Course Material for NTSH Aboriginal Arts English Classes
作者: Ten Suns (An Amis folk tale)
The Amis men left the village. They were gone a long time. They tried very hard, but they could not shoot down the suns. People in the village did not know where the men were. The suns were still hot, and there were no men to help grow food.
Laya and the other Amis women were good at weaving. They made a net as tall as the sky and as wide as the Earth. Then they climbed to the top of the trees and waited for the suns to go down. As the suns went down, the women caught seven of them. The other three suns were scared, and they asked the women not to catch them.
So, one sun would light the sky during the day, another became the moon, and the other one blew itself up and became the stars.
(This story is adapted by Charlie Taylor from the NTTU publication . It is used with permission from the publisher.)
1. Why was it difficult for the Amis people to live in “Ten Suns”?A. There was no waterB. Too many men got killedC. The women were too smart
3. Who helped the Amis catch the suns?A. YalaB. One of the menC. Laya
Discussion QuestionsDo women and men do different jobs in your family? What do the men do, and what do the women do?
- Who has the best ideas in your family?
- Do you think men should always ask women for advice when they make decisions?
(Finish the script and perform a play.)原住民文化英語教材. It is used with permission from the publisher.)
Comprehension Questions:
1. How did Balan cover Pali’s eyes?
3. Why is the fruit of the betel nut tree red?
Discussion Questions:
1. What would you do if you were Balan? What if you were Pali?
3. Do you think it was a good idea for Balan to be friends with Pali? Why?
5. Do you know any stories from other cultures about betel nut?
Baleng, the snake bride: A Rukai folktale
A long time ago, a chief of the Rukai had a beautiful daughter named Baleng. Her tenderness and incredible beauty earned her a good reputation amongst the villagers.
Every year, when the millet harvest was over, young men and women in the village celebrated with each other. The men brewed millet wine and made millet cakes and carried them to the women’s houses.
Since Baleng was by far the most popular woman of all the Rukai, her house quickly filled up with men who wanted to marry her, but Baleng never fell in love with any of these men.
One year, during the millet harvest festival, when everybody was singing and dancing late into the night, a light breeze came from a crack in a stone wall and was accompanied by the sound of a bamboo flute.
When the music stopped, a cold wind started blowing. Most of the guests were scared and ran out of the house. Then, a giant snake appeared and slithered toward Baleng.
To Baleng, the snake looked like a handsome young man. She immediately fell in love with him. The snake was actually the king of the Dalupalhing snake tribe, which lived in the nearby Dalupalhing Lake.
A few days later, a big storm came. The people from Baleng’s village saw all the members of the Dalupalhing Tribe bring their king to Baleng’s house. They all looked like snakes.
The snake king said he wanted to marry Baleng, and she happily agreed. Many people celebrated the wedding and then walked to the lake. Then, Baleng and the Daluphaling disappeared into the lake.
After many years, Baleng missed her people very much, so she told her parents that her two children would visit them soon. The next day, Baleng’s parents saw two little snakes sleeping on the window.
They brought meat and wine and prepared a feast for their grandchildren. From then on, Baleng’s children and grandchildren visited the village often.
One day, a woman who didn’t know Baleng’s story saw some snakes sleeping in her baby’s cradle. She was so scared that she tipped the cradle over and all the snakes fell to the ground.
Baleng was upset and spoke to all the villagers in their dreams.
“I will no longer send my children to visit you because you’ve forgotten me,” she said. “When you see an egret flying above the village, remember that it represents my memory of you.”
The Rukai villagers tried to say sorry to Baleng, but it did not work. Baleng’s children never appeared again. However, when the people saw an egret flying in the sky, they were reminded that Baleng would always love and care about them.
(This story is adapted by Charlie Taylor from the NTTU publication Baleng talks to the Rukai in their dreams. Do you think you can talk to people in your dreams? Have you ever had messages from somebody in your dreams?
2. Would you move far away from your family to get married?
4. This is the story of a woman falling in love with an animal. Are there any stories from your tribe that are similar?
Arunayan and Arupuwan (A Pinuyumayan folktale)
One day, a snake tried to hurt their sister.
In order to save their sister, they accidentally killed the snake. This was a taboo ( in their tribe, so they could not live with their tribe anymore. If they stayed, they would bring bad luck.
The older brother, Arunayan, was tall and could run quickly. He ran away, but Arupuwan could not run fast. He was caught by the Laraos. The Laraos took Arunayan wanted to save his brother, so he made a kite out of pieces of rattan (. He tied it to a big rock on the top of Fuyuan (Dulan) Mountain. The kite flew high up in the sky. The sound was loud. The Laraos people all came outside to see what was making the noise. Arupuwan was also quite smart. He decided to trick the Laraos people.
The Laraos believed it was true and let Arupuwan out. The older brother saw the younger brother approaching the kite. He flew the kite down low, so the younger brother quickly grabbed the kite and flew away from the Laraos.
Questions:
1. Do you think it is ok to steal food if you are very hungry?
3. The two brothers in the story get in trouble for helping their sister, and later Arunayan saves his brother from the Laraos. Do you and your brothers and sisters help each other? How?
5.The Abandoned Child: A Tao FolktaleOnce upon a time, a Tao woman had a baby, but she was not married. She was embarrassed because the baby had no father. She worried the other people in the village would think she was bad, so she did not want anybody to know. She asked her mother to take the baby far away from her village and leave him in the woods.In another part of the village lived an old couple who had always wanted a baby, but had never been able to have one. The old man was on his way through the woods to go to his boat, when he heard a baby crying in the woods.When he saw the baby boy, he was happy and took him home.The man’s wife was also happy. They thought the baby was a gift to them. The old couple decided to raise the baby as their own. When the baby grew up, he helped his parents by fishing and working in the fields.The children in the village made fun of him and said he was not the real child of his parents, and that he was found in the forest. This made him sad and angry, but he did not believe them. Whenever he went home and asked his mother about it, she would tell him that he was her real child.One day a strange woman came to him when he was working in the fields, and said that she was his real mother. He was confused.He asked his mother again, and finally she told him the truth.The man decided to hold a feast to honor his parents. He slaughtered a pig and a goat and invited all his friends and family to the feast. He also invited his birth mother, but only gave her the smallest portion. He gave the biggest and fattest parts of the meat to the old man and old woman who had raised him.
Questions:
- What would you do if you found a baby in the woods?
- Do you think it is important to honor your parents? How do you honor them?
- What are some reasons for feasting in your culture?
(Adapted by Charlie Taylor from the series Indigene: Meaning through Stories)Comprehension Questions:
2.Why did Qabus lie to the mother snake?
4.Why did the Bunun people and the snakes stop fighting?
Discussion Questions
3.Do you often see snakes? How do you feel when you see one? What do you do when you see one?
- What would you do if you found a baby in the woods?
