Hualien County gears up to celebrate Joint Indigenous Harvest Festival

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Hualien County''s Joint Indigenous Harvest Festival is fast approaching. The annual extravaganza of indigenous culture will unfold from Aug. 21 to 23. Indigenous leaders and performers were in Taipei on Monday to drum up excitement for the event. This year, Hualien has invited friends from Chiayi County to mark the harvest together, as indigenous peoples from overseas are unable to join in person.

The circle dance is the highlight of the annual Harvest Festival. This was a first look at this year’s performance. Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei was also on hand to promote the upcoming festivities.

Hsu Chen-wei
Hualien County commissioner
Taiwan is the birthplace of the Austronesian language family. So Hualien has the biggest indigenous population Taiwan. We have 207 villages. We are a completely local, rooted, living museum in Hualien.

Hsu received a memento from one of the indigenous warriors. It was a busy visit to Taipei for the indigenous leaders, she said, making the normally ferocious warriors seem a bit more mellow than usual.

Hsu Chen-wei
Hualien County commissioner
In the village, they’re formidable heroes, and really very intimidating. But today as guests in Taipei they’re a little more restrained.

The festival represents indigenous celebrations of the harvest. Indigenous tribes have many different traditions for the season, pounding rice being one of the more famous. Hsu lined up with tribal chiefs and other VIPs for a bash to kick the event off.

The Joint Indigenous Harvest Festival is one of Taiwan’s most iconic music and dance events. The Amis, Bunun, Taroko and other tribes will show off their cultural gems. This year’s theme is “Fangealay Today,” which means “today is beautiful” in the Amis language.

Hsu Chen-wei
Hualien County commissioner
Last year we had our Maori friends, and the year before that, our friends from Hawaii. This year, because of the pandemic, we’ve invited the Tsou people from Alishan in Chiayi to join with us, and celebrate our joint harvest festival.

The festival venue will also feature a market with 110 stalls run by indigenous people. It’s a great place to spend your Triple Stimulus Vouchers, officials said.