Taiwan Indigenous News
Friday, 20 February 2009
TB Treatment Delays In Taiwan
It should also be noted that the mortality rate and incidence of TB are much greater in aboriginal communities in Taiwan than in non-aboriginal areas. ...
Taiwan's indigenous population up 2.05 percent
MOI officials said the increase was about six times that of the 0.34 percent rate of growth of Taiwan's overall population. Taiwan's indigenous people were ...
Not the same old song and dance
He aims to present a more authentic picture of Aboriginal performing arts and culture. “I want our customers to see the performances in their most original ...
President pushes to boost tourism in Taiwan's indigenous areas
8 (CNA) Concerned over the development of tourism in Taiwan's indigenous areas, President Ma Ying-jeou asked government agencies Sunday to work with travel ...
Traditionally, the Atayal attire consists of woven clothes made to conventional designs. The technology involved in the clothes-making process is primitive and never evolved beyond the manual crafts of weaving and dyeing. At the same time, their garments are highly expressive, similar in style and function to those of the Taroko tribe. Originally, the Taroko, or Truku, had been considered a sub-group of the Atayal, but in 2006 they were recognized as an independent tribe. Even so, both tribes continue to proudly share the label as the “peoples most proficient in the art of weaving”.
Male and Female Attire:
Traditional Atayal dress is often a combination of sewed hemp (ramie) clothes and long robes. There are everyday outfits, work outfits and the ceremonial dress. Since Atayal society does not know a pronounced hierarchy or separate social classes, the chief and his family wear pretty much the same kind of clothes as the rest of the tribe. The basic male attire includes the following items: a headband, headdress, jacket, cape, loincloth and knife purse. Leaving aside the loincloth and the knife purse, the women’s attire is rather similar, featuring in detail: a headband, headdress, bib, jacket, cape, short skirt and leggings.
Clothing Materials:
Living deep in subtropical mountain areas with lush primeval forests and towering old trees, the Atayal have easy access to a number of natural materials for making clothes and finery. By far the most commonly used material, however, is ramie or China grass.
Style and Design:
Square pieces of cloth were the basic parts of traditional Atayal clothing, with two such pieces, patterned or plain, sowed together at an oblique angle to form their upper garment, or jacket, open at the chest. The sleeves are plain with little or no adornment. The short skirts and robes are made from three pieces of woven cloth that are tied together with a string of the same material, similar to the wrapped clothing of some ancient peoples.