Syaman Rapongan, born in 1957, whose Chinese name is Nu-Lai Shih, is from the indigenous Tao tribe of Orchid Island of Taiwan. He graduated from the French department of Tamkang University, and then received his Master’s degree from Institute of Anthropology of National Tsing Hua University. He is both a literature writer and anthropologist who devotes his life to writing. He is currently a professional writer and a researcher with the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute. In 2013, he founded the Island Indigenous Science Studio whose major task is to promote Tao culture of Orchid Island.
Syaman Rapongan has up close and personal life experience in Tao culture to get to better understand the oceanic philosophy, and further create beautiful literary works based on what he has learned from that experience. His accomplishments as a writer have surpassed many of other Tao writers’ in terms of both quality and quantity. He has won many awards such as the Wu Zhuoliu Literature Award, China Times Prize for Literature, Wu Luqin's prose Award, and Golden Tripod Awards.
His works carefully depict life and characters in depth. His writing style is simple but full of vitality. Things involved in Tao people’s daily life such as the ocean and flying fish, and conflicts between the old and the new all serve as the core elements in his creation. He is one of the most well-known writers of ocean in Taiwan.
Kavavatanen no ta-u jimasik
1992
In this book, Syaman Rapongan documents the fantasies, urban legends and mysterious stories told by the elders on the island, and traces the origin of the culture of poetry and songs.
Cold Sea, Deep Passion
1997
This story is about a Tao father being wronged, exonerated, and reborn in the process of going back and forth between Orchid Island and Taiwan. Moreover, Syaman’s years of struggles for survival after coming back home are also described in this literature work.
Black Wings
1999
This is a story about the island and ocean. It describes the returns of elders from their voyages. Syaman’s first set out on a voyage, his life surrounded by tatara, chinurikuran, and his exploring of the vast ocean. It also talks about how he needs to strike a balance when the civilization he learns from his Han teacher clashes with the culture of his tribe.
Memories of the Waves
2002
As one of the Tao whose life depends on the ocean and Kuroshio current, Syaman Rapongan shows his true colors. From old people’s countless adventures on the ocean, children’s inexpressible longing for the ocean to the endless loving conversation between adults and the ocean, all of these stories are lively delineated in this book.
The Face of the Navigator
2007
After spending his youth wandering Taiwan, Syaman finally came back to little Orchid Island to live together with his people in the tribe. He sails on the chinurikuran offshore to catch fish, dives in the ocean to spearfish, and thinks facing the ocean to completely transform into a real Tao man.
Old Ocean People
2009
Syaman Rapongan is “the only indigenous writer of the ocean,” who writes in a warm and loving tone, and has a broad horizon. In this book, by combining his personal experience and the tradition of his tribe, he creates the oceanic literature belonging to the Tao people in Orchid Island in both the Tao and Han languages to draw parallels between the mysteriousness deep down in the ocean and in people’s hearts.
The Eyes of the Sky
2012
The main character is a man who has experienced all of life’s hardship. The story is about his life in the tribe on the island. It delineates how he gets along with his grandson, deals with the death of his daughter working in Taiwan, and struggles with big fish in the ocean. It is not only a description of “The old man and the sea” but also a vivid picture of people’s lives on Orchid Island.
Dream Ocean
2014
This novel expresses Syaman Rapongan’s thoughts over half a century about his exploring of his homeland and within himself. It also records his adventures in many archipelagos as far as the South Pacific, such as the Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, and the Philippines. It is a classic work of Taiwanese oceanic literature as well as the new milestone of indigenous literature and cultural aesthetics!
The Death of Ngalumirem
2014
Ngalumirem is from a family of navigators. He was born with the love for the ocean in his blood like all other Tao people. He possesses the wisdom that originated from old mythologies in his mind and soul. He is also an excellent diver.
Diving, novels, movies, trips of one man on the winter ocean.
Flowing Dream of the Ocean：Taiwan’s Ocean Literature Writer Syaman‧Rapongan
Syaman Rapongan is known as a writer of the ocean in Taiwan. Integrating the physical and digital resources, Linking Publishing and udn work together to promote his works to the world!
Instead of focusing on an author’s work like other e-books do, this application focuses on the author himself to design digital content that attracts readers with Syaman’s charisma, and includes a collection of his works. This application contains Syaman’s interviews, images and videos, audio reading in the mother tongue of Orchid Island, and the condensed version of his works in other foreign languages. In addition, Syaman’s Facebook page, Wikipedia article, and other social media for exchanging ideas are also enclosed in this application to bring together the author, his works and readers. As a result, more readers from home and abroad will be able to know more about the chemistry created by the integration of Taiwanese oceanic literature and digital publishing.
