嶋語 isle.felt

In Su’ao, Taiwan, there is a legend that says when a sika deer jumps into the water, it transforms into a shark. I imagine that in ancient Taiwan, herds of sika deer would frolic along the shore. Perhaps someone saw a deer enter the water and then noticed a tiger shark or a tawny nurse shark—both of which also have white spotted patterns—leading to the mistaken belief that they were the same animal. Since this observation defied common understanding, it was woven into myths and legends.

I incorporated the image of the “Shā Lù Ér" (Shark Deer) as a sika deer on land, combined with its association with travel and venturing out, to create the “Shā Lù Ér – Safe Travels" figurine. The figurine features the sika deer as its main body, with Mount Jade—the sacred guardian mountain of Taiwan—on its back. This symbolizes providing travelers with a strong support system and ensuring a smooth, safe journey. I hope this figurine can bring good luck to those on the move, making their travels even more successful.

● Dimensions: Shā Lù Ér – 45 cm x 52 cm (H) x 16 cm (D)
● Materials: Macaron wool (Merino short fiber wool), silk thread, DMC cotton thread, metallic thread, aluminum wire, yarn, paper clay.
● Techniques: Aluminum wire armature, wrapping technique, coiling technique, soft sculpture, embroidery, mixed-media integration.

Legends and Myths:
The painter Niè Huáng depicted a creature called the “deer-fish" in his work Illustrations of Strange Creatures from the Sea (Hǎi Cuò Tú). The scroll describes:
“In the islands of the ocean, deer are the most abundant animals. Some do not fully transform into fish. In the seas of Guangdong, there is also a type of deer-shark, perhaps a fish that has transformed from a deer? When asked, fishermen did not know but only said that deer are skilled in swimming and often travel in herds across the sea, moving from one island to another. On the head of the deer stands a tuft of grass, which the other deer use as a marker to follow."

Source: Hé Jìng-Yáo (July 2023), Taiwanese Monsters: A Hundred Illustrated Wonders, Taipei, Jiǔgē Publishing, p. 32.

Taiwan’s Endemic Species:
The Formosan Sika Deer (Cervus nippon taiouanus) is an endemic subspecies of the Sika Deer, found only on the island of Taiwan. It belongs to the order Artiodactyla and the family Cervidae. These deer inhabit forests and grasslands below 200 meters in elevation. They mate in the autumn, with a gestation period of eight months, giving birth to fawns between April and June the following year.

Taiwan, once abundant with roaming deer herds, saw the annual production of 100,000 deer hides during the Dutch colonial period. However, overhunting and the permanent loss of plains habitats led to the complete extinction of Sika Deer in the wild, leaving only a few in captivity. Despite this, the Sika Deer remains deeply connected to Taiwan’s indigenous cultures, history, and broader cultural identity.

Source: Written by Wang Jia-Xiang https://www.frontier.org.tw/culture/zodiac/ffzo0007.html