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臺灣原住民族中與動物相關的傳說——熊與豹的故事
在古老的時期，泰雅族裡有著這麼一個傳說：
昔時熊與豹全身都長白毛，熊和豹於途中偶遇，熊便提議彼此為對方的毛皮染色。豹聽了欣然同意。接著，熊又表示希望豹先替他著色，但豹卻要求先為其染色，並且答應完成之後，將會幫熊染得更漂亮。於是，熊就拿起墨汁，為豹染上耀眼的黑色斑點，豹看了非常開心的說：「熊呀！現在請你跪下，由我來替你染色。」待熊跪下，豹拿起墨汁，由熊的背部開始染起，並將其全身塗黑，僅咽喉部分未染，然後一溜煙跑掉了。熊覺得很納悶，端視己身，才知自己為一身烏黑，憤怒的往豹離開的方向飛奔過去。從此至今，據說熊一見到豹就想報復。
而在布農族部落裡，也同樣有著這麼一個傳說：
從前有一隻熊與一隻豹在路上相遇，雙方談起何不彼此替對方染色。於是，熊就先替豹畫上美麗的圖案，輪到豹替熊染色時，豹要求熊先閉上眼睛，熊不疑有他便閉上雙眼，還打起盹來，豹即趁機將熊的身體全部塗黑。當熊清醒過來，卻發現自己全身一片漆黑，於是憤怒的朝豹撲了過去。豹驚恐的道歉說：「請原諒今天我的行為，以後抓到鹿時，一定親自送來給你。」熊答應之後，彼此再度和睦相處。現今我們看到熊的胸前有片月形的白毛，這正是當時熊醒來時，未被豹塗黑的部分。
台灣黑熊胸前的月形白毛(來源:台灣黑熊保育協會)
這兩則傳說分別來自於不同的原住民族，但卻有著高度的相似性。在故事中，豹都是先被上色的那一個，而熊則都是被豹塗得全身漆黑，只留下胸前一塊半月形的毛皮尚未被塗黑。在故事的最後，兩則故事的熊都因為不滿豹對自己做出的行為，而對豹抱持著憤怒的心情。唯一不同的差別是，在泰雅族故事裡的熊與豹並沒有和好，但在布農族故事裡的熊與豹卻再度和睦相處。
為甚麼會有這則故事？又為甚麼兩個不同的原住民族會有這麼相像的傳說呢？
在史前時代，島上生活的居民們對於周遭的環境、生物總是充滿好奇心。而因此，為了解答許多他們心中的疑問，傳說以及故事便就此被編織出來。
台灣雲豹
筆者猜想，在過去，人們可能曾經見到熊與豹為了爭奪地盤或是資源而大打出手，而豹與熊身上又都有著黑色的元素，才創造出了這個傳說。但問題來了，臺灣除了早期原住民傳說中提到的雲豹以外（而雲豹的存在也未曾被證實過），並沒有任何有關豹類生物的紀錄，那麼這兩則故事中的「豹」到底是指誰呢？
雖然雲豹的存在尚且未被證實，但若這兩則故事中提到的「豹」並不是雲豹的話，那麼這個問題也大概就無解了吧。
我們姑且相信雲豹是存在的，且在史前時代的族群數量仍然龐大到能夠被原住民們以口述的方式記錄下來。畢竟，要是雲豹的數量非常稀少的話，那麼看到雲豹的人也會跟著變少，是否真的有「豹」在當時也早就會是個問題了。
那麼，為什麼泰雅族跟布農族兩個不同的原住民族會有長的很像的傳說呢？
這個問題的答案或許比較有科學根據。我們都知道，臺灣原住民族（不管是平埔族或是高山族）的祖先都屬於南島語族，並且都屬於同一個南島語系（Austronesian Languages）。這使得臺灣原住民族的語言具有共通性，或甚至在早期的時候，不同族的族人能互相理解對方的語言。因此，當某一族的族人創造出了神話或傳說後，其他族的族人也可以透過與創造神話的族人們交流來得知這個神話。 而不一樣的是 ，其他族的族人可能會因為語言上的差異而誤解了故事的內容，或是因為本身生活環境、型態的差異而改變了故事的內容。
但每一族間的語言共通程度，以及神話在地域上的傳播程度，真的能讓相似的神話出現在不同的族群間嗎？目前神話學上的解釋偏向以該族群的「思維模式」以及神話中所出現的「基本元素」來探討。就我國原住民族中〈熊與豹的故事〉來看，其中都有出現的基本元素便是「熊」、「豹」。而「思維模式」指的則是在當時的環境、時空背景下，生活於該地的人們會對事物有著什麼樣的看法。故在台灣這座島嶼上的原住民們，可能因為有著共同的思維模式與對於熊和豹的觀察而創造出了這些大同小異的故事與神話。這或許也就是為甚麼泰雅族跟布農族雖為不同的原住民族，但卻有著那麼相像傳說的原因。
透過這兩則故事，我們得以一窺臺灣早期原住民的語言差異以及型態，或是一窺可愛的臺灣黑熊以及臺灣雲豹在故事中的有趣互動。雖然這兩則故事充其量也只是故事，但其實它們背後隱含的意義可不單單只是黑熊與雲豹相互為對方上色而已。有了故事的流傳，我們更可以知道原住民祖先們在面對外界環境以及其他生物時所作出的解讀。神話、傳說以及故事，也因此是我們了解原住民族早期生活最主要的方式之一。
[Live] FurCats
Overrun with cats, we do a short roundup then get side tracked a lot.
Link Roundup:- Annual furry convention in Mesa mixes art, animal costumes and Zumba
- CBSN Documentary about Non-monogamy & Polyamory
- Migrating Russian eagles run up huge data roaming charges
- Awesome protogen feature
- Furpoclypse moves venues as Halloween convention’s hotel became ghastly
- Ferdinan Mythical Meteorologist Unicorn Calgary
- US Stops Using Floppy Disks to Control Nuclear Weapons
- Blue Bioluminescent Insects
- Plants Panic when it Rains
