這是日治時期，日本人在 20 世紀初的作品，由攝影師拍攝後，再讓人在玻璃底片上塗上鮮豔的顏色。
台北的赤岡商會在 1920 年出版這件作品的當時，太魯閣族人已經被規定不能紋面；不能說太魯閣語，要說日語；不能穿族服，要穿和服；不能打赤腳，要穿木屐。
因此，左側那位身穿和服的少女，外表已經幾乎和尋常日本女孩無異，僅剩下額頭上那道日本帝國抹不去的刺青，以及和服衣下的血液，透漏著她是 utux（祖靈）的孩子。This is an artwork by some Japanese artist in the early 20th century, who painted beautiful colors on the glass plates after the photographer finished the photographing.
When the Taipei-based Japanese publisher of the works released them in 1920, Truku people, whom the girl in the photos belongs to, had been forced to stop face tattoo; no speaking Truku but only Japanese; no wearing traditional costumes but only kimono; no baring feet but put on Japanese clogs.
Therefore, the girl on the left-hand side looked almost the same as a common Japanese girl, only the tattoo on her forehead that the Empire of Japanese could not remove spoke that: “I am a child of Utux (“ancestral spirit” in Truku)”!
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跟台灣其他紋面民族一樣（如泰雅與賽德克），女孩子若不會織布，就代表她沒有資格出嫁，也沒有資格紋面，也因此在傳統的太魯閣族文化裡，紋面一直是非常重要的元素。
也因此在由太魯閣國家公園管理處所發行的【樂．太魯閣】裡，就有這麼一個音樂橋段《織布歌》：
Psklaya Truku pdugi ha
Saw ni gaya Truku misu ku balay
Embiyax ku smluhay Tminun ni seusa
Kisa qrasun kana Seediq saw ni knkilan mu weh
Ptasi ku tru hakaw dowriq utux rudan ha
Kisa malu bi qtaan suyang bi malu niya
‘Skalit ka baga su o iya kisu mnarux
Yasa ita laqi Truku niqan bi knrmun
歌詞最後，一聲「砰砰」，太魯閣族人說：
開始織布了！
於是負責紋面的長輩，開始用工具在年輕人的臉上「織布」，在臉上織出紋面民族獨特的彩虹，也代表這位小孩終於長大了……
部落什麼好看？
台灣曾經有上千、上萬位紋面族人，臉上彩繪著一道道紋面民族特有的彩虹，是一個完人的象徵，也是族人得以踏上彩虹橋，並且獲得橋另一端祖靈認同的印記。
但隨著時代的變遷，目前泰雅族、賽德克族，以及太魯閣族加起來，全世界就只剩下六位真正的紋面老人。紋面民族的彩虹，是否會在這個世紀結束前，完全消失在這世界上呢？
觀看大地圖
圖片來源：天下郵幣社
Like Tayal and Seediq, in Truku culture, only the girls who knew how to weave were allowed to have face tattoos; otherwise, they could not get married. And therefore, the face tattoo used to be a very important feature in Truku cultures. There is a song called “the Song of Weaving” in Echoing Taroko, a movie produced and published by Taroko National Park of Taiwan, where there is a passage in Truku:
Psklaya Truku pdugi ha Saw ni gaya Truku misu ku balay Embiyax ku smluhay Tminun ni seusa Kisa qrasun kana Seediq saw ni knkilan mu weh Ptasi ku tru hakaw dowriq utux rudan ha Kisa malu bi qtaan suyang bi malu niya ‘Skalit ka baga su o iya kisu mnarux Yasa ita laqi Truku niqan bi knrmunIn the end of the lyrics, the singer sang in Truku:
Let’s weave!And then the old Truku tattooist started to “weave” on the face of the young man, weaving the unique rainbow of Truku on his face, meaning that, the young Truku had grown up eventually……
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Photo via 天下郵幣社
