responsible for 200-400 households on his own and is then held personally responsible for anything that happens in that beat. With more police officers, more crimes might be detected and the law could be upheld much easier. I am also unaware how it works to legally have a stall set up on the sidewalk, but perhaps it should be made easier to get the proper permits so these families can provide for themselves without having to do so illegally and risk getting ticketed.

Reference:

Martin, Jeffery. 2007. “A Reasonable Balance of Law and Sentiment: Social Order in Democratic Taiwan from the Policeman’s Point of View.” Law & Society Review 41 (3): 665-697.

The Cult of Wang Yulan

Chi’s article about Wang Yulan, a deified female ghost from the state of Jinmen, explores different aspects of nationalism and the Chinese folk religion. The cult dedicated to this ghost links the global to the local. The state promoted her worship at Qingqi, where her body was found. She is now the symbol of resistance to communism and of chastity, since she had allegedly been killed by PLA soldiers after resisting them (2009, p. 671).

In the official discourse, her ghost cult was transformed into the cult of a goddess (p. 672). However ghosts are metaphors for the socially marginal and worshipping them is not encouraged. But the cult of Wang Yulan allowed the state to link anti-communist hegemony with folk religion, a way to disseminate nationalism (p. 673).

One of the things I found interesting about her cult, was the way her temple was built. The location of her temple outside of the village indicates her marginality in the celestial hierarchy. She is not a full-fledged goddess. Architecturally, the temple is also evidence to her ghostly status. It does not have a door. However the layout inside is evidence of her deification. The centrepiece of the temple is an altar flanked with side altars. A statue of Wan Yulan sits in the middle of the central altar. She is dressed in the traditional gown for female deities. This arrangement is identical to that in shrines for unambiguously full-fledged deities in Jinmen (p. 675-676). The outside and the inside seem to contradict each other a little bit.

There was also something I found interesting about the myth surrounding Wang Yulan’s death. She is seen by most to be a chaste female martyr. Chastity is a traditional value which fits in with what the state wanted to preserve as something to counteract the communist revolution of the PRC. The military therefore emphasized her chastity. Her resistance to the PLA soldiers is seen as a statement of her rejection of communism (p. 678). I can understand why the Jinmen people would think this, as they did not want PRC nationalism to take over their traditional values and practices. A lot of religions and spiritualities have that person that died for something they believe in. That person tends to become more of a myth and stories get altered when they are being told, thus are not always true. Not to be the feminist killjoy again, but I think the reason why Wang Yulan resisted the soldiers was not because she was rejecting communism. I feel like it was more because she did not want to get raped and/or killed by them. Most women in that position would probably also resist, regardless of who was attacking them.

 I also found it interesting that the villagers do not refer to the communist soldiers as such, but as “some people”. And it was not Wang Yulan as a martyr and victim of communism that motivated them to worship her. Rather, they worship her because she instructed them to (p.682). I found this interesting because there seems to be an emphasis placed on her resistance to the PLA soldiers in the story of her martyrdom, yet it has nothing to do with why she is worshipped.

Reference:

Chi, Chan-hui. 2009. “The Death of a Virgin: the Cult of Wang Yulan and Nationalism in Jinmen, Taiwan.” Anthropological Quarterly 82 (3): 669-690.