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Originally Posted by yuanzhumin
To Kukulza : I think that most of these knives are still in Taiwan, and the ones that left the Paiwan families were sold by the Paiwan themselves --- not looted. Everything coming from the aborigines that you can find today outside the aboriginal villages was given away by the aborigines themselves or stolen by them from their own people to be sold to the outsiders. It’s only recently that some kind of tribal pride has appeared accompanied by a cultural revival and a rediscovery of the traditions. Unfortunately, most of the traditions and heritage have been lost and what is recovered looks often more like a folkloric/touristic thing. In some case, when mixed with politics, it can become some kind of extreme militantism, with a more romantic/utopic than realistic dimension.
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I see. I'm surprised more weren't looted, after all the Japanese were very brutal in their conquests/rapes of their colonies. Though, on Taiwan, they did seek to assimilate it into a Japanese island. However the Paiwan selling their old possessions is also something I can see... it is too bad, but it is also a sign of a changing culture, one that is adapting or giving way to the "dominant" one. I don't blame Taiwanese for militancy ...in a way I only wish more Taiwanese sought to assert their identity and independence... with a unique blend of cultures, histories, and destinies. But, in general, the Taiwanese are not culturally fighters anymore, and there are very few militant people today. Nevertheless I am glad for what traditions persist, especially amongst the Yuan Zhu Min because they have been oppressed the most.