Meet The Young Indigenous Hunters Of Taiwan

The indigenous people of Taiwan have been colonized many times over, and many have lost their lives, language, and heritage in the process. But some are fighting hard to maintain their traditions, while others are finding them anew. Hunting is one such practice, and Cegaw Lrakadrangilra is leading the men in his tribe on trips to look for deer, boars, and other game.

"It wasn't about shooting. They were teaching me how to identify animals, read the landmarks, and how to adjust my eyes at night," he says. "Hunting is more about having a relationship with the mountains than killing things." When he shot his first muntjac [deer], he had to process it immediately. He took out its organs and lugged the meat back down to the village. "I like to roast muntjac," he says. "Every man is expected to know how to cook the game that they catch. The masked palm civet is good cooked with sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine. Boar is nice when grilled with salt."

Some tribes have elders to help teach the younger generation, but others do not and must rediscover and relearn skills, such as spearfishing. Adding to this struggle, the Taiwanese government often endorses policies that are not culturally sensitive to indigenous ways of living. For example, to hunt one must apply for a license, specifying what one means to hunt. But hunters do not plan what kind of animals they hunt before they head out, they wait for signs and their ancestors' words; they hunt what they are given. But despite the difficulties, they intend to forge onward, learning how to trap, kill, clean, and transport sustenance.

"Hunting is how we learn to become a complete person. You aren't just hunting an animal. You're dealing with the entire environment and all of the conditions that come with being in the middle of nature," he says. "Through hunting, you learn how to appreciate your food. People are calling us savages and saying that hunting is violent. But the industrial food system is worse."