我從2005年開始學習研究達悟傳統古謠及當下的音樂活動。達悟族的吟唱文化在過去是用來調節社會經濟關係與傳遞不同樣態的知識，例如永續經營環境的規範，記載個人經驗或是家族和團體歷史。也就是說，達悟古謠就像是我們所認知的「書籍」，是歷史與知識代代相傳的媒介。
今日，一般達悟年輕人已經不再熟悉自己的母語，再加上傳統吟唱傳統已經幾乎完全受到遺棄，這些驟變主要是由於50年代的台灣政府去本土化的政策導致。例如達悟傳統地下屋，也是原本用來傳遞知識，祭儀及文化的場域，大多都在1966到1978年間遭受拆除；另外，台灣政府編排下的學校義務教育取代了傳統在地知識傳遞，是造成新生代與長輩間嚴重價值觀差異的一部分原因，世代間傳統知識的傳遞，變得更加困難。
在這樣的背景下，我使用行動研究法，以學術研究為途徑，設計符合社群及永續的在地知識傳遞方法及空間，並以參與式行動研究(PAR)為方法架構執行「達悟學堂」以及「蛻變」兩個企劃案，盼共同與團隊成員及合作夥伴攜手達成這個目標。
I have conducted research about the traditional singing practices of the Tao since 2005. In the past, the traditional songs of the Tao were used to mediate social and economic relationships and to transmit different forms of cultural knowledge, e.g. how to sustain the living environment and how to pass on individual experiences and collective history within family groups or of the island. This means, traditional songs are like “books”, a medium for storing and transmitting knowledge from generation to generation.
Among the Tao, young people are most often not proficient in their native language. In addition, traditional singing practices have been almost totally abandoned. These dramatic changes are a result of discriminatory policies as applied by the Taiwanese government since the 1950s. For example, most of the houses used as the primary cultural transmission sites were demolished between 1966 and 1978. Furthermore, the compulsory state schools’ curriculum is not designed to replace the traditional transmission process, thus causing conflicting value perceptions between the young and middle-aged generations. This prevents the potential of successful transmission.
In this context I apply Activist Research in order to use research for creating suitable and sustainable forms and spaces for transmitting local knowledge. Through the two on-going projects The Tao Classroom and Transform based on the methodological framework Participatory Action Research (PAR), we will be able to achieve this goal together with the involved team members and project collaborators.
