Managing Water and Wetlands Based on the Tayal’s Interpretation of Utux and Gaga

Abstract

Humans first appeared on the planet about 3.5 million years ago and like most biota, they settled near wetlands because of the availability of food and water. The ancestors of our species understood and knew that water, wetlands, and healthy landscapes were essential for life. In Taiwan, the indigenous people have a long history being a part of and managing the natural resources, including wetlands in their respective habitats. Water and wetlands still play a substantial and significant role in the manner that the Tayal, an indigenous group of people in Taiwan use, preserve, care, protect, respect, and share the habitats and natural resources within which they live. The evolution of Taiwan’s tribal cultures, and probably most cultures on the planet are closely entwined with the resources present in each tribe’s habitat, especially water and wetlands. DNA results indicate 2 lineages of people migrated to Taiwan between 11,000 and 26,000 years ago and gave rise to 9 ethnic groups (Tajima et al. 2003). Today 16 indigenous cultures/tribes are recognized with each occupying different regions of Taiwan’s diverse landscape. Each tribe has its own language and culture and occupies its own geographic region, which contributes to Taiwan’s rich cultural history and diversity. The Tayal tribe is one of the larger tribes with about 88,000 people and the Smangus people are a subset of the Tayal tribe with a culture that is at least 6,000 years old. Culturally, the Tayal people consider themselves to be an element of the environment and their culture is defined by their relationship and interactions with the environment, including all of the other biotic, abiotic elements present in their habitats. In this paper we provide an overview of Tayal culture and philosophy, which determines how the Tayal people manage and protect their natural resources, especially water and wetlands following the tenets of Utux and Gaga that comprise the entirety of their core cultural values. The cultural and language variations, nuances, environmental interpretations, and management techniques are specific to tribal groups and differences in geographic location and environmental settings.

The conflict between environmental justice and culture

“…This inconsistency was identified during Song et al's (2021) study on the relationships between the Tayal, one of Taiwan's 16 officially recognized Indigenous groups, and the environment, and we realized this issue is important and pervasive. For example, Østmo and Law (2018) noted Norwegian environmental policy distinguishes between nature and culture and considers human activities an interference, which makes it difficult or impossible for the Sámi fisher-people to maintain respectful relations and care for their lakes.…”

“…Stream health and management are important elements of Tayal culture and TEM practices (Song et al, 2021). For example, the use of poison ivy in streams and rivers to supplement fish takes is common TEK and TEM practice among the Indigenous people in Southeast Asia (Song et al, 2021).…”

“…The Tayal's environmental protection practices are good examples of the people's ability to preserve and protect the ecology of their respective habitats and these behaviors are woven into their culture and cosmology (Song et al, 2021). These practices broadly resemble and are conceptually similar to EJ and its associated laws; except for the Tayal and probably most Indigenous cultures, the non-human such as mountains and rivers and the spiritual elements of their culture are treated and respected as equally as the biota and human elements.…”

Introduction to Environmental Education

“…We, therefore, also need to identify several elements in indigenous cultures that are related to their knowledge base and resource management systems that could be of value to western science, but the semantic issues associated with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Traditional Ecological Management (TEM) can be overwhelming (Song et al 2021). We may regard that TEK and TEM should be considered to be an element of the environment associated with indigenous cultures that is defined by their relationship and interactions with the environment, including all of the other biotic, abiotic elements present in their habitats.…”

Book Review: Global Indigenous Health: Reconciling the Past, Engaging the Present, Animating the Future

“…Habitat and land-use changes negatively impact ethnic identities and culture and is probably the single-most important factor affecting Indigenous mental health. Tayal elders have said that the people and culture can survive if there are forests, land and water (Song et al, 2021). Overall, the content of the book is diverse, but unfortunately, there are no chapters specific to the Indigenous people from Africa, Eastern Europe and India, for example.…”