In Conversation with Dr. Paelabang Danapan

Join us for a special seminar on Taiwanese Indigenous literature and culture.

Dr. Paelabang will explore the significance of Indigenous languages in preserving stories, traditions, and identities, followed by a panel discussion with Professor Jakelin Troy from the University of Sydney. The event offers a rare opportunity to engage with leading voices in Indigenous cultural research and storytelling.

About Dr. Paelabang Danapan

Born in 1953 and a member of the Puyuma Tribe, Dr. Paelabang Danapan holds a master’s degree in Sinology from KU Leuven in Belgium. He has taught at several universities, including Soochow University and National Taiwan University, and served as Director of both the Institute of Ethnic Development and the Department of Indigenous Languages and Communication at National Dong Hwa University. In 2009, he was appointed Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples and later served as a Senior Adviser to the President of Taiwan.

In 1993, Dr. Paelabang founded Mountain Sea Culture Magazine, the first publication in Taiwan dedicated to Indigenous literature and culture. In 1995, the magazine launched the Mountain Sea Literature Awards—the first literary prize in Taiwan specifically for Indigenous writers. The awards featured seven categories across three major areas:

• Literary Creation: Fiction, Prose, Poetry

• Traditional Literature: Biographical Literature, Tribal History

• Mother Tongue Writing: Prose, Poetry

Publications by Dr. Paelabang include:

• Longing for the Spirit

• Mountain and Sea World: Depictions of the Spiritual World of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples

• Constructing Ethnic Identity in a Narrow Space: Language, Culture, and Politics of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples

• Notes from Da Lu Wan

• Uncle Ayi

• BaLiwakes: Timeless Tribal Melodies – The Musical Soul of the Puyuma Tribe’s Lu Senbao

Dr. Paelabang is also the chief editor of two major bilingual series: 

• Myths and Legends of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples (10 volumes)

• Anthology of Chinese Literature by Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples (7 volumes)

In addition, in collaboration with Japanese scholars Shigeru Tsuchida and Sakujirō Shimomura, he co-published the Japanese translation series Anthology of Works by Taiwan’s Indigenous Writers (9 volumes).