Taiwan Indigenous News
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Female head of the national park system seeks to improve parks
... She said she could sense the wisdom of the mountain forests as passed down throughout the ages by Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The ...
Hsieh reveals moves to help indigenous students
... crystal display television to the students at an elementary school in Taitung County and announced more measures to help Taiwan's indigenous children secure ...
Tribe wants official recognition
... "Taiwan's indigenous tribes are all unique minorities in this country, but we are all the original residents of the island. Every ...
Since there are no written records, we have to rely on what has been passed down orally about the Saisiat tribe’s early migration history. According to the oral tradition, in their early days the Saisiat occupied a much larger territory than today, which included the extensive mountain areas and coastal plains around the border of today’s Miaoli and Taichung Counties. Later, about 200 years ago, increasing demographic pressure from the Atayal and Han Chinese settlers gradually forced the Saisiat to retreat into the area that they still occupy today. According to their geographical distribution, they are divided into a northern and a southern group.
Geographical Distribution of Southern Group:
Geographical Distribution of Northern Group:
It is not just their different geographical and administrative situation that distinguishes the northern and the southern Saisiat from each other, but also their consequent exposure to different cultural and environmental influences. The southern Saisiat, having lived for generations in close proximity to Hakka settlements, were clearly influenced by Hakka customs and culture, while the northern Saisiat absorbed much Atayal culture through intermarriage and living in mixed communities. Census statistics from 2006 put the total number of the Saisiat population at 5,402.