YouTube series: Songs of Our Ancestors

A miniseries about music in indigenous Taiwanese communities. Over the past week, I stumbled across a miniseries on TaiwanPlus Arts and Culture's YouTube channel. The series is called "Songs of Our Ancestors," and follows Taiwanese-American entertainer Stephen Rong on his quest to learn more about his Atayal roots. TaiwanPlus also enlisted award-winning Amis musician Chalaw Basiwali as his mentor. In each episode, the two visit indigenous communities across Taiwan, singing traditional folk songs and as well as creating original music with other indigenous performers. We learn the differences and similarities between each indigenous community. For example, the Atayal practice canon singing, whereas the Bunun are known for their polyphonic chorus. In addition to music, the communities share their philosophies and way of life with the hosts. Each episode is about 20 minutes long. Rong narrates in English but speaks Mandarin Chinese with the locals. 𓂜 I've visited Taiwan several times in…