- Despite Their Spooky Reputation, Vampire Bats Keep Life-Long Friends
- Suspicious package turns out to be suspicious package reporting device
Infurnity 2019 : Atlantis
Con video for the Taiwan based Infurnity 2019 [1]! I just love seeing furry conventions spread across the globe. We gotta make the word fuzzy. [1] https://infurnity.com/en/
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Kids and Beasts Got Each Other’s Backs
Happy Halloween! Be safe, and watch the sugar. Recently we came across Beastlands, a new independent fantasy comic book series written by Curtis Clow and illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong. “Beastlands is an action adventure story set in a beautiful medieval fantasy world, where some people have companion beasts known as ‘Keepers’. In Beastlands you’ll go on an adventure with a group of 3 teenage friends, Mac, Ava and Ping. They’re on a journey to find out what Mac’s father, an explorer, was trying to discover before he disappeared. On this quest their friendships will be put to the test all while a tyrannical King looks to outlaw Keepers from the land.” The comic got quite a lot of chatter going when its Kickstarter campaign topped its original goal in just a matter of days. Check out the interview and preview video over at Comic Burst.
image c. 2019 To Infinity Studios
Happy Halloween
Crow
Here is a thesis film by Sonja von Marensdorff of the School of Visual Arts [1]/ as for the ecology of this world ... I have all the questions. [1] http://www.sva.edu/
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On hiatus with a house move
Furry news, reviews, interviews and more will be back after a while. The site has been active since 2014 with 1115 articles published. It will be nice to get going again with cool plans in the works, and more than 100 possible story projects kept on file. Check back later and thanks for reading. – Patch
C’mon
Dammit! Chatah Spots makes me want to run out and get a fursuit and a cinema camera. (But that road leads to madness and VERY empty wallet ...) "Do Everything, Regret Nothing C'mon by Panic! At The Disco, Fun."
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TigerTails Radio Season 12 Episode 07
Best of Fur What It’s Worth – S8 EPISODE 2 – MOM! MOM! MOMMY! MOMMY! MUM! MUM! MAMA! MAMA! - Roo and Tugs have this week off. Instead, we present a re-airing of our fabulous episode with the Moms of Furries! - NOW LISTEN! - See the show notes right here!
NOW LISTEN!
