| Summary: | 碩士 === 臺北醫學大學 === 醫學人文研究所 === 103 === A relative chasm exists in academia about indigenous knowledge, use and cultivation of plants in Taiwan at a time when it has emerged as an important site of research in Austronesian studies. Indigenous gardening practices and small-scale cultivation have been historically overlooked in academic and anthropological records, failing to acknowledge and take into account long-held indigenous traditions of living with the land. This study, based upon interviews with indigenous residents, experts and historical documents, argues to the contrary: these small family vegetable gardens have always existed, for survival and self-sufficiency. Even today, Wufong‘s gardens play a key role in providing fresh, nutritious and importantly, free produce, to the modern indigenous diet. Furthermore Wufong and its extremely diversified food system are excellent models to look at to understand the ethnobotany and its evolution, here and in Taiwan..
To explore indigenous use of plants ethnographic techniques are employed, using the anthropological approach of triangulation, a trifacta of methods in this case: participant observation, interviews/focus groups and consultations with experts. Three Gardens, one Saisiyat and two Atayal, were chosen as representative of indigenous vegetable gardens, and therefore merit particular focus in this study. Over 40 field visits were conducted over the 2012-2014 period in Wufong Township (五峰), Hsinchu County, interviewing in Mandarin more than 60 indigenous residents and experts. The aims of this research were threefold: to identify as many plants as possible in this area; interview residents about their usage, cultivation, preparation; and finally, determine the species‘ introduction to the area. With the help of Professor Hu Jer-ming, from NTU‘s Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the plants‘ true source of origin and introduction to the area were revealed in the resulting Compendium, which lists 129 species that are eaten, grown, sold, cultivated or gifted in this area. Wufong‘s example shows how the Aboriginal vegetable garden has evolved, especially in the past century as many species -- ‗outside‘, ‗foreign‘ and ‗nontraditional‘ were adopted, incorporated into the local diet. By pinpointing the plants‘ origins, this study illustrates the impact on local diversity of several waves of plant introductions that have occurred throughout history.
Limitations of this study were that the Compendium may not be entirely exhaustive, encyclopedic. There was sometimes difficulty in confirming data that was available, as well as challenges in overcoming identity, language, cultural and recollection issues related to this topic. For instance there were gaps in informants‘ recollection, several indications of waning plant knowledge for functional and medical purposes in favor of plants based on individual preference. There are several recommended areas for further research: genetic testing of plants; determining nutritional value of certain ‗leaf vegetables‘ important to the local diet; and finding the true origins of some of the more ‗mysterious‘ species in this research; examining the health impact of adopting certain harmful elements of the Modern diet, particularly salt, sugar, saturated fats, commercial alcohol and cigarettes; improving access to emergency, mental health care and palliative care to this community. Finally, public officials are urged to invest in local tourism as one strategy to alleviate certain social and health issues affecting this and Taiwan‘s other indigenous communities. These are some improvements that could be made to bridge the 10-year gap in life expectancy between indigenous communities and the rest of Taiwan‘s population.
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