Page 6 - 《原YOUNG—青少年雜誌期刊》110期

部落傳說
Protecting Villagers and Children from Blood-drinking

Demon

Sakizaya Legend of

Silvergrass

A long time ago, a blood-drinking demon appeared in

Sakizaya's Sakur village. The Sakizaya called it Alikakay. Alikakay
came and went like a shadow. It would appear wherever there was
a child and often teased women carrying children in their arms or

babies on their backs. Alikakay would walk up to a mother and say,
"What an adorable child you have. May I hold your baby?" At first,

many of them would agree without a second thought. Alikakay
would rock and kiss the child before returning the baby to her. By

the time the mother found her child suddenly dead, Alikakay would
have already disappeared, leaving the family devastated.

The same thing happened repeatedly, spreading fear through
the village. The elders decided to use silvergrass, with its sharp-

edged leaves, as a weapon. Silvergrass is of great significance to
many aboriginal peoples. At different stages of maturity, different

parts of silvergrass are collected and widely used for various
purposes, including construction, rituals, witchcraft, exorcism,

and farming. It is worth mentioning that silvergrass is a symbol of
stability, strength, and good fortune. The leaves of silvergrass are

about 50 to 120 centimeters long and 1.5 to 3 centimeters broad.
Their edges, with fine teeth that contain silicon, can cut skin.

The villagers tied silvergrass into bunches and placed them
around the village as weapons to keep Alikakay from entering and

04 | alalamuruana

ɨʹ
@௅ໝෂႭ JOEE
@௅ໝෂႭ JOEE ɨʹ