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 ...
Male Short Vest
Their clothes and finery, mostly in plain pastel tones of blue and white, are a very distinctive element of Tao material culture. The Tao men usually wear a short, sleeveless and collarless vest, made from to pieces of woven cloth with black and white horizontal stripes. These are folded and then sewed together at the back. The vest is open in front to about mid chest, below which the two pieces are also sewed together, while the borders are embroidered with fishbone patterns. The vests of old men are slightly different, as they may feature three overlapping stripes on the shoulders.
Male Loincloth
Largely due to the hot climate on Orchid Island, the Taos’ clothes are in fact rather basic and simple. The men walk around barefoot throughout the year. By the age of four or five, they start to wear a white loincloth to cover their crotch. It is wound and tied around the waist, and is easily the best-known item of Tao clothing.
It is also a very traditional garment that is unique among Taiwan’s aborigines. The loincloth is made of cotton, and is generally white, especially on festive occasions.
Since the weather is very hot and humid on the island, and there is much rainfall throughout the year, men always wear the loincloth, both for work and during times of leisure. They frequently go to sea, wearing nothing but the loincloth, to catch lobsters or gather marine algae such as Pervetia siliquosa.
The white loincloths form a nice contrast with the bronze color of the men’s skin, and the “classical” beauty of their appearance also gives ample expression to their indomitable spirit that is yet combined with a contented nature. By disposition, the Tao are closely connected to their environment, a living example of the concept that man and nature should be one.
Male Fishskin Armor
The fishskin armor is worn by Tao men on special occasions, including ritual ceremonies and the expelling of demons and evil spirits, as well as ritual fights. The armor is made of the firm leaves of the water vine shrub and the skin of eels, or other fish of the Muraenidae family. Although referred to as “suit of armor”, it is not really worn in warfare.
The traditional short sleeveless female top is a square piece of clothing called Aymavakes, which is wrapped across the upper body so that it falls diagonally from the left to the right, covering the chest and reaching down to the waist. The Aymavakes consists of four sewn-together pieces of cloth with alternating vertical stripes in black, or blue, and white.
The women wear a short skirt made from one to three pieces of cloth (for little girls, just one piece is used). If more than one piece is used, they are sewn together, and the finished skirt is fastened around the waist with a long belt made of water vine or ramie rope. To keep the skirt in place, it is sometimes folded over the belt. Just like the top, the skirt is white with alternating stripes of blue or black.