Camake Valaule, who founded a children’s choir dedicated to preserving songs of the Paiwan indigenous people, died Thursday of cancer at the age of 42.
Before his death, Camake was starring in a new Public Television Service (PTS) series titled “Seqalu: Formosa 1867.”
Camake died at 11:05 p.m. Thursday due to complications caused by cancer of the lymphatic system, according to a statement issued by Legislator Saidhai Tahovecahe, also known as Wu Li-hua (伍麗華), former principal of the Pingtung school where Camake had worked for nearly two decades.
Born in Pingtung’s Laiyi Township in 1979, Camake was raised by his grandparents, who instilled in him a love for traditional Paiwan ballads.
After graduating from Taitung Teachers’ College, he was hired as a physical education teacher at Pingtung’s Taiwu Elementary School in 2003.
That year, one of his fourth-grade students won a national indigenous singing competition with a rendition of Paiwan ballads, which spurred Camake to start a school choir in 2006.
The choir became a major activity at the tiny elementary school, and in 2009, the group went to Europe on an international tour for the first time. The 19 singers were drawn from the total student body of 44.
Over the years, the Taiwu Elementary School choir released three albums and has been invited to perform in more than a dozen countries.
In addition to leading the choir, Camake also frequently met with Paiwan elders to learn and document the tribe’s songs.
In interviews, he said the songs were in danger of being lost to history, due to the policies during the periods of Japanese colonialism and Chinese nationalist government, when the use of indigenous languages were discouraged.
Camake said the main goal of the choir was to help the children forge a deeper connection to their tribe’s culture.
Earlier this month, Camake premiered the historical drama series “Seqalu: Formosa 1867” on PTS, in which he played the leading role.
The series recounts the history of the 1867 Rover Incident, in which sailors on an American merchant vessel called the “Rover” were killed by Paiwan tribe members, after their ship wrecked off the coast of what is now Kenting.
The killings led to a punitive expedition by U.S. military forces later that year, which Camake’s character – a Paiwan leader known as “Tokitok” – helped to end through negotiations with Charles William Le Gendre, the American Consul to Amoy.
Camake Valaule (photo courtesy of the PTS)
Camake Valaule (photo courtesy of Tsao Films Production Company)
Camake was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma last August, shortly after he finished filming the Rover series.
In Legislator Saidhai Tahovecahe’s statement, she said Camake had remained active with the choir and as a soccer coach even while he was receiving cancer treatment.
After Camake returned to work at the school in July, however, his health took a turn for the worse, she said.
Camake’s death on Thursday came hours after his eldest son departed Pingtung for Taipei to accept a Presidential Education Award.
The award was presented Friday by Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to Camake’s son, who wore full Paiwan warrior regalia to the ceremony.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel