In conversation with Si Rapongan

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

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Si Rapongan, a Tao cultural documentarian, as we dive into the rich oceanic heritage of Lanyu (Orchid Island) and the legendary literary world of his father, the award-winning contemporary Indigenous writer Syaman Rapongan.

Through the intimate lens of a son inheriting his father’s legacy, this discussion will explore the profound relationship between the Tao people and the sea. The conversation will centre on their shared journey of building a traditional plank boat—a deep cultural bond that culminated in the stunning literary documentary I Dream of the Ocean (2025).

By delving into Syaman Rapongan’s celebrated autobiographical and ecological works, including Eyes of the Ocean and Eyes of the Sky, the event will examine how these narratives dismantle land-bound mindsets to reconstruct a world centred on maritime philosophy.

About Si Rapongan

Si Rapongan is from the Tao (Yami) community of Lanyu (Orchid Island), Taiwan. Son of the award-winning author Syaman Rapongan, he has long worked alongside his father in documenting Tao culture through field research and visual media.

In 2022, he and his father completed a traditional two-person plank boat, fulfilling a shared dream of building the vessel together and participating in the flying fish harvest. With the support of Fisfisa Media, they also completed the literary documentary I Dream of the Ocean.

In 2025, he collaborated with his father and their boat-building team to create a traditional plank boat for cultural exchange between the National Taiwan Museum and the National Science Museum of the Czech Republic, marking an important milestone in Taiwan–Czech cultural relations.

Through this event, he hopes to share, from his own perspective, his father’s literary work and life experiences, and to introduce Australian audiences to Taiwan, Lanyu, and the rich oceanic culture of the Tao people.

About Syaman Rapongan

Syaman Rapongan, born in 1957 on Lanyu (Orchid Island), is a Tao writer and anthropologist. He holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from National Tsing Hua University and a degree in French Literature from Tamkang University.

His work integrates Tao linguistic structures with Chinese literary forms, challenging dominant cultural narratives while expanding the scope of Taiwan’s oceanic literature. After returning to Lanyu in the late 1980s, he re-engaged with traditional ways of life, rebuilding his cultural identity and transforming Tao maritime philosophy and lived experience into literary expression.​

His writing is known for its lyrical, introspective style, exploring the relationship between humanity and the ocean, as well as the tensions between tradition and modernity. His works have received numerous major literary awards, including the Wu San-lien Literary Award, Taiwan Literature Award, Golden Tripod Award, Global Chinese Literary Nebula Award (Contribution Award), and the National Award for Arts. Widely translated, he is regarded as one of the most important Indigenous writers in contemporary Taiwan.