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This thesis tries to describe how “situhu” has worked, and give it a close analysis. Situhu is a healing ritual/technique performed by Bunun people in Haiduan Township, Taitung County, Taiwan. We have 9 reporters, all situhu performers themselves. Data used in this study had been collected via participant observation and semi-structured interview. The performance of situhu ritual/technique has been altered after modern medical resources became widely accessible. Christianity, into which many Bunun people were converted, also has an effect on it. As a result, each situhu performer has her own way inheriting the traditional ritual/technique, giving rise to diverse understandings of situhu. The performers also redefined “dahba”, illness in traditional sense, according to their respective understandings. The way the body techniques applied in situhu performances are different among these performers as well. As a conclusion, this study tries to reconstruct some memories centering situhu by reviving life experiences of these performers, including experiences from both inheriting situhu ritual/technique and performing situhu themselves. These memorial narratives show reminiscences of their tribes, families, and selves. |