Daniao Tribal Village Cultural Experience
The Pacavalj Tribe (Daniao Tribal Village) is beside Nanhui Road in Dawu Township. The village is by the mountains and ocean and boasts stunning natural scenery. Daniao Village is a Paiwan village with rich cultural fabric and is one of the largest tribal villages in Dawu Township. The name Daniao (big bird) village was given due to the majority of the houses in the village being straw huts, making the village appear like feathers on an eagle’s wing when seen from above. However, most of the elders in the village are used to the original name Pacavalj, meaning swamp or basin land.
Typhoon Morakot brought severe damage to Daniao village. The government helped rebuild the village, including the construction of buildings. The Council of Labor Affairs worked to educate the people, helping them learn a skill and create job opportunities. The Pacavalj Fabric Workshop- a fabric workshop with a story – was born. A group of youth are working tirelessly to help preserve and pass down the tribe’s traditional crafts, hoping to allow the culture and spirit of the Paiwan people to live on.
The Pacavalj Fabric Workshop’s three-step process of “Moving Forward,” “Seizing the Opportunity,” to “Creating Opportunities”, gives the women of the tribe a way to develop their skills to provide for their families. Now, everyone can become independent, develop their weaving and embroidery skills into brands that create handbags, wallets, and travel backpacks. The bags incorporate Paiwanese totems and embroidery patterns, combining the best of traditional and modern worlds. The workshop helps the women create their own stories and also grows the tribe’s cultural and creative sectors. The statue of the roc spreading its wings at the entrance of the village is a great symbol of the young businesses spreading their wings and taking flight.
Daniao Village offers courses that promote education on land and farming. Learning more about the land, environment, production, and culinary process, the tjamaku grass (tobacco), unique to Daniao Village, is introduced. Lectures and workshops are held to teach the importance and significance of this ingredient. Other courses show how to collect materials from our daily lives and use them in traditional crafts to create a dialogue with nature and a sustainable way of life.（Photo Credit：IG@carina.iii）
- Address: Dawu Township, Taitung
