Page 6 - 《原YOUNG—青少年雜誌期刊》102期

部落傳說
Descending to Flood-hit Lanyu Island

A heavenly Being Turns

into a Mouse to Save the

Yami (Tao)

The Yami(Tao) people used to live alone in the coastal areas

of Lanyu Island. The women grew taro and sweet potatoes, and
the men fished and shrimped in the sea. With abundant food

resources, they lived a happy life with nothing to worry about until,
one day, a big flood almost wiped them out.

On the day when the flood broke out, the sea suddenly
receded and left many fish and shrimps stranded on the reefs or

gravel beaches and exposed to the sun. At that time, a woman
came to the beach to fetch sea water for cooking, but had not seen

a drop of water after a long way. She became nervous until she saw
a heap of gray-white things on the beach. As soon as she removed

them, sea water came out. She was happily taking sea water when,
unexpectedly, the sea began to rise rapidly.

She desperately ran back to the tribe. The people in the tribes
saw the sea level rise beyond the high tide line, and tried to drive

away the rising sea water with spears in vain. They soon began to
run to the heights in different directions, during which many people

were washed away by the tide. Nine years later, the flooded island
remained largely under water except three highlands: Wangnan
Peak, Fanglan Peak, and Hongtou Peak. Among the only seven

survivors, two took shelter on Wangnan Peak and five on Hongtou

Peak. They gathered and ate up almost everything, even the weeds
and leaves, but the waters still did not move away.
One day, the pair on Wangnan Peak saw a mouse moving

04 | yu'fafoinana

ɨʹ
@௅ໝෂႭ JOEE
@௅ໝෂႭ JOEE ɨʹ