TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A traditional Tao plank canoe, locally known as a tatala, set sail from Orchid Island on Monday for the Philippines’ Batanes Islands, reviving an ancestral maritime route not used for more than 300 years.
The Ovayan, or Golden Friendship, was built over 18 months at a cost of NT$6 million (US$203,000). It departed Longmen Harbor on Monday morning and is expected to reach Batan Island on Tuesday afternoon, per CNA.
A large crowd of Tao people gathered at the harbor to send off and bless the voyagers.
The 20-seat vessel was jointly built by the Indigenous Peoples Commission, the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation, and Orchid Island’s six Tao villages. Construction was completed in March, followed by a trial voyage in April and a traditional launch ceremony on June 9.
Foundation Chair Maraos told CNA the Tao of Orchid Island and the Ivatan of the Batanes Islands share common ancestry, with more than 80% mutual intelligibility between their languages. He said tribal craftsmen built the vessel from 27 types of wood without a single nail and were trained in traditional navigation using stars, ocean swells, and the migration routes of flying fish.
The voyage will see 60 crew members rotate shifts as they paddle more than 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers) across the Bashi Channel and Kuroshio Current to Batan Island, per CNA. The journey aims to strengthen the shared heritage between the two communities.
According to the foundation, the project took three years to prepare. The 12-meter Ovayan is one of the largest traditional Tao plank canoes built in modern times and can carry up to 20 people.
“Ovayan” refers to a traditional Tao gold chest ornament worn by men. The name symbolizes the cultural ties forged through historic maritime trade between Orchid Island and the Batanes Islands.
