Taiwan Indigenous News
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Political whisk: Angry Taiwan aboriginals throw eggs
"It's about our land, and the Council of Indigenous Peoples doesn't support us." The protesters, organised largely by aboriginal legislators, ...
Tea, aboriginal beads, cakes win contest for Taiwan's best products
Handcrafted with clay, they were used as a symbol of nobility and power in the aboriginal tribe. Now they have become one of the must-buy tour souvenirs in ...
Indigenous people call for minister to resign
6 (CNA) Over 300 members of the indigenous people's alliance for safeguarding the Aboriginal Basic Law staged a protest Tuesday in front of the Council of ...
Protesters slam interference in media affairs
PTS, Hakka Television Service and Taiwan Indigenous Television Service (TITV) are all affiliates of TBS, which is funded mainly by the government. ...
The garments of the Truku with their various totemic representations are very expressive of the tribe’s spirit and character, which shine through the style, design, coloring and patterns of the clothes, as well as the texture of the materials. This is the result of a conscious effort by clothesmakers to imbue the outfits with religious and ritual significance, something that also connects the Truku attire with the tribe’s tradition of facial tattooing.
Male and Female Attire of the Truku:
The traditional Truku attire combines two basic forms of clothing: sewn and wrapped clothing (capes, etc). It comes in three varieties, everyday clothes, working clothes and ceremonial dress.
Everyday Clothes: These are worn during leisure time, mostly at home. These clothes are highly functional, and are mostly made from unicolor hemp cloth, serving to cover the body and keep the wearer warm.
Working Clothes: Worn for work in the fields (plowing, sowing, weeding, etc.), made from coarse materials and designed to allow the wearer free movement.
Ceremonial Dress: Worn for festivals and ritual ceremonies, and thus more stately and elaborate in style and design. Practically every member of the tribe has one set of traditional festive clothes, which features bright decorative patterns mostly in the colors red, black and white. The beautiful geometric designs on the dress itself are complemented by all kinds of exquisite finery, which traditionally was made of shells, conches, bones, bamboo or Job’s-tears beads. Later, when the Truku started trading or bartering with other settlers, other items such as buttons, plastic beads, sequins and woolen yarn also began being used. In addition to all the above, ceremonial hats, headdresses, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, bangles, girdles and foot finery are also worn for ritual ceremonies and other festive events, when everybody will put on their finest outfit to do justice to the occasion and show off their attire.
