A short animation, take a look at it! :)
Sit back and enjoy. ..
The indigenous groups in Taiwan are call the Yuan Zu Min. They are the ethnic group that has settle in Taiwan many thousand years ago before mass immigration of people from China arrived.
Many of the arts like woodcarving and potter found in Taiwan are actually part of the tradition life of the indigenous groups.
Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village near Sun Moon Lake in Central Taiwan and Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Park in Pingtung County are the best places to view indigenous peoples' architecture and traditional building.
Based on the lastest record, the government of Taiwan officially recognise 14 groups of indigenous tribes.
According to the linguistic analysis, these groups are a sub group of the Austronesian-speaking family. With the heavy influence of the Han and Western, these indigenous group has manage to maintain their unique heritage.
Here are a short brief of these indigenous tribe ! Explore them!
*click on the different indigenous group tittle to explore more about them! :)
- Amis
Amis is the largest Indigenous group inTaiwan. Due to their location near the coast area, they are primarily fisherman. Their most popular festival celebrated are the Ilisin Harvest Festival which is held during Summer months. During their festival, singing and dancing is part of their traditional in celebration, it represent their culture and a form of communication. In this Harvest Festival, they offer prayer and thanks giving to the god for good upcoming year.
Amis has 5 different groups which are classified based on their geogrphic location. These groups speak different dialect, customs and lifestyle. They are the Nanshi, Xiuguluan, Coastal, Taitung and Hengchun.
Interesting Fact:
In Amis tribe, female head of household can have control over family affairs like finance and property holding.
Theya are the only aboriginal tribe on the island of Taiwan to practice the art of pottery making.
- Atayal
Mostly centred at the northern part of Taiwan mountainous region, Atyal weaving and patterned fabrics are renowned. They are commonly easy to differential as facial tattoo-ing was part of their tradition in the past. Facial tattooing signify that the individual has reached adulthood and the age of marriage. They believe with the facial tattoo, the ancestors of Atayal would recognize them. However, facial tattoing is being banned during the era of Japanese Occupation hence, it is only possible to view facial tattoo in the old generation of Atayal.
Do you know?
Atatal means brave and true people.
- Bunun
The Bunun live in the central and southeastern mountainous regions of Taiwan. They have often good singing skills and are expertise in making clothing from animal hide. They practice strong relationships with their family and also to build a social identity, they extract their front teeth.
Kavalan is heavily populated in Sinshe Village in Hualien County. In the past, they has been recognised as one of the plains aborigines groups. Their customs are influence by Amis due to their close vicinity.
- Pinuyumayan
Not being affected by the influence of Western and Han religious, Pinuyumayan remain it traditional custom. Predicting of good or inauspicious omens, drawing on spiritual powers are still practiced.
Rukai men are good wood carvers also, Paiwan are well-known for their wood and stone sculpture. These 2 groups shared much similarity from their beliefs to their culture. They are the groups that have achieved many artistic achievements.
- Saisiyat
Traditional culture in Saisiyat has been deeply infiltrated by other factors. Instead of the traditional farming, they have shift on to cultivation of high economic value crops like flowers and mushrooms.
- Thao
Smallest of the Taiwanese aborigine group in terms of population and the smallest ethnic group, they depend on fishing, agriculture, and hunting for their livelihoods.
- Truku
Truku are concentrated around Hualien and the Taroko Gorge. They grow millet, maize and sweet potatoes and also rice as living. Their traditional colour is white and has facial tattoo on their face as a form of worshipping their god.
- Tsou
Tsou are originated from the Jade Mountain area however, it was then distribute in to different subgroup based on their geographic distribution. They have tight tribal organization and have many unique beliefs. Surviving at the Alishan district, Tsou worship the god of war and teaches their language in local school to ensure continuity of their culture with the younger generations. They plant tea and run rustic restaurants and home stays to preseve their culture.
- Yami
Having many distinctive culture, Yami is a special indigenous group that differ itself from the other indigenous groups. Some examples are like they do not make alcohol or practice headhunting, belief in evil spirits and having ceremonies to summon flying fish.
Want to know more about the indigenous culture and histories?
Visit the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan in Taipei.
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