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. ...
White is the dominant color in Truku clothing: white oversleeves are worn together with sleeveless white jackets, and the long single-piece skirts worn by the women are also white. To liven things up a bit, multicolored geometrical patterns are woven into the garments. The outfit is completed with a waistbelt and white leggings open at the front. Sometimes a white cloth cape is also worn.
The woven clothes, while predominantly white, may also feature some other colors, especially blue, yellow, red and black. White always serves as the ground color, and the tribe’s weavers and clothesmakers excel at creating lively and aesthetically pleasing dresses with a minimum of simple colors and patterns.
The favorite designs employed by Truku weavers are rhombic and striped patterns, which are combined in various ways. There’s a limit to the amount of variety and possible patterns, which is defined by the weave as well as the conventional designs that have been handed down from one generation to the next. The weaving women thus know exactly what kind of colors, shapes and patterns are permitted by the material and tradition, and what kind of motifs and combinations should be avoided.
The Truku believe that when they die, they return to the land of their ancestors, and it is said that the stripes in various hues found on their garments signify the colors of the Rainbow Bridge. It is this bridge that leads to the blessed land where the souls of the forebears reside. Meanwhile, the alternating rhombic patterns stand for the countless eyes of the forefathers, which are believed to protect the wearer of the clothes.
