Etiquette and customs of Gaoshan nationality

Taiwan Province is one of the provinces where many ethnic groups gather. Almost all ethnic groups in China can be found in Taiwan Province. However, the earliest people who lived in Taiwan Province Qu were known as Gaoshan people, that is, they were known as "Dongren" and "Yizhou people" in history, and later they were renamed as "Shanzu", "Taiwan Province aborigines", "Taiwan Province aborigines" and "Taiwan Province aborigines".

this is an ancient nation. Due to the oppression of the reactionary ruling class in the past dynasties, the development of Gaoshan society is relatively slow, and some of them are still in the primitive state and still live in poverty. According to records, during the periods of Qin Shihuang and Han Wudi, there was a sea ban, which forced the residents of the southeast coastal areas of China to move to the mainland and prevented them from contacting the people of the coastal islands. In this way, the Gaoshan people, who live alone overseas, have a different development process from the people on the mainland of the motherland. However, their ethnic origin, culture, production, life and other aspects are still inextricably linked with the mainland, and since the Qing Dynasty, they have given up their original surname "Fan" and changed to the same surname as mainland immigrants. They have their own language and customs. The place where they live collectively is called a village society, and each village society includes several different families and clans. These village communities occupy a certain amount of land, and outsiders can't invade them.

Gaoshan people usually live in thatched wooden houses, and some roofs are covered with bark, slate or bamboo. Up to now, the Yami people living on Lanyu Island in Taitung still use the method of digging crypts to build houses. The indoor space is much lower than the ground, and the excavated soil is piled up around it to become the house wall. They live on taro and sweet potato. Usually, men only wear a "T-belt" around their waists, and women only wear a square cloth around their chests and waists. With the development of tourism in Taiwan Province, Lanyu has become a tourist area in Taiwan Province, and some Yami people have got rid of the bad habits of ignorance and backwardness.

Gaoshan people respect the elderly very much and love drinking. Because they often hunt, they especially like their hunting dogs, just as the Han people value their own cattle.

Gaoshan people also have traditional culture and art, and they especially like dancing. The famous pestle music is a kind of folk song and dance extracted from their life practice.

Gaoshan people are divided into many branches according to their geographical distribution and different languages. In addition to Pingpu people who have settled in the plain and merged with Han people, Gaoshan people can be divided into ten ethnic groups, including Atayal, Saixia, Bunun, Zou (Cao), paiwan, Lukai, Ami, Beinan, Yamei and Shao. A * * * more than 4, people, accounting for 1.7% of Taiwan Province's population of 23 million, belong to the disadvantaged groups, but they represent the most typical performance of Taiwan Province's local culture. The first six ethnic groups in the ten major ethnic groups live mostly in mountainous areas that cannot be cultivated, the Ami and Bonan ethnic groups live in the eastern plain, and the Yami ethnic group lives in Lanyu Island in the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly, for a long time, it seems inappropriate to call these ten ethnic groups Gaoshan, but they have been used for a long time and become accustomed to it.

Gaoshan people, like other ethnic minorities, have their own unique customs.

festivals and customs

Gaoshan people generally have two major festivals every year, one is the sowing festival and the other is the harvest festival. The scale of the latter is particularly large, almost equal to the Spring Festival of the Han nationality. At that time, all families will slaughter livestock, make wine, make cakes, etc., sacrifice their ancestors, and have fun, which generally lasts for about 1 days. They especially worship their ancestors; Believe in the immortality of the soul, think that everything has a soul, and the soul has good and evil. Hang calamus on your chest when you go out, and paint ashes on your forehead when you walk at night to avoid evil spirits from getting close to you. If you are sick, touch the affected area with Mao Ye, chicken eggs and animal teeth. They are also superstitious about signs and divination, and often decide what to do according to signs. Such as solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, comet appearance, rooster crowing at night, dog howling, snake coming out of the hole, birds crossing the road, people being stung, falling, sneezing, etc. are all ominous signs. Children's heads should not be touched casually. Women's special shovels, kitchen utensils, looms, etc. are not allowed to contact with men's bows and arrows, farm tools, weapons, etc.

Women's power is high

The grass-roots social organization of Gaoshan nationality is "she", and several she * * * forms a tribe. In some tribes, women's power has always been higher than that of men, retaining the legacy of matriarchal society. In tribal affairs, most of their elders, priests and even leaders are women, and they are in power. In the Ami and Yami ethnic groups, married husbands almost give their wives the best food and use. Women not only enjoy the treatment of their masters at home, but also have higher social status than men.

exquisite clothes

the clothes of Gaoshan compatriots are the most eye-catching. Their clothes are mainly made of linen and cotton, and they vary from region to region. But generally men have vests, jackets, shorts, headscarves, leggings and shawls. Women wear sleeveless or sleeveless dresses, aprons, trousers or skirts. Women also like to embroider exquisite patterns on skirts, sleeves, headscarves and aprons.

