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Indigenous Group

        Obstructed from the outside by mountains and oceans, Taitung is an isolated Garden of Eden. The earlier settlers, such as the Ami tribe, the Bunun tribe, the Rukai tribe, the Paiwan tribe, the Yami tribe, etc., and the immigrants at later period have contributed to the diverse humanity of current Taitung. 

 ‧Ami  ‧Puiuma  ‧Rukai ‧Kavalan
 ‧Paiwan  ‧Bunun  ‧Yami

 

水平線點_長 


The Ami Tribe
        The Ami Tribe having a population of about 44,000 is the biggest tribe among the aborigines. Their residence is mainly along the longitudinal valleys and in the submontane areas by two sides of the Coastal Range. Ami’s Harvest Festival is the most important and famous ceremony. At the early days, it’s to celebrate the harvest of millet and to express their thanks and appreciations to the gods. However, it now has become the annual ceremonial activity of each tribe. The immigration of the Ami people in Taitung is earlier than the other tribes.

    

      Ami

 

Paiwan        
The Paiwan Tribe
        With a population of about 14,000, the residence of the Paiwan tribe is mainly in Ginfen, Tajen, Taimali and Tawu villages. “Tribe” is the core in its traditional society structure and the head is hereditary. The Paiwan tribe is self-identified as “the citizen of 100-Pacer” and their costume is colorfully designed with heavy decoration. The people especially like to use the tooth of wild boar as decoration. Their crafts, such as needlework and colored glass balls, are elaborate, and their sculpture uses a lot of snake and human’s head as symbols. The Harvest Festival of the Paiwan tribe is held every five years and is the most sumptuous ceremonial activity. The ceremony is to express respect to their ancestors and the gods of the river, the mountains, and etc., and also to pray for happiness and peacefulness.
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The Puiuma Tribe
        With a population of about 6,000, the Puyuma people reside mainly in the plains. Even though the people live quite close to the coastland, they engage in cultivation and hunt instead of fishing for a living. The family is passed down to the first daughter by the parents instead of to the son, and wife is core of the family. To the Puyuma people, Monkey-hunting is the most important ritual. Through the whole mysterious and majestic process, the teenager of the Puyuma becomes as an adult symbolically.

      

    Puiuma

     
Bunun        


The Bunun Tribe
        The Bunun, having a population of about 8,000, is the typical residents in the highlands. In the early days, the people made a living by engaging in agriculture and hunt. 
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The Rukai Tribe
       The Rukai, having a population of about 1,500, is the smallest tribe among the six. The people live mainly in Tanan village and engage in cultivation, hunt and fishing for a living. The Society of Rukai is based on a ranking system and the male gender holds the decision-making priority in the family. The usage of rock planks in house building is the feature in their architecture. The most representative craft works of the Rukai are huge blanket made of shell and long-shaped wooden sculpture. In the folk culture, bride-robbery ceremony and interior funeral ceremony are the most peculiar.

         Rukai

 
        Yami        		  
The Yami Tribe
      With a population of about 2,700, the Yami tribe lives in Lan Yu (Orchid Island) and is the only tribe that preserves its traditional culture in completion. Dry-land farming and fish catching are both the major life style of the Yami. The people having taro and fish as their main food, is a very typical fishery people.

　　Leadership is not practical in the tribal structure. Symbolically, the society is under the supervision of the elders in the tribe. The people, retaining their traditional life style, live in semi-underground houses and raise domestic animals. In the expression of art, the spectacular hand-made canoe is the most representative work of art.


 
The Kavalan Tribe
       The Kavalan tribe has the strongest ethnic awareness and cultural characteristic among the Pinpu people in Taiwan. For 15 years, the Kavalan have been pleading with the local and central government to regain the name of the Kavalan. In order to show the culture of the Kavalan to the public, the Kavalan organized the elderly, women and young tribe members to disclose the sacred Kisaiiz through performance on tour around Taiwan. All efforts were made are to show their existence in order to achieve the goal of regaining their name and honoring their ancestors.

         Rukai
　　The most precious point of the Kavalan people is that they preserve the Kavalan Culture in their daily lives. As for those in Sinshe, they preserved the Kavalan language and customs, such as Palilin, as well as the Metiyu ceremonies (such as Pagalavi and Patohoka), and ceremonies related to the harvest. The Kavalan people also revived or re-created their traditional culture, such as songs, dances, the Harvest festival, and banana silk fabrics. In addition, they reconstructed the Kavalan Tribe-related Totems, such as Gasop. Even though they have done so much, the government and general public still question their existence and think the Kavalan have been Sinicized, which means they are extinct as a tribe. This has made the Kavalan people feel ignored and disrespected.

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　Visitor： 1285 　Update： 2009-02-27 Top | Print | Previous |