Taipei Mayor Stumbles Through Indigenous Greeting Song in Council Quiz

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an made it through five Indigenous greetings before getting stuck on the sixth during a lighthearted quiz at the city council.

The quiz came from Amis councilor Lee Fang-ru, who said culture must be encountered gradually if it is to continue. Relaxed learning, she argued, can make the process more effective. Her office prepared an upbeat, catchy song containing greetings from 16 Indigenous groups and played it twice for the mayor.

Lee first asked Chiang whether he could recite all 16 greetings at once. He responded with “Nga’ay ho,” an Amis greeting meaning hello, and “Lokah su,” an Atayal greeting. Lee then invited him to follow the song, telling him not to worry and that he could simply read or sing along.

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Culture must be encountered in order to continue, and learning in a relaxed state is more effective.

Chiang recited the first five greetings, including Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun and Puyuma, relatively smoothly. He began to stumble at the Tsou greeting, “'aveoveoyu,” then tried to catch up with the music and silently continued through the remaining phrases. The song also included greetings from the Tao, Thao, Sakizaya, Truku, Kavalan, Seediq, Hla’alua, Kanakanavu, Rukai and Saisiyat peoples.

Lee said the learning effect would be even better if the sequence included dancing. The exchange turned a formal city-government questioning session into a public lesson in Indigenous languages.

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This is a bit difficult!