Still deciding on a domain name
Brainstorming and sharing some ideas/findings
I haven't worked on this project in the last two weeks due to social engagements. Once I step outside of the obsession, the momentum disappears and I have to make time to get back into it, otherwise this will turn into another forgotten and unfinished endeavor.
Coming up with a domain name sooner rather than later will be beneficial for me, so I won't have to spend too much time updating existing links to the website. While "A work in progress" kind of fits, it's too general.
Han thought the name was, "I want to go home," but that was just some text I slapped on the home page temporarily, and while it seems poetic, it's not about me wanting to go home to Taiwan¹, but more about understanding my ancestry and uncovering forgotten stories.
Long before before the KMT, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the Dutch set foot on Taiwan's shores, the island was already inhabited by various indigenous groups.
While the population now is mostly Han Chinese, like any colonial project, the indigenous people were sinicized² or migrated to the highlands³ to preserve their culture.
My grandmother alluded that her ancestors were here during the time of Dutch colonization, which was between 1624–1662. Early Fujian settlers had arrived around this time, so she could have had Chinese ancestry. The Fujianese were overwhelmingly men, meaning they would have had to marry—or at least procreate—with indigenous women.⁴
Right now, this is all speculation. My uncle once showed me our family's ancestry booklet and only the men were recorded, so it would be impossible to track. However, most stories were passed down orally back then, so one must not discredit a hunch or gossip so quickly.
Tavoan
Han sent me two interesting articles pertaining to how Taiwan got it's name:
- 為什麼叫「台灣」？ (Why is it called Taiwan?) ↗
- 「臺灣」地名由來及全島指稱過程 (The Origin of the Name "Taiwan" and the Process of Referring to the Entire Island) ↗
Regardless of whether I am related to the early indigenous Taiwanese or not, I think it's important to acknowledge Taiwan's origins. If I'm going to dig up forgotten stories, perhaps this is one of them, too.
Here is the text from the second article, translated into English (using Google Translate):
One school of thought suggests it's related to the topography of the Taijiang Inner Sea, which is a large bay, hence the name "Dawan" (Big Bay). The Hoklo Holo pronunciation of "Dawan" is similar to the Hoklo Holo pronunciation of "Taiwan," suggesting that "Taiwan" evolved from "Dawan."
The other school of thought explains it from the Siraya language. Wan Yi-Chia, in his book A Preliminary Exploration of Siraya Vocabulary, infers from the Siraya word "Tavoan" (Tavo means meeting place, an means location) that "Taiwan" means "place of meeting."
Both views have merit. I personally lean towards the view that "Taiwan" is a transliteration from an indigenous language.
The name "Taiwan" evolved from the Siraya word "Tavoan" (meaning "meeting place"), which can be further analyzed. Topographically, this meeting place refers to the lagoon area of the Taijiang Inner Sea, a place where land and water meet, a confluence of land, sandbars, and rivers. It is reasonable to explain why the Siraya people living in this region referred to this terrain as "meeting place" in Siraya. This land-water confluence environment must have existed for a very long time, suggesting that the word "Tavoan" has also been used for a very long time.
The name "Taiwan" evolved from the Siraya word "Tavoan," which translates to "a place of meeting."
This name has been turning in my mind for nearly a month now. I'll always be an outsider looking in, searching for answers. Taiwan isn't my home but a place in which my American upbringing and culture meets my ancestry. "Meet me in Tavoan" sounds romantic and mysterious, but translated it would mean, "Meet me at the meeting place." Which is also funny, and I like that.
I hope to solidify the idea next week (will speak with Han about it in person! How cool), and then I can check this off the list.
1. Taiwan isn't my home. I didn't grow up there and I feel strongly connected to it because my paternal grandmother had a big influence on me. That's why I want to learn more about it.
2. "Sinicization is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture... and ethnic identity of the Han Chinese—the largest ethnic group of China." (Source)
3. "In the mid-19th century, the famous great ethnic migration in Taiwan’s history began. It was a voluntary mass movement of plains indigenous peoples in western Taiwan." (Source)
4. "Related to the narrative of aboriginal ancestry is the idea that the vast majority of Han migrants to Taiwan were men who married indigenous women." (Source)