Paper Short Abstract:

Taiwan is surrounded by the ocean, but interestingly we have few marine anthropologists. However, we do have various connections with the sea. This paper attempts to explore the possibilities when we move on from the land towards the sea, and show what we can learn from there.

Paper Abstract:

Taiwan is an island country in East Asia. The area is 36,197 sq km, and the coastline is 1566.3 km. The east coast of the island is by the west Pacific Ocean.

Artisans of Kavalan people, one of the sixteen indigenous peoples of Taiwan, let the natural-dyeing cloth drift in the sea to obtain pretty colour. Pangcah and Kavalan peoples have rituals related to the sea. Dolphin and whale watching is very popular in eastern Taiwan, the coast by the Pacific Ocean, and photographers capture the images of these marine creatures.

Also, younger generation set up a company to advocate sustainable fishery and eating fish properly for a better future of the ocean. Meanwhile, offshore wind turbines are built as green energy. But there is always tension between offshore wind turbines and fishery (and the ecosystem of the coast).

This paper will examine the relationship between people and sea. I will work with people who have deep relations with the sea, and examine what they feel and learn in the sea. And what makes them so much tie up with the sea? I will also work with people who are so far away from the sea, and try to find out what keeps them away.

It is expected that the anthropological observation and experience of Taiwan can be thought-provoking to the international societies.