高山協作的揹架裡
In the Patakan of a Mountain Porter 1
Salizan Takisvilainan
/ in translation by C. J. Anderson-Wu
A can of baby milk in the patakan
step by step, I walk into
the path of the ancestors
The necklace given to the newborn during the ritual of Masuqolus 2
is to be left in Tongku Saveq 3
Carrying up the patakan
and collecting
Yushan thistle, Dwarf Lilyturf, Blackberry Lilies
Orchids, Love Apples, Plum Blossoms, Chrysanthemums
and feathers of Mikado Pheasants 4
along the trail upward to
Jade Mountain
In the patakan, there also lie
the extinguished Sika Deer 5
my dying dream of becoming a baseball player
and my acceptance of fate
Passing through bamboo woods
I ascend to the sacred Papak Waqa
Mount Dabajian
With the patakan containing
a life fallen and reignited,
and the carefully preserved
Formosan Landlocked Salmon, 6
I continue the walk toward Rgyax Topuk
Nanhu Mountain
With the patakan containing
a trophy for the triumphant conqueror
3603 M, 3279 M
3564 M, 3630 M 7
Among the top one-hundred peaks 8
bestowing the highest honor of the winner
The mountain porter’s patakan is very tall,
tall enough to cradle a mountain soaring over 3000M
1. Burden basket in the indigenous Bunun language.
2. In the ceremony of Masuqolus, a special necklace is hung on a newborn’s neck while prayers are said for their safety and health.
3. Jade Mountain, the Bunun people’s holy mountain. After the Masuqolus, the necklace is left in the place where, according to Bunun myth, Bunun people found shelter from storms, so the baby will grow up as grand as the mountain.
4. All these objects are on Taiwan’s one-thousand-dollar bill.
5. The Sika Deer is featured on Taiwan’s five-hundred bill.
6. Formosan Landlocked Salmon is featured on Taiwan’s two-thousand-dollar bill.
7. Mount Aliavtini, 3603M (11,821ft.), Mount Laku Laku, 3279M (10,758ft.), Mount Yun, 3564M (11,693ft.), and Jiaming Lake 3630M (11,909 ft.), where amateur climbers often boast their victories of climbing without acknowledging the help of indigenous porters and guides.
8. There are 268 mountains in Taiwan higher than 3000M (9,843 ft.).
高山協作的揹架裡
裝進奶粉罐
一步一步地踏進
祖先的路
將嬰兒祭的項錬
放在東谷沙飛
揹著揹架
一路上採集
玉山薊、麥門冬、射干
金線蓮、七葉一枝花、梅花、菊花
帝稚的羽毛
登上玉山
揹架裡
裝進逝去的棒球夢
梅花鹿般的跳躍
穿過竹林
攀上大霸尖山
揹架裡
裝著
細心呵護的
櫻花鉤吻鮭
走向南湖大山
揹架裡
裝進一座獎臺
連續登上
3603公尺、3279公尺
3564公尺、3630公尺
放在第一百座的山頂上
請授獎人站在榮耀的頂端
高山協作的揹架
很高
高到可裝進
3000公尺的百岳大山
Indigenous Bunun writer from Taiwan, Salizan Takisvilainan’s I Am Looking For A Bottle of Good Wine In A Library was the winner of the 2016 Gold Medal of Taiwan Literature Award, the highest honor of Taiwan’s literature. His latest book, Carrying Mountains with their Tumpline —the Story of Bunun Mountain Guides, Porters, and Forest Patrols, was a finalist of the 2020 Taiwan Literature Award. In order to preserve the Bunun language, Salizan Takisvilainan established Tastubuqul tu maduq i malas-Bunun tu papatasanan (A String of Millet Independent Tribal Language Studios) and started documenting words from tribal elders so the disappearing Bunun culture might be retrieved back little by little.
C.J. Anderson-Wu is a writer and translator from Taiwan, her writing focuses on political injustice. She is a board member of the Taiwan Indigenous PEN.