Legend has it that the notes of the flute
Are the voices of two brothers
Singing and humming atop a mountain,
Where the wind blows
Elder brother leading the younger
Younger harmonising with the elder.
 
Legend has it that the notes of the
Flute are two brothers chanting
Music originating from the birds, the bees, the wind
Two brothers singing
About yearning, loneliness, and life’s recollections.
- Etan Pavavalung (2011)

When Pairang was a child, there was no electricity in the tribe in the mountains. It was quiet at night, so Pairang would listen to the elders tell milimilingan (mythological stories). Milimilingan are stories we inherited from the beginning of time and are crucial for teaching children about the philosophy of life.

One familiar story was the the legend of the lalingdan as two brothers. In this legend, the two brothers qemaljup (hunt) and tjepana (fish) all the time. While their parents would prepare cockroaches and food scraps like bones for the older brother’s lunch, the younger brother would get a delicious lunchbox of meat and fish. The elder brother kemljang (realised) he was not loved and ran away from home. With an aching heart, the younger brother followed.

The brothers stopped close to the Meinong District to rest. Prompted by birdsong and the sounds of the environment, the older brother began to sing his lamentations. The younger brother joined in harmony. As they sat quietly, they became two mountains. One of these mountains was bigger than the other: the bigger was the older brother, while the smaller was the younger brother. To date, Paiwanese call these two mountains itja sa marekaka (brother mountains).

In a lalingedan (double-piped nose-flute), the sound made from the barrel with holes is the sound of the older brother’s cemikecikem (leading) song, while the sound made from the barrel without holes is the sound of the younger brother’s zemingerangeraw (harmonising) lament.

Itja sa marekaka milimilingan

Etan Pavavalung 伊誕 · 巴瓦瓦隆

傳說笛音是兩兄弟在唱歌
兄弟吟唱在風吹的山頂上
哥哥領唱導引著弟弟
弟弟在旁陪哥哥和聲

傳說笛音是兩兄弟在吟唱
樂音源自大地的蜂鳴鳥叫與風聲
兩兄弟傳唱著
人生的愛戀孤寂和追憶
Etan Pavavalung 伊誕 巴瓦瓦隆 (2011)

小時候，在山上的部落沒有電，晚上都很安靜，每天都會聽長輩們講許多 milimilingan(神話故事)，神話故事其實是原始部落傳承教育很重要的一 環，透過故事的傳述，讓小孩探索人生哲理。

Pairang就常聽到關於雙管笛子是兩個兄弟的傳說故事:傳說有兩個兄弟，每次去qemaljup(狩獵)或tjepana(捕魚)，父母給哥哥的食物包的餡總是蟑螂、骨頭等不好的，給弟弟的是好吃的肉和魚，哥哥 kemljang(發現)不被父母疼愛而離家出走，弟弟捨不得哥哥出走，於是跟在後面。

走到離美濃不遠的地方，就坐在那裡，與自然大地的蜂鳴鳥叫與風 一起吟唱哀歌，弟弟也伴隨在旁，後來兄弟倆就變成了兩座山，永遠靜坐在 美濃附近的地方，這兩座山一座較大，一座較小，大的是哥哥，小的是弟弟，一直到現在，族人都稱那兩座山為itja sa marekaka(兄弟山)。

雙管口、鼻笛有孔的那支笛聲是哥哥的哭聲，是cemikecikem(領唱者)，而無孔的笛聲是弟弟在旁邊陪著哥哥zemingerangeraw(和聲者)的哭聲。

口述者：排灣族Ravar群達瓦蘭（大社）部落耆老Pairang Pavavaljung (許坤仲/1935-2023）