Sailing the Ancient Bashi Channel: Tao Rowers From Taiwan Cross Open Ocean to Reunite With Ivatan 'Siblings'

Photo Courtesy of Provincial Government of Batanes / Facebook

The Provincial Government of Batanes has formally honored the indigenous Tao people of Taiwan after they completed a historic sea voyage across the Bashi Channel to reunite with the Ivatan community. The 185-kilometer journey marks the first time in 300 years that the native seafarers successfully navigated this ancient maritime trade route using only raw muscle and ancestral navigation techniques.

Ancient Maritime Route Revived Across the Bashi Channel

The 20-member rowing crew arrived at the Mahatao Shelter Port in Batanes after launching from Orchid Island (Lanyu), located off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. Named Ovayan—meaning “Golden Friendship”—the 12-meter traditional hand-built wooden canoe crossed the turbulent waters of the Bashi Channel and the Kuroshio Current in just under two days. Backed by Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation, the project spent three years in development to painstakingly recreate a voyage believed to mirror migrations dating back over 4,000 years.

Reconnecting "Siblings of the Same Womb"

Historically, the Tao people of Orchid Island and the Ivatan people of Batanes maintained an active relationship, sharing deeply intertwined cultures and languages with over 80% mutual intelligibility. However, active seafaring contact faded three centuries ago due to localized conflicts and changing geopolitical boundaries.

The return of the Ovayan was met with deep emotional significance. Batanes provincial officials welcomed the rowers as "Kakteh du Chinayi"—a phrase translating to "siblings of the same womb". Provincial representatives stated that the arrival of the Tao people proves that their connection fundamentally “transcends borders and generations.”

A Sacred Floating Gift Entrusted to Batanes

The hand-built Cinedkeran is a masterpiece of indigenous engineering, constructed by tribal craftsmen using 27 different types of wood and joined entirely without metal nails. In Tao culture, seafaring vessels are considered sacred extensions of the human body.

Before the Tao crew began their return trip to Taiwan via modern transport vessels, they permanently entrusted the Ovayan to the Ivatan people. Local leaders described the vessel as a treasured permanent monument of their common ancestry, shared history, and the revived friendship unifying the two communities across the northern seas.