Janet Blair Mongomery McGovern was an anthropologist and explorer who visited Formosa from 1916-1918 during the first phase of the Japanese colonial period. While ostensibly working as an English teacher, she spent her free time travelling the countryside to meet and learn about the indigenous peoples of Formosa. Using the information in her book, which has the same title as this episode, we will learn all we can about the Taiwanese indigenous and compare it to Dutch records from the 17th Century.
(left) pictured besides a Taiyal woman. (right) pictured crouched by a Taiyal man.
Link 1 and Link 2 to newspaper articles on the skull discovered in 2022 believed to have belonged to a pygmy.
Videos about the Jew’s Harp (mouth harp)
French performance
Brazil performance
American performance
Description on how to play the instrument
A short history lesson on the mouth harp
Taiwan Through Time 