3. Cinsbu-Xinguang Case Study
3.1. Cinsbu-Xinguang Background
3. Cinsbu-Xinguang Case Study
3.1. Cinsbu-Xinguang Background
Cinsbu and Xinguang19 are two Atayal communities that belong to the same Mknazi lineage.
Although originally these are two separate communities, they were put into the same administrative division since the Japanese begin to control their area. The two communities belong to the Mknazi lineage (Hsiao, 2008). They are very close geographically, and since families are not confined to one area only (the father might live in Xinguang but the daughter live with her husband and children in Cinsbu), they are clustered together in this research. In Atayal language, Cinsbu (鎮西堡) means 'the place where the first rays of the sun shine and land of fertile soil'.
Nowadays, Cinsbu-Xinguang has around 90 families, with about 500 people are registered in Cinsbu-Xinguang. Of these 400, about 200 live out of the communities. Around 240 adults live in Cinsbu-Xinguang.
The economic development in Cinsbu-Xinguang can be traced back to the end of the 1940s.
Starting then, there has been a gradual change from a subsistence economy to a cash economy.
This began after the Kuomintang (KMT) government fled from mainland China to Taiwan because of the Chinese Civil War on the mainland. The economic changes began slowly as cash crops were introduced. In the 1950s, the villagers collected wild mushrooms in the forests, and also grew beans and ramie. They bartered these for things that they needed such as clothing, weapons, farm implements and salt. Later on, during the 1970s, the villagers began to grow crops with higher monetary value. They also cultivated and sold mushrooms. Together, these crops brought more money into the area, which became a large-scale agricultural area. In the late 1970s and into the 80s, some of the indigenous people realized that certain fruits were fetching high prices on the markets because of their scarcity. They began growing them, only to find that within ten years or so the prices dropped because the fruit was imported at lower prices after a time. This happened firstly with apples in the 70s, then pears in the 80s, then to peaches in the 90s. After that, the
19 Xinguang (新光) is the Chinese name of this community. The Atayal name is Qalang Smangus. Qalang means a community (部落). This community is originally from Cinsbu, but due to increase of population, some people moved out and found “Smangus”. The more famous Smangus community, of the Mrqwang lineage (which is the other case study in this research) is referred as Smangus Krahu in Atayal, which literally means the large Smangus. Since there are two “Smangus”, the Chinese name - Xinguang - is used to refer to the smaller Smangus, of Mknazi lineage.
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profitable crop seemed to be temperate climate vegetables. These have been grown, along with peaches, profitably so far until the present time (Hsiao, 2008).
Since the 70’s, international trade caused internal markets to become unstable which undermined the entire agricultural sector across Taiwan. In response, the government began, in the early 1990s, to promote tourism. They focused on “leisure agriculture” which aims to provide tourists with relaxing activities combined with the local agriculture, such as visiting a bamboo plantation and learning about the uses of bamboo. The government provided funding for local communities to develop these sorts of projects, specifically those where natural and cultural resources could be promoted for tourism and bring in revenue. This trend had already begun in the mid-1990s, and influenced the development of tourism in Cinsbu-Smangus (Hsiao, 2008).
More radical economic change began in 1998, when mainstream media began reporting about the the cypress forest near Cinsbu-Xinguang, which brought a great deal of media attention, with the result being that visitors began pouring into the village to see the forest. This led to the establishment of businesses to support the tourist industry, such as lodges, restaurants, and guided hikes to the forest. Individual households set up Bed and Breakfasts. Within five 5 years, there were already thirteen B&Bs in Cinsbu-Xinguang, providing among them accommodation for over seven hundred guests. (Hsiao, 2008).
Nowadays, Cinsbu-Xinguang has strong developed knowledge about and emphasis on Atayal traditions and customary law (gaga). This can be seen in some of the education programs they have developed and their unique take on Christianity's melding with ancestral beliefs and practices.
Because of their church's Minister's deep knowledge of their own Atayal culture, they preach a take on Christianity that finds no conflicts with their traditional beliefs. The community also has a considerable number of families growing organic produce including cabbage, lettuce, garlic sprouts, chives and more. These organic products are also catered to visitors.
In Cinsbu-Xinguang, both interviews were conducted and questionnaires handed out. The questionnaires focused on a number of topics: aspects of CBT, the perceived benefit distribution of tourism, participation in tourism, CPR management participation, CPR management satisfaction. The interviews served to gain more understanding of processes and social and institutional structures that cannot be measured by questionnaires alone. Four people were interviewed.
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A total of 75 questionnaires were delivered to the residents of Cinsbu-Xinguang. 45 questionnaires were filled and returned, from which 38 were used in the analysis, as the remaining questionnaire were missing answers. Table 2 shows the characteristics of Cinsbu-Xinguang respondents. 42%
live in Cinsbu while 58% live in Xinguang. 46% were males, and 54% females. 75% of the respondents are in the age range of 18-47. Regarding the education level, 5% has a graduate degree or above, 28% hold an undergraduate degree, 47% finished high school, 9% hold middle school education, and 9% with elementary school education. 69% of Cinsbu-Xinguang villagers are educated with Atayal traditional knowledge. Although respondents were asked about their income, only a few answered, and of these answers it is hinted to the author that the answer is not accurate, as the respondents do not wish to share this information. For this reason, details of the level of income are not displayed. 81% of the respondents belong to the Presbyterian Church, 16% belong to the Catholic Church, with one correspondent (2%) belong to another denomination.
Table 2: General demographics of Cinsbu-Xinguang respondents
General demographics of Cinsbu-Xinguang respondents
Demographics No. Res. %
Traditional Atayal Knowledge No 13 31%
Yes 21 50%
Teacher of traditional knowledge 8 19%
Religious Affiliation Catholic Church 7 16%
Presbyterian Church 35 81%
Other Church 1 2%