See the show notes right here! Best of Fur What It’s Worth – S8 EPISODE 2 – MOM! MOM! MOMMY! MOMMY! MUM! MUM! MAMA! MAMA! - Roo and Tugs have this week off. Instead, we present a re-airing of our fabulous episode with the Moms of Furries! - NOW LISTEN! - See the show notes right here!
[Live] Gay Bull In The Stable
The audience votes for our trashy pumpkin carvings, plus lots of news.
Link Roundup:- Pumpkin Contest
- Pumpkin Contest Results
- Celebration as Northern Ireland wakes to legalisation of same-sex marriage
- Telegram SEC hearing delayed a year
- The problem with the endangered species list
- Durham’s famous 5 foot 8 bridge will be raised
- ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 6 Part 1 Review: The Final Season Kicks Off with Consequences and Contemplation
- Elon Musk sends first tweet through Starlink system
- Japan Approves Scientist’s Plan to Create World’s First Humanimals
- Most Expensive Camera Unboxing Ever | $400 000 Chronos Ring
- Furpock Hotel Tweets
- An Anonymous Company Will Pay $128,000 For The Rights To Your Face
- Cows are Painted to Look Like Zebras
- Incredible Invisible Shielding
- Would you use this see-through toilet?
- Iowa Family Blood Soaked Basement
Temper, Temper!
And now thanks to Animation Scoop we find out about Dino Girl Gauko, a new collection of anime shorts by director Akira Shigino (Osomatsu-kun). “In this Netflix original comedy series set in Japan, Naoko Watanabe is a typical 14 year old, except that she possesses a strange gift and curse. When her anger exceeds a maximum level she turns into Gauko the fire breathing dinosaur girl!” Look for it to premier on Netflix this November the 22nd.
image c. 2019 Netflix
Hothouse 10 – All the Rage
This short if from the National Film Board of Canada's Hothouse 10 [1] where they challenge filmmakers to use found sounds as the basis of their shorts and make something in 3 months subverting the sound's meaning in some way. This short reminds of an old Emo Philips joke: "I think fur looks better on an animal than on a human being. So I dress my dog in a mink teddy." "A mink walks into a fur store. Fantastic Mr. Fox meets The Shining in this stop-motion cautionary tale of what happens when we don’t think enough about what we buy." [1] https://www.nfb.ca/film/inside_hothouse_10/
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Mickey Go Local – Rainforest Hunt
Disney Southeast Asia [1] has a new Mickey Mouse web series that draws heavy inspiration from Paul Rudish [2]'s rather brilliant series [3]. While not at the same level of budget they do seem to manage well with what they have and the character designs are rather cool. Quite cute. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Channel_(Southeast_Asian_TV_channel) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rudish [3] https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_(TV_series)
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The Shadybug
Another cute animated commercial for the Netherlands based ASN bank [1] where they highlight the idea of not taking money from dictators. I gotta say this would be an interesting sequel to bugs life ... just saying. [1] https://www.asnbank.nl/home.html
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Rukus movie review
This unusual movie got 5 support articles before I was ready for a personal review. It’s hard to nail down, so the work got really labored over, but it deserves the effort. – Patch
Rukus was an artist from Florida who committed suicide in 2008 at age 23. He was a mercurial muse to his friends. Linear storytelling about him could make a sad movie, but Rukus comes from many directions. It overlaps documentary of him, with his boyfriend reflecting on their relationship, and his friendship with film maker Brett Hanover. His enigmatic presence weaves through Hanover’s personal life, which goes from trouble with OCD to finding completion in relationships and art. The life of Rukus becomes points on a trajectory of escape from pain.
The directing style frames lo-fi video with dramatized memories, daydreams and fiction from Rukus. They’re re-enacted by younger and older stand-ins for him, and voiced with animation. It’s one of those arty movies that doesn’t easily boil down to one commercial line, but it’s directed with purpose. When the pieces don’t fit together neatly, the negative space holds a chewy assortment of themes.
There’s repressed abuse, disconnection, and love outside of hetero norms. It touches on conflict with anti-gay religion in the Southern US, but it’s more involved with a setting in furry fandom. Furries have a loveably eccentric subculture of fans for talking-animal media that appears in fantasy art by Rukus, internet role-play, a hotel convention, and a stage play. Those feed the human connections in the movie. You also get to see a costumer called a “whore bear” and a moment of tender toes-in-nose contact that turns into crosswired love.
