History: Atayal Tribe

Brief intro

The Atayal (Chinese 泰雅, pinyin: Tàiyǎ) are the 3rd-largest indigenous group in Taiwan, it is famous by its weaving art, dancing, face tattoo culture (Ptasan) and its “Maho” festival, the most important ceremony to celebrate the annual harvest.

Taiwan is home of a number of Austronesian indigenous groups since before 4,000 BC. The Atayal people are believed to have migrated to Taiwan from Southern China or Southeast Asia. Their culture has been heavily destroyed by Han migration in Chin dynasty 1684 to 1895, and by Japanese colonization from 1895 to 1945. The modern Atayal are closely interbred with Han Chinese immigrants. The Atayal village we have been working with (Atayal: Maypwan, pinyin: xiangbi) is one of the 8 villages along the Da-An creek region, and its population has been decreasing every year. The Atayal people used to have their own religion until 1950, when it got replaced by the Christian Presbyterian Church.