Songs of Siraya

I.Kou-pi Church

On the Christmas Eve of 2003, under the blue sky and the warm sunshine, a joyful and sweet concert was held at the grassy playground in the back of the Kou-pi Elementary School in Sin-hua. This is where the Siraya Culture Association, the center of the Siraya tribe’s religious belief, was set up ---the Kou-pi Church.

1.The Establishment of the Church

Kou-pi is located in the south of the Hu Tou Pi, one of the twelve Tourist Attractions in Taiwan. Hsin-he Zhuang and Kou-pi are called “Zhi Mu Yi,” which can be translated as the Bamboo Forest Village according to Siraya, or the Grand Bamboo Forest (translated by Sen-fu Yang). “Zhi Mu Yi” is a small village in the northeast part of Zhi Yi, Sin-hua.

In 1953, because of the long distance to the Sin-hua Church in the downtown area, a church was built in Kou-pi. Wan-de Mu, the elder of the tribe, offered a thatched cottage functioning as the church. In the September of the same year, the Kou-pi Branch was formally established, promoted to be an Independent Church in 1958, and it started to have a Sunday school in 1962.

2. The connection between the Church and the Association

In 1993, also the fortieth anniversary of the church, it announced its goal for the 20 century to be localized, grass-rooted, practical and providing services. After fully discussing, the church has decided to build a preaching center in the newly purchased land to make its dream come true.

The association was launched by Cheng-hsiung Wan, the elder of the tribe, who received full support from the clergy in the hope of preaching its creed from another angle. Aiming at local tribe residents, the church used its regular meeting to promote the local colors as its ideal. Over the years, they have made efforts to rehearse the local dance and music, some of which were intact and some of which were recomposed.

Everyone practiced together not only to enhance the popularity of the church but to maintain the Siraya Pepo culture, and the gospel-preaching mission of Christianity. Also, they went to different churches and were successful in delivering sermons and raising money through their shows. It can be seen that the association is supported by the church. Only with the church’s work can the association function well. However, the association and the church are both independent organizations but they cannot be separated.