어느 원주민 여성작가의 자기성(selfhood)의 탐색 - 리그라브 아우(Liglav A-Wu)의 산문을 중심으로 -

Abstract

본 연구는 1990년대 타이완 사회의 전환기에 등장한 원주민 여성작가 리그라브 아우의 산문을 중심으로, 원주민 여성의 자기성(selfhood)의 탐색 과정을 살펴보고자 했다. 아우가 성장했던 ‘군인가족동네’는 동네의 온 가족이 비슷한 생활 리듬을 유지하면서 각 가정의 아이들을 함께 돌보다시피 한 덕분에, ‘유사 친척 공동체’와 같은 성격을 띠고 있었다. 원주민 출신 모친과 간첩 혐의로 정치범으로 복역한 이력이 있는 부친을 둔 아우는, 결코 그런 ‘정서적 공동체’의 일원이 될 수 없었다. 성장기의 아우는 ‘유창한 표준 한어(漢語)’를 구사하면 할수록 검은 피부가 주목받는 모순을 겪어야 했으며, 중국역사와 문화를 익힐수록 ‘외성 2세대’로부터 정체성의 타당성을 의심받는 처지였다. 고교를 졸업한 뒤, ‘원주민운동’과 ‘페미니즘운동’에 참여한 아우는, 원주민이라는 ‘차이’를 내세우는 집단의 정치학이 ‘부족별·성별 차이’를 누락시킬 수 있음을 알게 되었다. 또한 한족 엘리트 여성 중심의 여성운동이 ‘원주민 여성’ 같은 소수자의 현실은 돌보지 못하고 서구의 이론과 방법에 의존하는 한계도 목격하게 되었다. 아우는 평범한 사람들의 공감을 통한 각성이 하나둘씩 모여서 변화의 의지를 형성하는 것이야말로 계몽임을 깨닫게 되었다. 결혼·이혼을 거치면서 여러 차례 ‘이주’를 했음에도 불구하고, 아우는 파이완족 ‘성씨’를 유지함으로써 자신을 ‘가족’·‘부족 공동체’와 연결한다. 그리고 구술전승문화가 ‘대화식 소통’을 통해 자아와 타자를 위계화하기보다 결속시킬 수 있음을 알게 되었다. 아우의 산문은 결국 구술-청각 세계를 문자화(시각화)한 것으로 볼 수 있는데, 이는 구술성과 문자성의 상호작용의 한 예로 평가할 수 있다.

This study aimed to examine the process of exploring an indigenous woman's selfhood, focusing on the essay of Liglav A-Wu, an indigenous female author who appeared in the transition period of Taiwanese society in the 1990s. Raised by her Han Chinese father and her mother, a member of the Paiwan tribe, Liglav A-Wu recognized herself as ‘the Second Generation from Mainland China' before the age of 18, but later as she knew her maternal grandmother's personal history, she re-established ‘indigenous identity' and ‘subjectivity as a woman'. The ‘military dependents’ village’, where she grew up, was like a ‘community of relatives’ because the town took care of each family's children together, while maintaining a similar lifestyle. Due to her indigenous mother with different skin color and her father who served sentences for political offenses under suspicion of being a spy, she could never be a member of 'emotional community'. As the more fluently she spoke 'the Standard Chinese' while growing up, Liglav A-Wu had to suffer the contradiction because of her dark color in her early years. In addition, the more she learned Chinese history and culture and conformed to the government's policies, the more the validity of her identity was questioned by ‘the Second Generation from Mainland China’. Liglav A-Wu, who worked as a substitute teacher after graduating from high school, was involved in 'the indigenous movement' and 'the feminist movement'. In the process, however, she learned that the collective politics that advocated the ‘differences’ between the Han Chinese and the indigenous people could omit ‘tribal differences’. She also witnessed the limitations of the Han Chinese elite women-centered feminist movement which only relies on Western theories and methods without taking care of the reality of minorities such as 'indigenous women'. She came to realize that the social movement in which ordinary people's empathetic awakening can come together to form a will for change is worthwhile, rather than the enlightenment movement in which a few elites represent or awaken the majority. Despite several ‘migrations' going through marriage and divorce, Liglav A-Wu is maintaining her indigenous identity. This is possible because the Paiwanese culture is connected with the ‘family' and, by extension, with the ‘tribal community' through the ‘surname'. Furthermore, a non-literate society, where oral transmission was performed, has ‘interactive communication' centered on hearing while facing the ‘listener' who listens to the voice of the speaker, This method is characterized by binding the self and the other together, rather than ranking them in a hierarchy. Liglav A-Wu has constantly worked on interpreting herself, in the course of characterizing (visualizing) this oral-hearing world, In that respect, Liglav A-Wu's e ssay can be an example o f how orality and literacy can interact.