Postcard Exchange

Aborigines of Taiwan

Though Taiwan is small, but she has 13 aboriginal tribes. They all have their own languages and/or dialects, art, music, cultures and living styles.

Some people call them falsely mountain people, because they live on mountains.

But it might insult them, if calling them mountain people. They did not live on mountains before. The first immigrants to Taiwan expelled them violently. The tribes escaped and hid on mountains.

(doctor K. Yang’s personal comments)
I, doctor K. Yang, call them Formosan people with all my upright respect. The saddest thing is, I believe their cultures are going to die out. The young people move to bigger cities looking for jobs and education. The tribes are poor and depend on tourists.

Tourists influenced their original cultures. The dance displayed on the card is a mix of their original dance and a modern touch. The clothes they wear are a mix of origin and uniform-like.

I do visit them, but not as a tourist, but as a friend, who respects their home.

Photo © OSIMA CO.