Taiwan is not a nation at all; only 12 countries in the world have diplomatic relations. However, it elects its own president, has its own currency and military, and is a multiparty constitutional democracy. The population of 23 million is 95% Han Chinese; 2.5% of the population is Indigenous, with the remainder made up of a growing number of new immigrants.
Archeological research suggests that humans have been living on Taiwan for at least 30,000 years. Taiwan recognizes 17 primary Indigenous peoples, each featuring unique social structures, art forms, and dialects:
- Amis (Pangcah): The largest group, mostly located in the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung, known for vibrant harvest festivals.
- Atayal (Tayal): Famed for traditional weaving and historical facial tattooing practices.
- Paiwan: Celebrated for intricate woodcarving, pottery, and a stratified social hierarchy.
- Bunun: Renowned for sophisticated multi-voiced harmonic singing (Pasibutbut).
- Other Recognized Peoples: Rukai, Puyuma, Tsou, Saisiyat, Tao (Yami) of Orchid Island, Thao, Kavalan, Truku, Sakizaya, Sediq, Hla’alua, Kanakanavu, and Siraya
They are linguistically and culturally linked to Pacific and Maritime Southeast Asian societies. The ancestors of nearly every island culture across two oceans, from the Philippines to Hawaii, from Borneo to Madagascar, can trace their origins back to Taiwan.
Around 5,000 years ago, a seafaring people set out from this island in wooden boats. Linguists who study the deep architecture of language have found that the Austronesian family, spoken today by close to 400 million people, has its deepest roots in Taiwan. Of the primary branches of that entire vast language family, nearly all of them exist on this one island.
The Maori of New Zealand, the Hawaiians, the Malays, among many others, are distant cousins of tongues still spoken in Taiwan. It is one of the great migrations in human history, and it started here. People left this and migrated across half the globe, making Taiwan a mother of nations.
Not all left. Today, the indigenous nations of Taiwan are the oldest thread in the island’s story, here for thousands of years before the first migration from mainland China.
On Orchid Island off the southeast coast, the Tao people have preserved their culture as fishermen by still using the same hand-made wooden boats to catch flying fish, which are a staple in their diet. They follow the rituals passed down through countless generations.
There is a very specific reason why we have included this information in our resources section of ‘Taiwan Cycle 100’ – for anyone cycling in Taiwan or engaged in any form of travel here, it would be criminal not to enlighten yourself and embrace this aspect of the culture of Taiwan.
After multiple years of hiking and cycling around the island, I can testify that the Indigenous areas and their people have captured the imagination of me and countless others. In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by the government and others to preserve the culture and languages of these minority groups.
Gun ownership in Taiwan is illegal except for the Indigenous, who have hunting rights. If you are lucky to pass through a village on a festival weekend, it’s not unusual to see hunting games with bows and arrows passing on these skills to the next generation.
At one point in time, headhunting was a central ritual, social, and protective practice for almost all indigenous groups in
Taiwan. It was popular because tribes believed enemy heads held vital spiritual power and life force that brought fertility, community harmony, and proof of personal valor.
Fortunately, headhunting was progressively outlawed and suppressed in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), as colonial authorities systematically banned the practice alongside related cultural traditions like facial tattooing between the late 1890s and the mid-1910s, as indigenous communities were forced to submit to imperial control.
Depending on the location of the village and resources available, there were distinct differences in eco-habitats perfectly tuned to the natural surroundings. These human habitats rely on local earth, stone, and plant materials to blend into the landscape.
There is one distinct feature you’ll find in every village, and that is a geometric triangular pattern adorning houses, archways, and earthenware pots. This is symbolic of the Sharp-Nose Pit Viper, AKA the ‘one hundred pacer’ snake. This snake holds the highest level of sacred reverence. According to folklore, the sun laid eggs; one hatched into the ‘100 Pacer’ snake and the other into the first human ancestor.
To learn more, you would be well advised to visit one of the two Indigenous Culture Parks in Taiwan: Pingtung and Nantou.
The latter is as much an amusement park as an educational facility designed for family entertainment. If you’d prefer a more realistic experience, I would advise a trip to one of the remote villages that we have included in our cycling routes, such as No. 4, 15, 30, 40, 44, 45, 49, 52, 55, 71, and 74.
If we haven’t already given you reason enough to do some exploring in these areas, then we can’t end without mentioning the food. A distinct cuisine that utilizes local ingredients should be enough to whet your palate; if not, then seeing a whole mountain pig roasting on a spit will surely draw you in.
