Indigenous Arts

As introduced by the Taiwan Yearbook 2006:

One strand of Taiwan's cultural makeup is formed by its 12 indigenous peoples -- the Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Pinuyumayan, Rukai, Saisiyat, Thao, Truku, Tsou, and Yami (also known as the Tao). Arts such as woodcarving, weaving, basketry, as well as ceremonial dances and songs, have long played a central role in indigenous life, with each ethnicity developing its own distinct artistic styles. Indigenous art forms are also characterized by innovation and self-expression, and so continually adapt and evolve to present contemporary ideas and sensibilities.

Recent years have seen a growing interest in indigenous arts. Researchers and tribal members have both been involved in a number of projects, such as recording the songs and dances of indigenous peoples. The government is also making efforts to promote tribal culture. In the last few years, the Council for Cultural Affairs' (CCA) annual National Festival of Culture and Arts has included performances, exhibitions, and seminars on indigenous arts. The Indigenous Television (ITV) was set up in July 2005 to promote indigenous peoples' cultures.

In 1994, the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines was established in Taipei as the first museum solely dedicated to Taiwan's native cultures. In addition to its private collection of artifacts, costumes, musical instruments, household utensils, and weapons, the museum provides extensive information on aboriginal history, lifestyles, social relationships, religious beliefs, and customs.

The National Museum of Prehistory, situated adjacent to the Beinan archeological site in Taitung County, also introduces aspects of indigenous civilization. It includes displays of Neolithic artifacts related to the natural history and prehistory of Taiwan, as well as its Austronesian-speaking people and their relationship to the island's contemporary aboriginal population.

The collections at the Shung Ye Museum, National Taiwan Museum, museum of Academia Sinica's Institute of Ethnology, National Museum of Prehistory, and National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung all provide good introductions to the artistic traditions of Taiwan's various indigenous peoples.

Woodcarving

The Paiwan, Rukai, Pinuyumayan, and Yami peoples of southern Taiwan are especially known for their relief and three-dimensional woodcarvings. Paiwan carvings range from toys, ornamental objects, and religious implements to buildings, furniture, and weapons. The most common themes include human heads and pairs of snakes. Rukai carvings are similar but less varied. The Yami, who live primarily on Orchid Island off the southern coast of Taiwan, are expert woodcarvers. They are best known for their sturdy hand-built boats, which are carved with geometric designs that are also found on their houses, knives, and ceremonial staffs. Their carvings are painted white, red, and black to achieve a bright effect.

In contrast to the symbolic or practical carvings by the southern indigenous groups, woodcarving was less developed and used primarily for ornamental purposes among the northern and central peoples.

Weaving

Weaving, another art form central to aboriginal culture, is especially well developed among the Atayal. Using simple back-strap looms, Atayal women create rectilinear patterns of squares, diamonds, and triangles, using mostly red, blue, black, and white. Some designs also incorporate strings of thin shell beads or rows of small bronze bells. Women in other indigenous groups also weave, and the Paiwan are adept at embroidery.

Ceramics

Pottery-making traditions are maintained by the Bunun, Paiwan, Rukai, Amis, and Yami. For the Paiwan, pots are strongly associated with ancestor worship; the pots themselves are divided into male, female, and mixed gender, with related designs such as snakes and circles. Among other groups, pots are for everyday use, and are made without potters' wheels or kilns. Instead, they are fired using outdoor stacks of straw and wood, which tend to create lower firing temperatures. To prevent pots from breaking, potters observe strict taboos throughout the manufacturing process to appease the relevant spirits.

Architecture

Indigenous peoples have unique architectural traditions. Two of the best places to view these are at the privately run Formosan Aborigine Cultural Village located near Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan, and the Taiwan Aboriginal Culture Park in Pingtung County. Although commercialized and intended for tourists, both have sections with careful reproductions of traditional homes of the different aboriginal peoples. Among the most interesting are the Rukai houses, which are traditionally made of stacked slate, and the Yami houses, which are situated partly underground as protection against typhoons.

Dance and Music

Dance and music are perhaps the richest legacies of Taiwan's native peoples. Communal dances, performed at regular ceremonies and rituals, consist mostly of simple but harmonious walking and foot-stomping movements, often performed in unison and accompanied by melodic choruses. The sound of small bells or other metal ornaments attached to either the dancers' colorful costumes or their ankle bracelets add to the celebratory atmosphere.

Indigenous dance rituals usually go on for several days and are performed in connection with specific customs or legends. The Ilisin spring festival of the Amis, for example, involves the annual rite of passage for members of various age groups. The three-day Pasta'ai ceremony of the Saisiyat (the Ceremony of the Dwarfs), held every other year in the tenth lunar month, is performed to appease the legendary race of dwarfs who are said to have taught the Saisiyat people to farm. The Yami perform rituals every year to mark the launching of new boats and to celebrate the season of the flying fish, one of their staple foods. The latter ritual includes an impressive hair dance, in which women swing their long hair back and forth.

Even more than dance, indigenous music is intimately connected to nearly every aspect of tribal life, from daily chores to religious rites. The songs are divided into four groups, according to theme: harvests, daily work, love, and tribal legends.

There are four types of indigenous musical instruments: drums, simple stringed instruments, woodwind instruments (such as flutes), and other percussion instruments (rattles, wooden mortars and pestles). One particularly interesting instrument is a kind of mouth harp used by the Atayal. This consists of a piece of bamboo with one or more small metal strips that are played by moving a thread back and forth with the mouth. Another unique instrument is the Paiwan's double-piped nose flute.

Many indigenous peoples have been involved in re-enacting their dance and song rituals on stage. The Taipei National University of the Arts, working in conjunction with the Institute of Ethnology at the Academia Sinica, has recorded dances of several tribes in Labanotation (an internationally recognized way of depicting dance movements on paper) and has reconstructed these for stage performances. Some private groups, including the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Foundation, have produced high-quality cassettes and CD recordings of authentic indigenous singing.

One of the most important developments was the creation of the Formosa Aboriginal Dance Troupe in 1991. This troupe is made up of young people from several different ethnic groups who work directly with elder members to learn the dances and songs of a particular ritual, often doing their fieldwork in conjunction with qualified ethnologists. The troupe has undertaken several overseas tours, including performances in the United States, Europe, and Asia.