In Taiwan, finding solace — and identity — in traditional healing

Tribal community members encircle Kulas Umo, a prominent sikawasay, or spiritual healer, in ritual dance and song as he spits rice wine to cleanse the ceremony and commune with ancestral spirits in the village of Fata’an in Taiwan's Hualien County. — Kulas Umo lights a cigarette against the fire, takes a short drag, then places it on the low wooden altar inside a hut in the forest. He repeats this routine six more times with six more cigarettes.

In 2016, Tsai issued the government’s first official apology to Indigenous Taiwanese, and she has since worked to address gaps in health care for Indigenous Taiwanese living in rural areas, providing transportation and local health services. According to Kulas, there are only 100 sikawasay left. And while 60 percent of them are over 60 years old, Kulas remains optimistic: Approximately 30 percent of sikawasay are under 40, and the number is increasing.

Chang, the Indigenous health expert, noted the ripple effects of this local movement. “It is not just about sikawasay practices being revitalized,” she said.

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