Paiwan people

Ethnic group
|group=Paiwan


poptime=70,331 (2000)
popplace=Taiwan
langs=Mandarin, Paiwan
rels=Animism, Buddhism, Christianity
related=The Paiwan () are an aboriginal tribe of Taiwan. They speak the Paiwan language. In the year 2000 the Paiwan numbered 70,331. This was approximately 17.7% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the third-largest tribal group. [Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (DGBAS). National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan). [http://eng.stat.gov.tw/public/Data/511114261371.rtf "Preliminary statistical analysis report of 2000 Population and Housing Census"] . Excerpted fromTable 28:Indigenous population distribution in Taiwan-Fukien Area. Accessed PM 8/30/06]

The unique ceremonies in Paiwan are Masaru and Maleveq. The Masaru is a ceremony that celebrates the harvest of rice, whereas the Maleveq commemorates their ancestors or gods.

History

One of the most important figures in Paiwan history was supreme chief Toketok (卓其督; ca. 1817 - 1874), who united 18 tribes of Paiwan under his rule, and in 1867 concluded a formal agreement with Chinese and Western leaders to ensure the safety of foreign ships landing on their coastal territories in return for amnesty for Paiwan tribesmen who had killed a ship's crew* on a previous occasion.

* An Okinawan vessel shipwrecked on the southern tip of Taiwan and the crew of fifty-four were beheaded by the Paiwan aborigines. When Japan sought compensation from Qing China, the court rejected the demand on the grounds that the "wild"/"unsubjugated" aboriginals (traditional Chinese: 台灣生番; simplified Chinese: 台湾生番; pinyin: Táiwān shēngfān) were outside its jurisdiction. This open renunciation of sovereignty led to the Taiwan Expedition of 1874 by the Japanese.

References