News

    The former Dehua Elementary School in the Yuchih Township has officially been renamed as Ita Thau Elementary School on August 1st. On the 26th, with the blessing of pestle-pounding music played by the Thao Misshishi priestess and with the tribal people as witnesses, the unveiling ceremony was solemnly held. Hence, the Nantou County’s second tribal culture elementary school was established and a new chapter of Thao culture inheritance has also begun.

    In the morning of the 26th, a renaming and unveiling ceremony solemnly took place at the Dehua Elementary School, which sits by the Sun Moon Lake and has 58 years of history already since its establishment. County Government Secretary General Hung Rui-zhi, Councilor Shih Qing-long, Quan Wen-cai, Xiao Zhi-quan, Yuchih Township Mayor Liu qi-fan, Director General of the Department of Education Lu Zheng-wei, Director General of the Indigenous Peoples Bureau Shi qiang, and nearly a hundred tribal people and honorable guests all attended the event. Principal Zuang Yong-zhi invited Secretary General Hong and the honorable guests in attendance to jointly proceed with the unveiling ceremony. They also took a group photo with all the teachers and students, and witnessed this celebratory and historical moment. The event exuded an exceedingly lively atmosphere. The unveiling ceremony integrated Thao traditional culture by inviting a Thao national treasure priestess to give blessings and play pestle-pounding music, and students from the Ita Thau Elementary School were also brought in to perform the Thao people’s traditional hunting and weaving dances – these were meant to symbolize inheriting the past and opening up new chapters in the hope of passing down Thao culture from one generation to another.

    The Department of Education pointed out that, ita in the Thao language means “we” (first person plural inclusive pronoun), while thau, on the other hand, means “people” – hence, the Chinese words 伊達邵, which directly translate from the pronunciation of ita thau. The Sun Moon Village is currently the largest indigenous settlement for the Thao tribe. Naming the local elementary school as Ita Thau Elementary School has further accentuated the village people’s and the government’s respect for the local indigenous people.