Their indigenous groups.

indigenous groups!

In Taiwan, they have a total of 15 indigenous groups. These indigenous groups are located at around Taiwan, northern, southern, central and eastern.

• Atayal
• Truku
• Saisiyat
• Bunun
• Tsou
• Thao
• Rukai and Paiwan
• Amis
• Pinuyumayan
• Kavalan
• Yami
• Bunun
• Pingpu
• Skizaya
• Taroko

I have sourced out a few tribes with interesting practices, cultures and custom.

Northern Taiwan-Truku (Taroko) 太魯閣族

 

here is a video of a dance performance by taroko

The Taroko (Truku) tribe was once considered a subtribe of the Atayal, and does share some common characteristics with that tribe. However, after Taroko had proved a district with unique culture and language, they rose to be the top 12 well-recognized tribe. Several hundred years ago, in Nantou County in central Taiwan the tribe is over populated. Thus, they crossed the Central Mountain Range to arrive in the Liwu River region in what is today known as Taroko National Park. They found this area to be plentiful in river, forest and mineral resources.

Traditional lifestyles

The Taroko tribe traditionally grew millet and hunt for their food. Thus, they have ceremonies and festivals such as the Harvest Festival and Hunting Rites to celebrate the joyous event. The Harvest Festival is held around the end of August. On that day, there is a feast, singing and dancing. Ancestor Worship Rites is a prestige and important event where the Taroko is very particular about. The members of the tribe thank their ancestors for protection, and pray to them for continued good health and harvests, as well as promise to continue to follow the lessons the ancestors have handed down to them.

Cultural practice-Facial Tattoo

For men, the tattoo is drawn a short, thick line tattooed down the middle of the forehead and the middle of the chin.

For women, these tattoos were much more complex and included one or more lines on the forehead and a continuous patterned arc around the mouth and across both cheeks, and were thought to enhance feminine beauty

However, these tattoos did not have just an esthetic purpose. They were also a symbol of entry into adulthood and eligibility for marriage and the special pass needed to join the ancestral spirits after death. To qualify to receive a facial tattoo, a man had to prove himself an able warrior and a woman a skilled weaver.

Traditional arts and crafts

Taroko tribes and a few tribes in the northern Taiwan are considered the best weavers, and to be able to create the most complicated designs. Taroko favour a white background with small rhombi in a number of colours such as pink, blue and yellow, especially on the skirts traditionally worn by Taroko women.

The Taroko are also good at rattan and bamboo weaving, producing containers for storage and baskets. Men usually carried a basket with two straps that could be worn on the back, for bringing game back to the village from a hunt. Women used baskets with one strap that was placed at the forehead. These baskets were used for carrying crops from the fields. Such a method of carrying allowed women to have their hands free to perform other tasks while walking back to their village, such as processing ramie fibers to prepare them for weaving.

(http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=rdmap&id=1183&Itemid=262)

Central Taiwan- Tsuo (Bunun Tribe) 布農族

Traditional Lifestyles
The Tsou is a patrilineal tribe and traditionally there were clear distinctions in the types of work performed by both genders. The women took care of the home and the fields including the raising of pigs and other animals. The men hunted and fished and were responsible for defending the tribe and making political decisions. To be able to carry out their responsibilities, young males received training in hunting and warring, as well as learned of the history and traditions of the tribe in the “kuba” (pronounced koo ba) or men’s meeting hall, a hut-like structure built from wood and straw.

Ceremonies
Mayasvi (Warring Ceremony). The Mayasvi takes place in mid February. This ceremony was transformed into an annual millet festival. In its current form, the Mayasvi consists of two days of singing by the tribal males to honour the tribal deities, coming-of-age celebration and the blessing of newborn males.

During major ceremonies, the Tsou are dressed in traditional regalia. The men wear headdresses consisting of a red headband lined with shells and adorned with the fur of the black bear and feathers. This can be placed over a leather cap. Shells can also be seen on the remaining regalia and the legs are covered with pieces of leather. The use of shells points to the once large traditional activity areas of the Tsou, from the deep mountains (elevations of 1,000 meters) to the western coast. The traditional use of leather made from animal hides is a testament to the strong hunting culture of the Tsou and the use of all parts of an animal, allowing none of its resources to go to waste. 

The females of the tribe wear brightly colored clothing including diamond-shaped chest piece, skirt and leggings, as well as a headdress.