The movie is outstanding for merging fiction and documentary while drawing from a subculture rarely seen in any feature film. It premiered at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, where furries came for group fursuiting (with full body costumes that make unique “fursonas”). That’s sort of like how Comic Con cosplayers emulate Hollywood superheroes, but those don’t keep their powers when the movie ends.
Rukus casts animal shadows behind misfits who play muses for each other, and delivers bittersweet satisfaction. You can see it now on rukusmovie.com.
Just watched Rukus on Vimeo – an intersection of the furry world and the indie film circuit I never expected to witness. But I loved it! https://t.co/rKOvjsLJGv
— Apollo (@Apollo_Wolfdog) October 17, 2019
Lots to process tonight. I still miss him.
— Vulp-o-Matic 3000
(@triadfox) October 19, 2019
More reading between the lines — Figurative bridges and liminal places
There’s 6 bridges crossing the San Francisco Bay. The Golden Gate is in the most movies. Outside my window, the Richmond-San Rafael bridge is glittering with traffic. In 1964, a troubled woman stopped her car in the lane there, got out, and leapt to her death. A journey cut short like that changes those left behind.
She was the wife of sociologist Erving Goffman. He focused on microsociology (personal relations between individuals) and symbolic interactionism. That’s about the theater of everyday life, and how people manage impressions they give to others. It can involve not feeling at home in your own skin, hiding insecurity or depression behind smiles, or role-play that helps make bridges to other people.
Goffman avoided publicizing his life, but the loss led him to write crypto-biographical work. He studied insane asylum inmates for a paper about stigma, mental illness, and institutionalization called The Insanity of Place:
Although the author does not make direct references to himself, he appears to be drawing on his own painful experience… It is hard to avoid the impression that we are dealing with a “message in a bottle” intimating how the author coped with a personal tragedy at a crucial junction in his life.
Brett Hanover described Rukus as happening in liminal space between people: social media and virtual worlds, punk houses in the south, and furry fandom hotel conventions. They’re temporary sanctums of liberation. Contrast with what Goffman called a total institution (a place cut off from the wider community, where people lead an enclosed, formally administered life.)
Rukus brings sanity to displacement felt by it’s subjects. Hanover gives his own biographical view that puts heart in the transitions from view to view. In one scene, the boyfriend of Rukus tells how he was found dead. It segues to a child stand-in telling his fantasy story to Hanover, which pulls out to show the movie crew. It lightens what came before, and loops back to where the movie started. Friends and animal shapes become ushers for Rukus to cross a bridge, and the hole he left is filled with elegaic spirit.
A critical look at the spirit of the movie might ask if it has to do with the zeitgeist. Maybe a little, when current news and politics has so much struggle about border walls and who belongs in places.
The insanity of place came up on Nextdoor, the neighborhood based social media platform. For the bridge outside my window, a pedestrian-bike lane was attacked as a waste, like everyone would be happy with just cars. The theme was “stay in your lane.” That drama fuels Best of Nextdoor, a misanthropic comedy channel with 8 times more followers than the company’s (and an ironic PR thorn in their side). When neighbors are jerks on social media, sometimes all you can do is laugh.
That ties to one of the year’s most talked about movies, Joker, with a sad clown who’s isolated and powerless in a degrading city. There’s a key scene with subway traffic where he violently fights bullies to gain his power, leading to media sensationalizing. The movie’s budget and PR force it to power over public notice, unlike Rukus with it’s intimate use of role-play.
The media ties to one more ingredient about the furries in Rukus. They’re shy about exposure from a history of tabloids exploiting them as freaks. It’s a small movie that dignifies with politics of caring, instead of forcing a message. We need more personal media like this about people crossing bridges together and finding their place.
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Werewolf The Apocalypse: Earthblood
Finally a video game version of White Wolf Publishing tabletop RPG: Werewolf the Apocalypse [1]! I have all the questions about this but at least it looks more like the original version of the game where the pack is fighting against the forces of the Wyrm [2] and corporate environmental disaster. "With his former pack in danger, Cahal returns to find Endron, the energy arm of Pentex [3], installing an extraction site and destroying the forest around his Caern." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse [2] https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Wyrm [3] https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Pentex
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