Profile of Indigenous Communities
According to legend, Sakizaya ancestors moved into eastern Taiwan from abroad and settled in the Hualien Plain. In 1878, the Sakizaya people defended themselves against the Qing troops in collaboration with the Kavalan people. The resistance is called the “Takubuwa Incident”(Jialiwan Incident). After the war, the Sakizaya suffered heavy losses and hid in Amis villages for a century to escape pursuit, resulting in the gradual erosion of their distinct language and culture. The Sakizaya were officially designated in 2007, becoming an officially recognized indigenous group. They are currently mainly distributed in the Hualien Plain and surrounding areas.
Social and Cultural Features
The social structure of the Sakizaya people includes both a system of matrilineal marriage and a detailed age-grade organization. Early marriage was mainly matrilineal and uxorilocal. Males enter youth age-grade training after 13; as members, they must handle public duties like defense, industry, and labor. The age-grade system is used cyclically.
Clothing and Arts
Sakizaya clothing was created after the official designation movement, based on history and legend, and has strong historical and cultural significance. The attire colors possess special meaning: earth gold for the land and returning home; dark red for ancestors’ blood and remembrance; deep green for the spiny bamboo protecting the tribe; and deep black for the community and ancestral spirits.
Ceremonies and Rituals
The traditional religious belief of the Sakizaya is founded on animism, where communication with supernatural powers is facilitated by the mapalaway, an individual capable of communicating with the spirits or deities. The tribe’s rituals mainly center on the Mitiway a Lisin (Sowing Ritual), Kailisinan (Harvest Ritual), and Musinga (Storage Ritual). The most fundamental and distinctive of their rituals is the Fire God Ritual (palamalan a lisin). Palamalan a lisin is centered on the “Jialiwan Incident” and is a pan-tribal commemorative event. Palamalan a lisin aims to mourn those sacrificed in the incident and foster ethnic identity. In the ritual, the people inform ancestral spirits with smoke, and five-colored messengers circle the tribe with torches.
Competition Event and Participants
- Traditional Archery: Individual Event－Open Men’s Division (2 Participants) /Individual Event－Open Women’s Division (2 Participants)
- Traditional Music and Dance: Group Event－Open Mixed Division (9 Participants)
- Log Sawing: Group Event－Open Mixed Division (4 Participants)
- Net Casting: Group Event－Open Mixed Division (4 Participants)
- Traditional Canoe Racing: Individual Event－Open Men’s Division (2 Participants)
- Traditional Road Running: Individual Event－Open Men’s Division (2 Participants) /Individual Event－Open Women’s Division (2 Participants)
- Freediving Sprint: Individual Event－Open Men’s Division (2 Participants)/Individual Event－Open Women’s Division (2 Participants)