Traditional Arts and Culture
Among the Tsou, traditional art forms include rattan weaving and leather making. In terms of leather crafting, there is not much need for tanning of animal hide to create clothing, thus leather is now hand engraved and hand painted to create handbags, name card holders, wallets, necklaces, earrings and other accessories.
(http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=rdmap&id=942&Itemid=262)

Southern Taiwan- Rukai魯凱族

The Rukai refer to themselves as the people of the cloud leopard. According to tribal legend, there were two brothers who were the leaders of the tribe. As the tribe grew in numbers, they became concerned that the land upon which they were living would soon become insufficient. They decided to seek out a new living space, with the help of their trusty hunting companion, a cloud leopard. The leopard led them to the banks of a small clear lake in a beautiful valley and this became Old Haocha Village. Today, Old Haocha maintains a significant collection of traditional slate homes. This is because there are no roads to Old Haocha.

Traditional arts and culture
The Rukai maintain a social hierarchy of nobility and commoners, with the commoners working the land and the upper class taking a share of the harvest. The women of this tribe excel at embroidery, decorating clothing with complicated designs. However, certain motifs, such as human figures and hundred pace pit viper, were only for the upper classes. In Maolin, long known for its large butterfly populations, ceremonial clothing once featured embroidered versions of these insects.

In addition to their clothing, women of the upper classes could be differentiated by the tattoos on the backs of their hands. A repeating cross pattern was reserved exclusively for the nobility. Noble women considered by the elders to be of virtue adorned their headdresses with a pure white lily during special ceremonies. For men, the white lily was an honor given to symbolize excellence in hunting or defending the village against enemy attacks.

Celebrations and ceremonies
The Rukai observe many traditions associated with various stages in life, such as blessings for infants and coming-of-age rites.

Annual millet harvest festival: Village residents give thanks for the year's harvest and hope for a coming year of plenty. The place upon which the ceremony takes place is considered sacred land.. The ceremony begins with the entrance of the male elders and warriors bringing food offerings such as pork. Each of the males wears a headdress, and some are highly elaborate, alluding to a high status or a high number of honours received.

 


The males of the village pray to the ancestors and tribal deities for blessings. It is also the men who partake of millet liquor. Usually, this millet liquor was given to the chieftain and elders of the tribe first, and if there was any remaining the younger members would be able to try some, but this was rare. Thus, the Rukai, as with most of the indigenous tribes in Taiwan, did not have a traditional drinking culture. In fact, in the Rukai language, there was no word for alcohol. Instead, millet liquor was referred to as "water that makes one less shy".

To include the females of the village and to infuse a festive air, a large tripod-like swing was prepared. Only unmarried women were allowed on the swing. She would receive a push to get her started, from one of the males of the village, and then she bent and extended her legs to swing higher. It is thought that the higher she rose, the closer she would be to heaven and the more blessings she would receive. This swing also features prominently in Rukai wedding ceremonies.

Eastern Taiwan- Amis Kavalan tribe (噶瑪蘭族)

Amis is by far the largest of Taiwan's officially recognized indigenous tribes. Traditionally, the Amis possessed a matrilineal society.

Traditional Lifestyles

Women inherited the family property and children were named according to their mother's name. Men were expected to marry into a woman's family. To be able to marry, a man would have to work in his prospective wife's home for up to three years to prove his diligence to her parents. A husband might be in danger of being thrown out of his home if he became seriously ill and unable to work, if he ate too much, if he was lazy or if he and his wife had failed to bear a daughter, as girls were especially prized.
Although women were responsible for the major decisions in their individual households, the political decisions of the village were made by men. Division of labor among the men was based on a strict age hierarchy, and there are specific rites performed to recognize that a male has reached adulthood.

In terms of food, they ate what they could gather, hunt and catch. Fish, freshwater and marine, were a main staple of the Amis diet and were accompanied by wild greens.

Festivals and ceremonies
The celebrations of the harvest begin in mid-July with the last ending in late August. It lasted for several days where members of each village dancing continuously in a circle to the chants of a selected "singer".
Among the Amis, shamans play important roles during major ceremonies and conduct healing rites which call upon the ancestral spirits. It was thought that illness was brought about due to a wrongdoing on the part of the patient or by someone close to him/her or to some other spiritually related reason. Only by seeking the forgiveness and help of the ancestral spirits could one be expected to be cured.

Traditional arts and culture
In terms of the arts, the Amis excels at woodcarving and at creating beaded jewellery and decorative items.
(http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=rdmap&id=835&Itemid=262)