The Right to Use Forest Resources

Atayal Culture and Smangus

Atayal culture
The Atayal people are an ethno-linguistic group of indigenous people that live in the mountainous areas of northern Taiwan. They numbered 91,000 in the 2000 Census making them the second largest indigenous group in Taiwan. The Truku and Seediq were formerly included in the Atayal group but were recognised as separate groups in 2004 and 2008 respectively. Traditionally they lived in scattered villages at altitudes above 1,000 metres and practiced swidden agriculture cultivating millet and other crops. They maintained a high degree of independence up until the late nineteenth century when there began to be increasing conflict over access to forest resources. The spirit of independence or self reliance is still strong among the Atayal today. Atayal share a set of rituals and prohibitions known as the gaga, a system of traditional law inherited from the ancestors and held by the elders within patrilineal clan groups. The knowledge contained in the gaga is important to define traditional territory and the use of natural resources on that territory. Recounting the patrilineal line of ancestors who founded the village and led the migrations to settle new areas is an important part of their cultural identity. This is also reflected in Atayal people's names. They have a distinct first name while their second name is that of their father. Some distinctive cultural practices such as facial tattoos and in house burial ended during the Japanese era. Other traditions such as hunting and weaving have been maintained up to the present day.

Smangus beech tree incident and indigenous rights

The Smangus Beech Tree Incident is a legal case regarding the use of wood from a wind fallen tree on Smangus traditional territory. During a typhoon in 2005 a beech tree fell across the road to Smangus. The people of Smangus repaired the road and moved the tree to the road side. About a month later they found the Forestry Bureau had removed the main trunk of the tree. At a community meeting three men from Smangus were asked to collect the remaining parts of the tree for use in the village. They were caught by the police and subsequently charged with theft of forest products under Article 52 of the Forestry Act. The three men have been found guilty in the two subsequent court hearings. They argued that they had the right to take the wood under Article 15 of the Forestry Act which states, In forests located in the traditional territory of indigenous peoples, indigenous people may take forest products for their own living needs and customs. In the court hearings it was difficult to prove the traditional territory of Smangus in a way that was satisfactory to the court. Furthermore the court failed to recognise Smangus's rights according the 2005 Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (IPBL). Article 19 of the Basic Law says indigenous peoples may undertake non-profit activities such as hunting and collecting plants in accordance with their traditional culture and for their own consumption. Article 20 recognizes indigenous peoples right to lands and natural resources. The legal case concerning the wood from a wind fallen tree has highlighted the conflict between national law and traditional law. Although there have been significant improvements in indigenous rights since Taiwan began democratising in the early 1990s the ideals of the IPBL are yet to be fully realised in practice.

Development of Smangus
In recent decades Smangus has gone through several phases of economic development. Millet was historically the main staple. However now only a small amount of millet is grown each year. It is still considered important for cultural reasons. In the 1980s mushrooms were the major cash crop. Around 1990 peaches became the main cash crop and this has continued to the present. In 1991 a grove of ancient cypress trees (Yaya Qparung) was discovered near the village. Once the road to the village was completed in 1995 increasing numbers of visitors arrived in the village to hike to the old trees. This led to the development of tourism in Smangus which today accounts for 70-80% of the village's income. In order to manage tourism in a way that would benefit the people Smangus established a cooperative system. The system of collective management and ownership is called tnunan in the Atayal language. The cooperative was fully established in 2004. All members who participate receive an equal wage plus additional benefits such as health care and payments for school fees, weddings and the birth of children. The cooperative has accommodation for 400 people and other facilities such as a large dining hall. There are still a few households in the village that don't participate in the cooperative. The cooperative system draws on both internal and external influences. The cooperative system is based on the Atayal spirit of sharing and egalitarianism. Smangus also received assistance and support from the Presbyterian Church. In 2003 the church supported a study tour to a kibbutz in Israel. There were also some exchanges with the Danayigu, a Tsou community in Chiayi County. The people of Danayigu restored the ecosystem of a creek on their land and developed ecotourism based on this. In the development of their community the people of Smangus have shown that they can responsibly manage their traditional territory by drawing on the Atayal tradition in combination with adopting ideas from other places. The village is a model for eco-cultural tourism development based on sustainable use of resources.

Introduction to Smangus
Smangus is a community of Atayal speaking people in the Jianshi District of Hsinchu County. The village has about 150 residents. It sits on a ridge at an altitude of about 1,500 metres above the valley of the Takechin Creek. It takes about three hours to reach the village from Zhudong, the nearest city, along a narrow and twisty mountain road. Smangus was once known as the heise buluo ( ) or black village. This is because of its remote location and it had no electricity until 1979. The village was connected to the outside world by road in 1995. Before that time everything had to be carried into the village by hand from the other side of the valley. The village is neat and well maintained. Most of the houses are constructed from wood. In addition to the homes of the residents there is accommodation and other facilities for tourists. The people of Smangus belong to the Mrqwang sub-group of the Atayal people. More than 200 years ago during the migration of the Mrqwang in search of new hunting grounds and arable land, Miquy Necyeh, the youngest of the five brothers settled in the village of Smangus. There are currently five families in Smangus as other families have entered via marriage. The name Smangus comes from the name of the earliest ancestor to settle in the area, Makus.

Community classroom a metaphor for Smangus

Construction of the Smangus community classroom ( ) began in July 2008 and was completed in April 2009. It stands on a prominent position above the main entrance to the village and is the first building people see when driving into the village. The building serves as a classroom for the experimental branch of the Xinguang Primary School. There are currently 12 students from Smangus studying in the school. The curriculum includes classes in Atayal language and traditional knowledge as well as courses prescribed by Taiwan's national curriculum. The building has a slate roof, rough sawn timber walls and a concrete foundation. Its combination of traditional materials and modern building techniques is in many ways a metaphor for the Smangus community which combines traditional Atayal culture with ideas from the modern world.

Smangus blog
The Smangus community created an English-language blog to disseminate information about the case. This was the first time in Taiwan that indigenous peoples had used an English blog for activism. http://smangus.blogspot.com

David Reid International Master's of Taiwan Studies Program National Chengchi University, Taiwan reid.david@yahoo.com.au