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3.9 Smangus cooperative and ecotourism
After the discovery of the grove of ancient trees (Yaya Qparung) in 1991 tourists began arriving in the village of Smangus by walking across the valley from Xinguang.
The first accommodation for visitors was built in 1992. At that time Smangus residents would do agricultural work from Monday to Friday and then assist visitors during the weekend (Tnunan, 2009: 4).
After the road was completed in 1995 more tourists began to arrive in the village. By 1999 the changes in the village had led to unequal distribution of resources and conflict. In the latter half of 1999 there was a series of meetings to discuss how to work together. This led to the establishment of a communally operated kitchen in the summer of 2000 involving women from nine families (ibid.: 5).
The first stage of the cooperative was established in 2001 with 16 members from eight families collectively managing the restaurant, shop and accommodation. By 2003 most families had entered the cooperative. Only two families didn't join despite ongoing discussions. This was because these families had moved out in 1985-86 to Hukou and Xinfeng for work and only started moving back in 1998 when tourism had already developed (ibid.: 5-6).
The cooperative known as Tnunan Smangus was officially established on 1 January 2004. At this time it had 48 members who collected a salary. In the same year a community covenant and the regulations of Tnunan were established (ibid.: 6).
Tnunan is an Atayal word which means the interweaving of threads to make a pattern which emphasises the spirit of sharing and coordination (ibid.: 10; Cheng, 2007: 17).
The organisational structure of Tnunan Smangus has three committees with combined responsibilities for all matters in the community. They are the Smangus Community Development Association, Tnunan Smangus, and the Smangus Church. There are nine departments that operate under Tnunan Smangus with each taking responsibility for management of specific matters. These are Education and Culture, Ecological
Protection, Agriculture and Land, Human Resources, Accounting and Finance, Health and Welfare, Research and Development, Accommodation and Restaurant and the last one is Engineering (Tnunan, 2009: 9).
All members who work in the cooperative receive an equal monthly salary. In addition
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to the salary they and their families are entitled to other benefits. These cover five areas: education, medical care, care for elderly, wedding celebrations and housing construction. The education benefits pay for school fees and for those studying outside the village an allowance to cover living expenses (ibid.).
The cooperative has developed based on a mix of external and internal influences (Tsai, 2005b: 30-32). It is based on the Atayal spirit of egalitarianism or sharing. It represents a reinterpretation of tradition to adapt to new circumstances in the modern world. Members of Smangus have also learnt from other communities. In August and September 2003 the Presbyterian Church supported a study tour by members of Smangus to a kibbutz5 in Israel. There has also been exchange with the Tsou
community of Danayigu in Chiayi County with visits in 2000 and 2002 to learn from their experience in developing ecotourism (Lahuy Icyeh, interview). Friends of the Presbyterian Church and university student clubs contributed ideas to the development of the cooperative (Tsai, 2005b: 30). The close family relations between members of Smangus, that they were all members of the Presbyterian Church and belief in the gaga were also important factors in the establishment of the cooperative (ibid.: 27).
In addition to the factors mentioned by Tsai there are several other important factors which have influenced Smangus's development. These factors are being located at the end of the road, being a homogeneous community with shared values and retaining most of the people of working age in the village rather than having them leave to earn money outside. Ecotourism is now the most important part of Smangus's economy generating about 70 to 80 percent of Tnunan's income (Lahuy Icyeh, interview).
Smangus is a vibrant community. It has become economically independent with the community having a strong sense of self reliance and self-confidence.
On the two afternoons I was present in the village in August 2009 I participated in and observed the activities for visitors. There was a similar program for visitors on both days. It began with the chief of the village conducting a simple welcoming ceremony for the visitors. The ceremony involved tying grass, giving everybody a small bit of
5 Kibbutz is a Hebrew word meaning “gathering” used to describe collective communities in Israel that were traditionally based on agriculture. They originally began as utopian communities based on socialism and Zionism. In recent decades many kibbutzim have undergone changes and adopted some forms of private ownership and expanded their economic activities into areas other than agriculture.
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salt to eat and sprinkling water on everyone. The purpose of the ceremony was clearly explained. It represented that people should be safe as they travel to and from the village and are welcomed into the village.
Following the ceremony there was an introduction to Smangus and the recently completed community classroom. Then there was a DIY activity for visitors to make and engrave bamboo cups. The significance of bamboo was explained as part of the activity. Its cultural importance and multiple uses were emphasised as well as explaining the life cycle and harvesting. The multiple uses of bamboo are food, clothing (indirectly in weaving apparatus and fibre processing), shelter and tools.
After a demonstration visitors cut sections of bamboo to make a cup. They then used electric engraving tools to carve the outside of the cup. They were encouraged to use traditional totem designs in the engraving which represent the mountains or the eyes of the ancestors. This takes elements of traditional culture and adapts them into a modern “DIY” activity for tourists.
There were presentations in the evening for visitors. On both nights the short film Once Upon a Time was shown. The film is about Atayal migration and includes some people from Smangus as actors. Following this presentations gave some information about Smangus as well as Atayal culture and language. There was an introduction to Atayal language with some simple phrases taught and then a simple Atayal song was taught. This was followed by PowerPoint presentations which detailed the history, development and daily life in Smangus. This is an attempt by Smangus to educate visitors and allow them to better understand the goals of the Smangus community and the context in which tourists visit.
The other major activity for visitors in the village was to hike to the grove of ancient trees. The distance to the grove is about six kilometres. As it is at a similar altitude to the village there is not much climbing necessary to reach the trees. The track is muddy in a few parts but generally easy to walk along. It took about two hours to reach the trees. With time spent looking at the trees the out and back hike took a total of about five hours.
Atayal culture is presented to tourists in a way that is educational and informative.
There are no staged singing or dancing performances as is the case in many other
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indigenous villages in the Taiwan. Instead the people of Smangus show visitors how they live in the present, rather than creating an idealised construction of indigenous culture especially for tourists to observe. Activities such as the village tour, evening presentation and bamboo cup making seek to impart to visitors an appreciation of how Smangus operates as a community as well as an introduction to Atayal culture and language.
What attracts tourists to Smangus and the experiences they seek needs to be examined in the broader context of indigenous cultural tourism in Taiwan. Domestic tourism in Taiwan has undergone significant growth development since the introduction of the five day working week in 1998. This has led to tourism becoming an important part of the economy of many indigenous communities.
Chang, Wall and Chu (2006) discuss the motivations of tourists visiting indigenous cultural villages in central and southern Taiwan. Novelty seeking was part of tourists motivation for visiting these sites. Although authenticity of culture was important, natural scenery and a well managed environment were more important to tourists.
Chang (2006) discusses tourism and indigenous cultural festivals via a study of a Rukai festival in southern Taiwan. Tourists visiting this festival were heterogeneous.
Some were seeking authentic indigenous culture, while others were escape seeking with experiencing the festival only part of a broader enjoyment of the natural scenery and other things.
Smangus has developed ecotourism as the foundation of their community's economic independence. Tourists are attracted to Smangus by its beautiful scenery and
remoteness. In addition they seek the experience of hiking to the grove of ancient trees and also learning about a unique indigenous community and its culture. Smangus seeks to maintain those attractions by drawing on its Atayal heritage as well as
adopting new ideas that are in harmony with Atayal culture. Smangus has found a way to both sustainability maintain its community and act as custodians of their traditional territory.
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