The Indigenous Students Resource Centre and the Indigenous Youth Society at Taiwan Tech are presenting Inabayan: Stories and Roots, a series of exhibitions and performances celebrating the Puyuma people, running through 24 September. Over more than six months of cultural learning and field visits, Indigenous students from different academic disciplines and ethnic groups at Taiwan Tech travelled to the Nanwang Puyuma community in Taitung to learn from and exchange experiences with community members. Combining a dining-table concept, cultural artefacts, visual displays, thematic lectures and traditional music and dance performances, the programme highlights the rich cultural heritage of the Puyuma people and offers a distinctive perspective on how young people reconnect with their traditions.
Indigenous students opened the exhibition with a performance at the opening reception.
The exhibition centres on the dining table, bringing together members of different generations from the Nanwang community and Taiwan Tech students to share food and life stories. It explores how cultural identity is continually negotiated between the community and the city, as well as between leaving home and returning to one's roots. Inabayan means “hello” in the Nanwang variety of the Puyuma language. This daily, friendly greeting also represents the starting point for building connections between people. The character 敘 (stories) evokes conversations and reminiscences shared around a table after a long separation, while 源 (roots) represents the cultural origins to which young people continually return as they develop their sense of identity.
Taiwan Tech Vice President Charles Chaur-Jeng Wang and the university's Vice President noted that the Nanwang Puyuma community in Taitung has nurtured many cultural talents and outstanding athletes.
Taiwan Tech Vice President Charles Chaur-Jeng Wang and the university's Vice President noted that the Nanwang Puyuma community in Taitung has nurtured many cultural talents and outstanding athletes. Several Golden Melody Award winners come from the Puyuma community, while the Nanwang Elementary School baseball team was featured on Taiwan's NT$500 banknote, making it a familiar symbol of Nanwang to many people. From music to baseball, Indigenous culture is closely connected to everyday life. They expressed the hope that students would develop confidence in their cultural heritage through their journeys of rediscovery, recognising that although times change, their connection to the land and the continuation of cultural traditions remain steadfast.
Indigenous students guided visitors through the static exhibition during the opening reception.
Wei-Ming Lu, a Puyuma student in Taiwan Tech's Department of Electrical Engineering, shared that this was his first time returning to his ancestral community. He noted that members of the Indigenous Youth Society are young people who have moved north to Taipei or grown up away from their communities. After experiencing different cultures, each person develops a desire to rediscover their roots. Although everyone finds their own way home, the longing to reconnect with one's heritage remains the same.
The static exhibition is on display on the first floor of Taiwan Tech's International Building through 24 September.
The programme features a range of activities, including an opening reception at 10:30 a.m. on 14 September and a thematic lecture titled “Puyuma, My Homeland: Exploring Memories Across Time and Space”. The lecture features Dr Chih-Hsing Lin, former director of the National Museum of Prehistory, who will share valuable cultural memories and insights into the Puyuma people and the Nanwang community. Visitors can also participate in a flower-garland-making workshop to experience the traditional symbolism of blessings, alongside the static exhibition.
For the performing arts programme, Taiwan Tech's Indigenous students will present traditional Puyuma music and dance on the evening of 24 September, showcasing the spirit and vitality of their cultural traditions. In addition, the campus's promenade will host the year-long exhibition “A Place to Stay”, embedding Indigenous cultural imagery into the university environment.
Through images, artefacts and sounds, visitors will be invited to explore the cultural memories of the Puyuma people and discover the life stories woven through the youth gathering house, the “palakuwan” (traditional Puyuma men's house), and the spaces of the community. The exhibition offers an opportunity to appreciate the continuing vitality of Puyuma culture in contemporary society.
Group photo at the opening reception.
Event Information
Event title: Inabayan: Stories and Roots - 2026 Taiwan Tech Indigenous Youth Society 8th Annual Showcase Series
Exhibition dates: 14–24 September 2026
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