Title

Historical Reconstruction in Badai’s Sorceress Diguwan and White Deer

Author

Liou Liang-ya

Genre

Article

Pages

171-202

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202303_53(1).0005

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Badai 巴代, Taiwanese indigenous literature, Pinuyumayan, historical reconstruction, ethnicity and gender, performance and translation

Abstract

As revisiting Taiwanese indigenous peoples’ histories has become a cross-ethnic concern in twenty-first century Taiwanese literature, Pinuyumayan writer Badai’s 巴代 corpus of historical novels set in the Dutch, Qing, and Japanese periods has received great critical acclaim. This article deals with historical reconstruction in two of Badai’s historical novels, Sorceress Diguwan and White Deer, set in his hometown of Damalagaw 大巴六九部落. This article examines how historical reconstruction in the two novels reverses the dichotomy between civilization and barbarity; restores Pinuyumayan historical memories and cultural values; and unveils Pinuyumayan ethnic and gender relations as well as decolonizing or anti-colonial strategies so as to reclaim Pinuyumayan history. At the same time, this paper explores how historical reconstruction in these two novels fits in with the goals of the third stage of the Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples’ Identity Movement and enacts transcultural, cross- ethnic, and trans-generational cultural performance and translation.