Tapangu sits in Alishan's mid-elevation mountains, where life has long followed the rhythms of the forest. For the Tsou, ceremony is not merely a matter of belief; it forms the core of social organization and food culture alike. The most representative of these rites is Mayasvi, the War Ceremony—an annual event that unites the village through ritual and affirms the people's enduring commitment to their ancestral spirits and the land.

In Tapangu, agriculture serves more than subsistence; it is closely bound to ceremonial practice. Millet was once the village's most important staple and ritual crop. The traditional Millet Harvest Festival, Homeyaya, once lasted nearly a month and stood as the village's most significant annual rite. Large-scale cultivation has since faded, but the village preserves the seed stock and continues to hold sowing and harvest ceremonies each year, sustaining both ancestral beliefs and the memory of farming itself.

In its food culture, Tapangu reveals a deep reliance on the wisdom of the forest. Yang Chih-kang, chairman of the Tapangu Kuba Culture Association, points to “a veo veo yu”—the Hunter's Wrap—as the most representative dish of this mountain flavor. The dish traces back to a simple leaf-wrapped food hunters once carried into the mountains. Village elders later refined it, adding millet, taro, sweet potato, pork, and salted fish, all wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. Today it stands as the village table's signature dish, a fusion of tradition and creativity.

Young Tribe Members Return Home to Grow Coffee

The village also preserves a wide range of forest ingredients. Fo'na, the hyacinth bean known as the "bean of life," is often stewed with pork. Wild myoga ginger, abundant in July, along with log-cultivated shiitake and the sharp, distinctive flavors of maqaw and prickly ash, round out Tapangu's signature seasonal palate. These ingredients come not only from the land but reflect the villagers' close attention to seasonal and ecological rhythms.

In recent years, coffee has become a key pillar of the village's economic transformation. Alishan's high elevation and wide swings between day and night temperatures slow the growth of the coffee cherries, concentrating their flavor and giving rise to Alishan Coffee, a name now recognized in the market. Young people returning to the village have introduced estate-style management, taking control of growing, processing, and roasting entirely within the community. Coffee has become more than a cash crop—it now serves as a force that sustains culture and draws young people back home.

☛ 　Alishan’s Tapangu has been selected as one of the Ministry of Culture's inaugural 100 Culture Bases.