When we traveled
to central Taiwan for three days, we were lucky enough
to have Langui Maloaslasan along. She’s a member of the
Bunun tribe, a group of Taiwanese aborigines
(people who are descended from the first inhabitants of
a place).
Langui studies
traditional Taiwanese music. While we traveled the long
and windy roads of central Taiwan, Langui taught us a
traditional song of the Puyuma tribe. (The Puyuma are
another group of Taiwanese aborigines.) The words in the
song basically mean “We’re happy to be together, so we’re
singing this song.” Langui said that this song is usually
sung to welcome friends from far away.
The
song is fun to sing, and Langui was kind enough to sing
this verse to share with you. Here are the words, in case
you’d like to sing along. Have fun!
Song
of Puyuma ho a i ye yan i ye yan
ho a i yan ho i yan
ho a i ye yan i ye yan
ho a i yan ho i yan
hi yo yan
hai yo yan
naru hay yan
ho i yan naru hay yan
ho i yan naru hay yan
ho i yo-ho i yan
hi yo in naru hay yan
hi yo in naru hay yan
ho i yan naru hay yan-n
ho i yan o ha i yan
