ningning nivakʉ maica -A Flat Area Once Passed-

Kuatʉ said that young Kanakanavu may not be clear on the background of this place name, but elders probably all know the story. Kuatʉ asked her father about the migration route central to the story of Ningning Nivak. He said that members of the community likely migrated from Jiasian to Siaolin Village and settled in Namasia District. However, there are two differing versions of the legend, the “eastern theory” and the “western theory”. The “western theory” posits that the migration was from Yujing, Tainan to Namasia District, while the “eastern theory” states that people instead migrated from where the sun rises (Taitung). When elders refer to Ningning Nivak, they mean the Chiayi–Tainan Plain. The community members only passed through and rested in the area on their migration, which was made entirely on foot. It was here that they interacted with Han Chinese and Plains indigenous communities.