Maolin's Three Black Treasures
When traveling in Maolin
in the winter, there are
three dark things you
can pay special attention
to: black rice, the traditional
Rukai stone-slab housing,
and purple crow butterflies.
Every
year from December
to March of the following
year, purple crow
butterflies in northern
and central Taiwan
migrate south to places
such as the valleys
of Maolin in Kaohsiung.
Chen
Cheng, Butterfly Expert:
The best time to watch
butterflies is from
8am when the sun is
up until noon. When
the weather is nice,
they��ll come out of
the valleys to drink
water and get some
sun.
There
are only two mass
butterfly movements
in the world - one
in Mexico and the
other here. And as
these butterflies
bathe in the sun and
sip on fresh nectar,
they��re also practically
posing for photos.
The trick is to stay
in one place and just
wait for them to spread
their wings. They
take their time, so
you can take yours
too.
This
is Duona, a Rukai
village, where tribespeople
seem to be busy tying
together black millet
at the moment.
Only
we have black millet
rice. They��re black
on the outside and
white on the inside.
When a man falls in
love with a woman,
his mother will make
these millet bouquets
for him to bring to
her house. It��s a
show of affection.
Speaking
of the Rukai, their
traditional home is
made of mostly slate.
Ma-le, a local artist,
built this house.
He says most of the
time is spent gathering
the material and that
sometimes it takes
one to two years,
but putting it all
together only takes
three months at most
with the help of other
villagers.
Ma-le,
Artist:
These are designed
to keep invaders at
bay, and to keep temperature
levels from fluctuating.
The low roof forces
visitors to bow when
entering the house,
so as they��re coming
in, they��re paying
respect to the host
at the same time.
Purple
crow butterflies,
black millet and slate
houses make up the
three ��black treasures��
of Maolin. But while
you��re here, don��t
forget about the landscape
in the background,
for they��re part of
the attraction, and
the reason why directors
and photographers
like shoot and film
here.
