28 Apr [CALL FOR CHAPTERS] Seeking the Kokota’ay: An Ethnography of the Elusive Little Men of Taiwan
[CALL FOR CHAPTERS]
Seeking the Kokota’ay:
An Ethnography of the Elusive Little Men of Taiwan
The oral traditions of several of Taiwan’s indigenous groups include legends that tell of a population of short-statured humans that predate their ancestors’ arrival on the island, who taught the Austronesian-language speakers agriculture, and who subsequently disappeared. The best-known are perhaps the Kokota’ay of Saisiyat, who are commemorated even today in a biennial ritual called the paSta’ay. In the mythology, these Little People often lived in caves, and were mischievous and quick-tempered. Other tales speak of the Ngudul od the Paiwan; the Sazoso of the Bunun; the Ngutol of the Rukai, and the diminutive, red-haired Kavorua of the Tsou. Recent archaeological discoveries have reignited interest in this topic, on which very little research is available in English.
Aim of the Book:
The main objective of this book is to provide an indispensable reference source for further inquiry into the Little People myths in Taiwan, from a variety of perspectives and disciplines including ethnology, archaeology, and sociology. In Addition to being a natural starting point for students who seek to conduct inquiries in this field, this volume will likewise serve as a useful reference text for practicing researchers. Moreover, it will consolidate existing knowledge on this fascinating topic, that is currently spread out among different fields and in various languages. Topic areas to be covered include, but are not restricted to:
- Austronesian and pre-Austronesian Taiwan.
- The Story of the Kokota’ay (Alternatively, of the Ngudul/Sazoso/Ngutol/Kavorua/etc…).
- Representations of the Little People in Taiwan literature.
- When Myth becomes Reality: pre-Neolithic archaeological finds on Taiwan.
- Myths of mischievous dwarfs across the Pacific.
- A survey of ethnology related to the Little People.
The editors particularly welcome indigenous writers and scholars to submit proposals.
To propose a chapter:
To signal your intent to contribute a chapter, please email an abstract of approximately 500 words, including paper title and authors’ names by June 20, 2022 to the editor. Please send along a short biography describing each author’s titles, institutional affiliations, and research interests.
- Estimated word count (Chapters should be 6,000 to 8,000 words).
Please submit your chapter proposal by email to: dkaralekas@uclan.ac.uk
[徵稿啟事]
尋找 koko’ ta’ay（矮人）：
蹤跡飄渺的臺灣「小矮人」民族誌
臺灣數個原住民族群的口述傳統都各自有流傳在他們的祖先抵臺之前，島上已有一羣身材矮小的人類在此定居的傳說；小矮人傳授農業給這些南島語系的族群，隨後不知去向。最著名的應該就屬賽夏的 koko’ ta’ay，時至今日，族人仍兩年一度舉辦稱為 paSta’ay（矮靈祭）的儀式紀念他們。在神話中，這些「小矮人」經常是生活在洞穴裡，喜歡惡作劇，而且性情暴躁。其他的傳說講述了排灣的 Ngudul、布農的 Sazoso、魯凱的 Ngutol 和鄒族的紅髮矮人 Kavorua。最近的考古發現重新引起了人們對此一主題的興趣，而在這個領域以英語進行的研究卻非常稀少。
本書宗旨：
這本書的主旨在於提供一個不可或缺的參考資料來源，從民族學、考古學、社會學等不同角度，進一步探究臺灣的「小矮人」傳說。除了供試圖在這個領域進行調查的學生作為一個自然起點之外，本著作也將成為實作研究人員的實用參照文獻。此外，就這個令人神往的主題，本書也會蒐羅目前分佈在不同領域和各種語言的現有知識，將之集結成冊。涵蓋的主題領域包括但不限於：
- 南島和前南島的臺灣。
- Koko’ ta’ay 的故事（或者 Ngudul/Sazoso/Ngutol/Kavorua 等其他部族的故事）。
- 臺灣文學中「小矮人」的論述。
- 當神話成事實時：臺灣前新石器時代的考古發現。
- 太平洋各地區頑皮侏儒的神話。
- 「小矮人」的相關民族學調查。
編輯們特別歡迎原住民作家和學者踴躍投稿。
若要投稿章節：
為表明投稿意圖，請在 2022 年 6 月 20 日之前透過電子郵件寄給編輯約 500 字的摘要，包括論文標題與作者姓名。請隨附介紹每位作者的頭銜、所屬機構和研究領域的簡歷。
估計字數（章節應為 6,000 至 8,000 字）。
請將您的章節提案以電子郵件寄至：dkaralekas@uclan.ac.uk