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This is a case study on the agricultural activities of Bunun people in Lavulang community of Taoyuan District, Kaohsiung. The research attempts to comprehend the economic issues in the cultural context of Bunun people in terms of space, social relationships and the economic activities, which further contemplates the agricultural policies of the indigenous community. This study firstly reviews the changes of agricultural patterns of Lavulang community and then explore how the domestic policies and market forces influence on Lavulang community. In addition, the research applies economic anthropology viewpoints and the ethnographical methods to analyze the interpersonal relationship with Bunun people. Further, it sorts out the genealogical households and the migration history of clan and Lavulang community. This study reveals: (1) the practice of mutually beneficial relationships between the household and clan is based on tastu lumah and mai tastu lumah. The terms tastu lumah and mai tastu lumah is an inner cultural concept for Bunun people which refers to people lives in the same specific house, and maintains the economy in the community. 2) Bunun people’s social unit of production adapts ro the transformation of living spaces, land tenure and agricultural policy in the different period. Overall, the spaces, social relationships and economic activities interact with each other dynamically. The household is constantly strengthened by eating together “tastu banning”, participating in the family and clan union, and collective labor. The practice of reciprocity reinforces the families and clan’s members during economic activities.
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