Draft:Bunun bow-shaped harp (Latuk)

The Bunun bow-shaped harp, also known as Latuk or Latuq, is a musical instrument belonging to the Bunun Indigenous tribe in Taiwan. Latuk is a historically and culturally significant instrument for the Bunun people, but in recent years, it has seen a decline in those able to play and construct it. Though at risk of disappearance, cultural preservation efforts are underway to ensure that it survives.

Creation and Materials

The Latuk is a type of musical bow, which uses the mouth as a resonator. The main body of the Latuk is bamboo, which is usually at least five years old. While a special type of bamboo called dalunas was previously used, nowadays, it is more common to use arrow bamboo or thorny bamboo. The string of the Latuk is traditionally made using ramie, taqnas, or kilis fibers, though now steel guitar strings are primarily used. Whether or not the Latuk has a bridge varies from tribe to tribe. Those that do, though, are made of beeswax and dried corn. The tuning ring is made of cotton thread.

To play the Latuk, the performer holds the instrument with their left hand, using the left thumb to modulate the string's vibration and prevent unwanted resonance. The right hand is used to pluck the string. The performer then uses their mouth as the resonating chamber to produce sound.

Cultural Significance

The Latuk likely evolved from bows and arrows used by Bunun hunters. According to some Bunun elders, these hunters often felt lonely and bored in the mountains, and thus used the materials they had on hand to create an instrument that could at once entertain them and also ease feelings of solitude. In the mountains by themselves, hunters perceived a sort of melody in the wind, and created the Latuk to mimic that sound. This highlights how the Latuk connects Bunun people to their environment, much like other aspects of Bunun musical culture like the pasibutbut, which is a special harmony sung by Bunun tribe members to imitate the surrounding sounds of nature. The Latuk is a solitary and personal instrument, producing a quiet sound and not typically being played at festivals or other occasions.

Preservation Efforts

While Bunun musical culture is more well known for vocal traditions like pasibutbut, its instrumental culture, including Latuk, is at risk of disappearance. Those with the knowledge to play and make Latuk have become increasingly rare. Younger generations show less interest in learning Latuk due to the influence of Western cultural styles and many Bunun’s adoption of Christianity. A debate has thus developed within Bunun communities over the future of Latuk. Some argue that it is important for outsiders who are interested in Latuk to learn it so that it might survive. On the other hand, some community members believe that Latuk is too difficult for outsiders, and that they should not learn it, even if it means risking its disappearance. A Bunun elder named Tama Biung said in an interview: ‘It might not be a bad idea to preserve it as a cultural property’. In another video, an woman, Pao-Hsi (寶惜阿嬤) is the only one of her 14 siblings who can play the latuk. She mentions that most young people are not interested in the Latuk, and wonders how this tradition can be passed on when there are few people who are willing to learn it. Some recent preservation efforts have attempted to revitalize the Latuk, particularly among younger generations. Some groups have attempted to help teach children about the Latuk in an effort to increase interest in learning it. These efforts remain crucial to the future of the Latuk.