笆札筏的大洪水 The Great Deluge: Oral History from Pacavalj

2025，單頻道彩色影片18分57秒，展出與委託製作於 如果我們的語言是……
Video 18" 57', artwork commissioned by "Sounds of Babe"

1935 年小川尚義、淺井惠倫以萬國發音記號、日語標注的合著《原語による高砂族傳說集（原語實錄臺灣高砂族傳說集）》，其中一篇採集自 Pacavalj（現台東大武鄉大鳥村）的傳說；講述一對兄妹在遭遇大洪水滅村之後努力存活下來並以亂倫婚姻來延續後代，從近親生產出殘缺的子孫，慢慢到幾世代後漸漸形成一個正常人類的聚落，也是部落的起源。這個敘事採集我的故鄉，後代在2011年為此故事製作繪本，並重新以自己的排灣族語講述這個故事。對於上述諸多語言翻轉的狀態感到有趣，我特地拜訪一群研究南島語的朋友為我解讀《原語による高砂族傳說集》，也近一步探究他們如何將被判定為死語的西拉雅語，如何透過參考《諸羅縣志》（1717）或對照《新港語馬太福音》（1888）去解碼及復活發音系統。

In 1935, OGAWA Naoyoshi and ASAI Erin published ‘A Collection of Formosan Aboriginal Folktales in the Original Language’, employing the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) alongside Japanese annotations. One tale recorded from the Pacavalj tribe (present-day Daniao, Dawu Township, Taitung County). It recounts how a brother and sister survived after their village was destroyed by a great flood. They sustained their lineage through an incestuous union, producing deformed offspring from this close kinship. Over several generations, these descendants gradually evolved into a community of normal humans, marking the tribe's origin. This narrative was collected in my homeland. Later generations produced a picture book based on this story in 2011, retelling it in their own Paiwan language.

Intrigued by these linguistic transformations, I sought out scholars specialising in Austronesian languages to decipher ‘A Collection of Formosan Aboriginal Folktales in the Original Language.’ This led me to explore how they decoded and revived the pronunciation system of Siraya—a language deemed extinct—by referencing the ‘Zhuluo County Annals (1717)’ and cross-referencing with "The Gospel of St. Matthew in Formosan, Sinkang Dialect) (1888) to decode and revive its phonetic system.

與2024年同名刺繡作品展出於 如果我們的語言是……
The work bearing the same name as 2024 is exhibited at  "Sounds of Babe".

展場圖片／C-LAB提供，攝影／片子國際呂國瑋 One Work Goway LU
Image use requires proper source attribution:
Exhibition photos / Courtesy of C-LAB. Photography / One Work Goway LU