Finding New Ways in Old Places

用新的方式探索故鄉

By Martin Fogle (Asan Surot)

From Germany and Taiwan

Lived in Taiwan 15 Years

Torik Ocean Surf

Finding Home in Torik a Niyaro’

(The village of Torik)

Isometimes wonder if it was by mistake or design that I ended up back in the land of my ancestors? The seeds were planted early on when growing up abroad but coming home to Taitung for extended periods of time unexpectedly left a long-lasting impression. Part of my family is indigenous Taiwanese Amis, and as a youngster I always thought our native tongue was spoken throughout the island! Even when I was back in Germany, I would speak that native tongue to other Asians, until I figured out that nobody knew what I was saying …. It wasn’t until the later years of elementary school that I finally realized from an accumulation of differences that our culture really had nothing to do with the Mandarin Chinese which was being taught at the school I attended.

After high school graduation in 2008, I immediately left for Taiwan to attend university. Looking back it was all just an excuse to hang out in this part of the world and be closer to my roots. I still vividly recall those days as a child coming home to visit, when I would observe our elders go spearfishing and we would swim and mess around close to the shore - sand got everywhere! I was mesmerized when my uncles nonchalantly came back to shore with all kinds of exotic ocean creatures. As I returned to the village of my ancestors I finally found the closest thing I could call to home - the only place where one’s identity is bound by family. To someone who had never felt a real footing anywhere, this connection had a profound impact, and my time here has been blessed with the freedom to explore all kinds of passions and interests.

A New Generation of Oceangoers: Torik Ocean Surf

So here I am today, many years later, fully established, roaming my ancestral homeland and (somewhat) like my ancestors living in accordance to the seasons! Our Torik Ocean Surf operation started early in 2015 as a loose gathering of a few local young guys learning to surf, which coincided with neighboring elementary schools becoming more environmentally aware, and wanting to include more cultural and outdoor activities in their curriculum. As the East Coast is being pried open for tourism and expansion, we feel it ever more important to value and share our Amis culture with people that come by. We also feel strongly about raising awareness and bringing attention to our natural resources, which seem up for exploitation at the slightest hint of monetary opportunity. People from elsewhere come to Taitung to enjoy the bounty of her nature and have fun, but it is also important for them to understand the impact humans can have on their environment, and the ways our Amis culture tries to limit this. All of our tours and lessons include aspects of Amis culture and teach the original local place names.

A few generations ago Pacefongan was a beach filled with small fishing rafts, with every family owning several and trying to get closest to the rip current. The name Pacefongan means the place where one gets in the water and was given due to the consistent rip current which pulls our fishing boats and divers out to deeper waters. Today the beach is lined with a new kind of craft: looking something like a traditional fishing raft from afar, the simple SUP surf is a versatile board which has opened up a world of possibilities and the ability to catch all kinds of waves away from the crowds ….

At Torik Ocean Surf we offer in-depth surf lessons to allow all-comers to safely enjoy the ocean from our Pacefongan beach break. We offer various SUP tours to different places. Personally, my favorite is the sunrise SUP tour along our traditional fishing territory where we can share our knowledge of the ocean to the willing ear. In the earlier part of the year, guests will most likely encounter our tribesmen on the water laying out or bringing fishing nets back in - it is always great to see the catch (or no catch) of the day. Being far out also gives one a unique vantage point to see the enchanting shoreline from a distance. The village coastline stretches for roughly a kilometer and a half, and there are plenty of things to learn and appreciate from this intertidal zone.

SUP surfing is a more niche branch of surfing with many intricacies which we pass on to our guests to help them improve more quickly, and to prevent injury. To me SUP surfing is a lot like life – small steps forward are humbled by new challenges. Every step down in board size forces you to relearn from ground zero. Personally, I like to use the smallest performance SUP to surf when there are waves. Due to new construction technology, SUP boards are so light and nimble now that they surf much like smaller surfboards but with more volume. When it’s really flat it is time to take the big SUP out and go spearfishing or explore new places to dive.

“Where is the Fish?”

Passing on the lessons of our ancestors whilst sharing the joys of where we live with outsiders is the best way we know to protect our culture and environment (and people’s safety), but it must still seem strange to our elders. With most people here having a background in harvesting or fishing from the ocean, in the early days, it was a shared experience among us to come home from surfing to hear elders asking “Icowa’ay ko Futing (Where is the Fish?)?” or “Icowa’ay ko Cekiw (Where is the Shellfish)?”. Many elders couldn’t comprehend being out on the ocean all day and coming home with no seafood and it does make sense actually! Teaching others water skills and about our culture is one of the ways we survive here and as such is as good as catching fish, possibly even better as the sea creatures live to see another day!