Zhou Guan-Yu, an NTNU Physical Education and Sports Science student from the TjuaBar Maqacuvucuvun (TBM) youth song group and a member of the Taitung Tjuabar community, is deeply committed to cultural preservation.
TBM was founded in 2017 to build identity and reconnect with the land. Now, youth like Zhou and TBM leader Giyu kaljuvung take charge—bridging generations through song and ceremony.
In 2024, Zhou won 2nd place nationwide in the Indigenous Language Singing Contest and collaborated with fellow Paiwan dancer Chen Chia-You at the 2025 NTNU Sports Show—melding song and dance into cultural pride.
Descended from a chieftain family, Chou carries on the legacy. Her grandmother, Chief lja ladan ljaelep, emphasized the heavy responsibility of cultural inheritance and the importance of strict preservation within the family. She expressed pride in Zhou’s dedication to actively continuing Paiwan traditions through language, song, and cultural engagement.
“Singing traditional songs is a path toward the ancestral spirits, and learning to sing our own songs is the starting point of cultural inheritance.” Says Chief lja ladan ljaelep. “As a chieftain family, we must do more than others, learn the complete culture, and at the same time strictly require our descendants to inherit the culture. I am deeply moved to see Guan-Yu practicing and passing on Paiwan culture in action.”
Also, Zhou’s grandfather, lja ladan buka dedicates much effort not only on 17 years of teaching and promoting the language at schools, but also heavily on protecting the millet, the sacred crop which is cultivated and celebrated during harvest festivals with spiritual rituals. One variety of red quinoa, once sent into space as part of a national research program, is now grown in the village school, symbolizing a powerful fusion of indigenous knowledge and modern sustainability.
Through these efforts, the Paiwan community continues to pass down cultural wisdom and identity to future generations.
Source: NTNU Center of Public Affairs
「TjuaBar Maqacuvucuvun（TBM土坂部落青年歌謠傳唱隊）
體育系周冠鈺返鄉教唱族語歌謠。
周冠鈺與阿公 lja ladan buka謝清治。
臺灣原生紅藜。
lja ladan ljaelep陳美花頭目與 lja ladan buka謝清治。
周冠鈺與來自屏東縣三地門部落的114級陳佳佑合作。
體育系115級lja kedrekedr ladan周冠鈺。