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The Tribes in Taiwan

Amis

Total population229,431


Amis are a large community-based indigenous ethnic group with a large population. They have magnificent rituals, with the annual harvest being the most representative. Cu...
Atayal

Total population100,444


Weaving and face tattoos are distinctive to the Atayal who follow the ancestral preaching (gaga) and consider the ancestral spirit ceremony the most important ritual. Wit...
Paiwan

Total population111,244


The Paiwan (Payuan) link politics, marriage, religion, and art with the family names, clans and a rigid social hierarchy. After the millet harvest, they hold the “Millet ...
Bunun

Total population64,113


Distributed on both sides of the Central Mountain Range at an elevation of 500-1,500m, Bunun people are the ethnic group living at the highest elevation among all Taiwan’...
Pinuyumayan

Total population16,003


Although the Pinuyumayan people settled in the plains area with various ethnic communities and began contacts with outsider from a long time ago, they have maintained the...
Rukai

Total population14,241


The Rukai (Drekay) society is characterized by a social class system formed upon a well-defined division of labor and blended with marriage, politics, religion, worshippi...
Cou

Total population6,934


The Tsou (Cou) people settled in elevated Alishan Mountain in central Taiwan. Important ceremonies include the Homeyaya (Millet Harvest Festival) to show appreciations to...
Saisiyat

Total population7,357


Saisiyat (Say-Siyat) society consists of village clans. The Saisiyat people adopted Chinese surnames during the Qing dynasty and followed the social and marriage norms. T...
Yami

Total population5,008


The Yami (Tao) people settled on Lanyu (lit. Orchid Island) in Taitung County. This ethnic group has a range of legends and annual ceremonies and a significant maritime c...
Thao

Total population927


The Thao people mainly reside in Ita Thao (Barawbaw) Village, Yuchi (Qabizay) Township, Nantou County, and Dapinglin Settlement, Shuili Township, Nantou County. Currently...
Kavalan

Total population1,690


The Kavalan (Kebalan) people settled in Yilan for generations, they lived freely over hundreds of years near the river and by the sea and they have sovereignty across the...
Truku

Total population35,791


The Truku (Taroko) people value their weaving and face tattooing culture, believe in ancestral spirits, and follow gaya, the ancestral rules. The ceremony of ancestral sp...
Sakizaya

Total population1,146


The 1878 Takubuwa Incident (Jialiwan Incident) has significant influences in Sakizaya history and culture. Apart from mourning and remembering ancestors and this historic...
Sediq

Total population11,686


The Sediq people are distributed in the mountainous areas in central Taiwan. Characterized by their weaving culture and facial tattoos, Sediq people uphold Gaya (the ance...
Hla’alua

Total population496


Agricultural rituals are important to the Hla’alua people, and the Miatungusu (Holy Shell Ritual) is a ritual worshipping the Shell God derived from agricultural rituals....
Kanakanavu

Total population459


For a long time, the Kanakanavu people, Hla’alua people, and Tsou people living in Alishan Township of Chiayi County and Jiumei Community in Xinyi Township of Nantou Coun...