02 natural dyeing
Dyeing Materials
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Dyeing Materials 〰️
At our Hualien studio, natural dyeing is both a craft practice and a way of keeping memory. We work with plants that grow around us—materials once embedded in daily life, now re-encountered through practice and exchange.
| Shoulang yam (薯榔, koleto’) | Betel nut core (檳榔心) | Fukugi tree (福木) |
|---|---|---|
| Rich in tannins and gums; used to strengthen fishing nets, cloth, and hunting garments. Practiced by Pangcah, Tao, Truku, and Bunun people. Colors range reddish brown to black, darkening with sun and use. Elders recall immersing cloth in mineral-rich streams. Experiments show lime yields lighter tones, iron mordants shift to gray-black. | Central to daily and ritual life: boundary markers, cooking, building, and a sign of affection in ceremonies. Produces pinkish orange to purple gray. Knowledge of dyeing use survives mostly in texts, not memory. Rediscovered through repeated trials, requiring constant stirring to prevent stains for stable shades. | Evergreen found in eastern Taiwan, Lanyu, and Okinawa. Branches and leaves yield luminous yellow that oxidizes into golden tones. Known as a representative Ryukyu dye plant. In Hualien, it grows quietly along roadsides and fields—ordinary yet vital, with resilient presence reflected in its color. |
Dyeing Process
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Dyeing Process 〰️
Dyeing is carried out by Imay and Kacaw, with experiments documented by Badagaw. The work involves cutting, boiling, layering, sun-drying—repeated labor that requires strength and patience. Around the dye pot, stories emerge: memories of weaving, fragments of mountain knowledge, the day’s labor mixing with time. Each dyed fabric thus holds the traces of the season in which it was made.
Land & People
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Land & People 〰️
For local people in Hualien and Taitung, plants were never separate from life. Yam strengthened nets, betel nuts mediated affection and reconciliation, Fukugi leaves colored cloth in daily use. Dyeing belongs to this cycle of gathering, weaving, wearing, and repairing. At our studio, we approach dyeing as both work and record—embodied labor that preserves fragments of the present, letting colors become part of seasonal memory.
Acknowledgment
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Acknowledgment 〰️
We thank Chen Shu-Yen of Paterongan Studio for introducing us to the foundations of plant dyeing, and Professor Ke Dun-Yao for his guidance in working with shoulang yam. We also thank the craftsmen who have taken part in natural dyeing over the years—including Badagaw and Dopoh—for their effort in this demanding work. Finally, we acknowledge the resources and conditions of the land that have sustained these practices.