Paiwan Introduction

by Huang bomin

Paiwan about megalithic culture in Southeast Asia (Megalithic culture) prosperous period, moved to Taiwan. Early Paiwan tribe living in northwestern North Dawu Mountain area, now Paiwan still pointed north Tawu specific ancestral home haunt.
Later Paiwan gradually migrated south from the north Dawu Mountain, some crossed the central mountain range to reach the East Coast, while others continue south to the southernmost tip of Taiwan.
Paiwan tribe originally from the foothills of the mountain and gradually into the business aspects of mountain life. They gradually moved southward along the mountains, has reached Hengchun half bird, and some crossed the Central Mountain Range to the east Reclamation, many of these people are from the east moved to live in the west.
Paiwan by today Administrative Region, the geographical distribution contains Sandimen Pingtung County, Ma home Taiwu to justice, spring, lions, peony, Manchuria, and Taitung County Jinfeng, Darren, Dawu, Taimali etc. .
◎ Paiwan sociocultural
Taiwan's many indigenous groups, each ethnic group Jieyou different historical heritage, geography, cultural patterns, so the social and cultural characteristics, each unique, not them as a single homogeneous group come to know and understand.
Paiwan social background, diet and mode of production, construction, beliefs, ceremonies and rituals, glass beads, stone houses and stone carving, wood carving art, clay pots, peach monthly series, etc., are very distinctive.
Paiwan to strictly distinguish between civilian status aristocratic class of its characteristics, political organization is divided into two classes aristocracy, very strict and clear, the sun is claiming to be the descendants of the nobility, or cloud-hundred-pacer descent. Plus another set strict ban marriages nobles and commoners, even aristocratic appearance of a number of minority tribes' feudal form of "social culture, resembling Zhou class society.
Paiwan tribal society, social class and the rights and obligations of leaders, nobles, warriors and civilians, the institution of marriage and the wedding ceremony is also very special, worthy of careful study of taste.
Paiwan housing complete slate or flagstone wall mining thatched roof style building, the leader of home building has its own special needs. Paiwan Sambo: bronze knives, ancient clay pots, glass beads are a symbol of social class.
Ancient Paiwan tribe is settled mining system, inhabited by the way, in order to select the base of the water as the main condition of consideration, so the tribe to build more on the slopes on both sides of the valley, spring flows to the way the valley.
Complete autonomy of the regional organization for multiple composite Paiwan tribe, settlement pattern Paiwan sometimes is an independent centralized villages, sometimes jointly by several adjoining villages of together.
Paiwan majority of situations is a more concentrated population centers tribes, plus several small tributaries near the village, constitute a tribal political organization. Japanese occupation during most of the Paiwan tribe for the Group.
Source:www.tacp.gov.tw/home02_3.aspx?ID=$3081&IDK=2&EXEC=L