"Kamalig" – Boathouse

In the daily life of the Yami tribe, the beach in front of the settlement is not only the usual place for children to play, but also the place where the village holds the Flying Fish Ceremony. It is also the home of the beautiful plank boats. Most of the Yami families on Pongso no Tau have built boathouses to shelter their boats, both big and small. 

The boathouse is the coastal home of the plank boat. When flying fish season starts, the Yami push the ornate boats from the boathouses to the beach. Here they play a central role in the various festivals held during the flying fish season, and they are used for catching flying fish at both daytime and nighttime. During the flying fish season, the boathouse is a place where the fishing group congregates, and the members of the fishing group warm themselves with a fire in the boathouse, waiting for the opportunity to row out and catch flying fish. 

In late autumn and early winter, when the northeastern monsoon winds begin to pound the island and conditions are not favorable for the plank boats to operate at sea, it is time for the boats to be placed in the boathouses. There are two types of boathouses: one is shared by fishing groups and is used to store large boats, while the other belongs to an individual household and is used to store the smaller one-, two-, or three-person boats (tatala).

The main practical purpose of building a boathouse is to extend the life of the boat, which represents a major repository of practical and symbolic value. A properly stored plank boat can be used for more than ten years. If left out in the weather, the sun, winds, and rains reduce the life of the boat to three to five years. Therefore, almost all who build a boat also build a boathouse to shelter the boat. 

The forests of Pongso no Tau are limited, so if you care for your boat and extend its lifespan, you can save trees needed to build your next boat. By cutting down fewer trees, there remain more trees for future generations. In Yami culture you do not ask, “How can we use our environment sustainably?” These concepts are already embedded in the actual practices of daily life and do not need to be deliberately designed or purposively programmed. 

Syamen Womzas lives in Yayo. At age 15, he left to study at Taitung Normal College. He returned at age 20 to serve as a teacher and principal of a school on Lanyu. He is dedicated to developing Yami Indigenous education. He is currently Yami representative in the Indigenous People Transitional Justice Commission under the R.O.C. Presidential Office. He advocates the rights and interests of the Yami, especially the removal of nuclear waste from Pongso no Tau, practicing social justice, and leaving a clean and beautiful island to future generations. Email: syamen.womzas@gmail.com