Religions of Indigenous Peoples

As introduced by the Tawian Yearbook 2006:

The religious practices of Taiwan's indigenous peoples center around their animist beliefs, in which spirits are seen to exist in many forms. These include deities in the natural environment, spirits of dead people, living creatures, and ghosts. These spirits may be benevolent or malicious, and have the ability to influence an individual's or a community's fortunes. It is necessary, therefore, to discern the spirits' will before undertaking important tasks, or in order to find the causes of illnesses, disasters, or social problems.

These deities, ancestral and other spirits, and supernatural forces are known by a variety of terms in the languages of Taiwan's indigenous groups, including rutux, anito, hanito, habon and kawas. These terms relate to belief systems that differ to varying degrees. Broadly speaking, they can be divided into two categories, designated the anito and kawas systems.

In the anito system, spirits exist in all beings and in nature, from where they have the power to affect the community's well being. Groups following this system included the Atayal, Bunun, Saisiyat, Siraya, Tsou, and Yami.

In kawas beliefs, spirits can be embodied in concrete forms with specific character, location and direction. Believers of this system include people of the Amis, Ketagalan, Paiwan, Pinuyumayan, and Rukai.

Since the indigenous people have been largely Christianized by foreign missionaries, ceremonies and festivals are now some of the few occasions that traditional beliefs of indigenous people can be seen in practice. For example, the Paiwan people of southern Taiwan hold a malevaq (five-year festival) to request their ancestors to descend from the mountains, hoping for the spirits' blessings for five abundant harvests.