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 ...
As a ritual and social center, the Kuba (“Men’s Gathering Place”) is of particular importance to the Tsou. It is the place where the men are trained and educated, the spiritual core of the tribe’s world, the headquarters and central point of defense in times of war, the symbol for the tribe’s sustained existence, the activity center and place where conflicts within the tribe are resolved, the religious center and site of most ritual activities and celebrations, the political center and, especially in the past, a symbol for the Tsous’ warrior spirit and the starting point of headhunting expeditions.
Although the Tsou may not have the kind of vivid visual totems that are deeply embedded in legend and mythology (and that for example the Paiwan and the Rukai possess), the Kuba is without doubt a very powerful spiritual totem that is at the heart of the tribe’s social and religious life.