Namaxia

Nàmǎxià (那瑪夏), formerly known as Sanmin Township (三民鄉), is a remote mountain district in the far north of Kaohsiung between the Yushan and Alishan ranges. The population is predominantly Bunun (布農族), with a significant Kanakanavu (卡那卡那富族) community, one of Taiwan’s smallest Indigenous groups. The district was renamed in 2008 after a Kanakanavu youth who, according to legend, sacrificed himself to save his people, and the three villages were restored to their Indigenous names: Nangisarʉ (南沙魯), Mangacun (瑪雅), and Tangaanua (達卡努瓦). In 2009 Typhoon Morakot devastated the district, burying Nangisarʉ under mudslides and forcing much of the population to relocate.