Gaoshan men and women like barefoot, and both men and women like to wear headdresses, earrings, bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Paiwan men's crowns are even more complex and beautiful than women's crowns. Ami people like to put thin colored lace on the sleeves, collars and hem of their clothes, and wear a half-waist skirt and black cloth at the waist, or make headdresses or earrings with leopard teeth, hair, shells, copper, silver and antlers to dress themselves up. Atayal and Saixia men often have ink tattooed in the middle of their foreheads and under their lips, which becomes a blue record. The tattoo ink is in the shape of longitudinal stripes, about the size of a little finger. A woman's face (with a pricker, she pricks complicated patterns on her face) from the cheekbones on both sides of her face to the corners of her mouth, forming a "V" shape. The trace of a woman, with thin and wide lines, is noble; Those with thick and narrow lines are ordinary civilians.

People who tattooed on their bodies are common in Gaoshan nationality, among which both paiwan people and Beinan people have the custom of tattooing. Some men of the Pei 'nan and Ami nationalities living on the coast of the East China Sea also have a habit of burning scars. Paiwan and Ami people like to use bird's tail feathers as decoration. People in paiwan often use two or three eagle's tail feathers to put them at the top of fur hats. Ami people use the tail feathers of pheasants, and those who take their white feathers count more than 2, which are arranged in a fan shape on their heads as headdresses. Atayal people and paiwan people like to wear ring hats, and some wear garland hats, bowl-shaped rattan hats, bearskins and so on. Yami people and some Ami people often wear a single wooden hat, which is hollowed out from the wood to become a hat for sun protection and rain protection.

When going out, Gaoshan compatriots almost always carry net bags with them, which has become a custom. Some women in paiwan dress up and go out, often with a long belt hanging over their shoulders, which hangs down to their knees. Men often have shawl bags to hide betel nuts and other utensils when they go out. Atayal and Bunun people like to hang bags made of leather.

Give guests a little nose

When receiving visitors from outside the island, the Yami compatriots on Lanyu Island sometimes use a strange etiquette-a little nose. This kind of nose-pointing ceremony means that the elders of the tribe gently rub the tip of the guest's nose for a moment with their noses in the crowd with torches in their hands, and then make a welcome speech to show their friendly feelings for the landing guests.

beautiful "yangko"

Gaoshan compatriots are sincere and bold, and they are generally good at singing and dancing. They have their own beautiful folk songs, ancient ballads and myths and legends. Musical instruments include harpsichord, bow, bamboo flute and nasal flute. Every festive festival, the compatriots will sing and dance in groups. Among them, "Pen-pestle Dance" is a folk dance with a unique style. Women are surrounded by stone mortar, holding long pestle and rice, and making sonorous sound on the stone day. With rhythm, women are accompanied by crisp and sweet songs, dancing with graceful steps, simple and moving.

Betel nut taste

Taiwan Province compatriots love eat areca, while Gaoshan compatriots love eat areca even more, especially the elderly. If there are friends or guests at home, inviting eat areca is regarded as a good way to entertain guests. They believe that betel nut is an evergreen tree, and betel nut is an evergreen fruit, which is the embodiment of precious and auspicious. Dedicate it to the old man to show respect and wish him a long and healthy life. Give it to the girl to show her love and wish her a happy and harmonious love life; Give it to the young man, congratulate him and wish him strong, hardworking and brave. Send it to the guests, express welcome and wish them good health; All the best. Therefore, the villages of Gaoshan nationality are often built in the evergreen betel nut forest, aiming at seeking its shelter, eliminating disasters and getting rid of diseases. Every year when the betel nut is ripe, they climb the tall betel nut tree to pick the fruit and cut it into small pieces with a waist knife to dry for later use. Then we went to the beach to find oyster shells, calcined them with fire and ground them into fine powder, which was the "seasoning" in eat areca. They also like to chew with oyster ash and betel nut wrapped in the leaves of a plant called Fu Wei, which makes it more flavor. It is said that in addition to the effect of expelling insects, betel nut also has the effect of protecting teeth. Because they are often in eat areca, their mouths are all dyed red, especially young girls, whose lips are like a layer of rouge, which makes them more graceful and charming.

More interestingly, in the area of Chutaidong County, Hualien County, betel nut has also become a token of affection for young men and women of Gaoshan nationality. According to the customs of the Ami people,' at the turn of summer and autumn every year, a lively and grand "basket-carrying meeting" will be held. It is regarded as a festival for young men and women of Ami nationality. They pursue pure love and happiness through their interaction at the meeting. Whenever August 15th comes, when the moon is the roundest and brightest, beautifully dressed Ami girls come to the "basket-carrying meeting" with delicate and elegant rattan baskets on their backs. These small rattan baskets were carefully woven by the girls' mothers. In order to pray for her daughter's happiness, many beautiful patterns were woven on the small basket. These patterns have many different meanings, some indicate good luck, others indicate love and happiness. At the beginning of the basket-carrying meeting, the head of the tribe first called the boys and girls into the betel nut forest to bless them loudly, wishing every young man can find his sweetheart, get love and happiness, and keep the tribe prosperous and strong. After the toast, the boys cheered loudly and rushed to the betel nut tree and began to pick betel nuts. Tall areca trees are generally more than ten meters high, with smooth skin and no branches. It is not easy to climb them. At the same time, it is also stipulated that the belly should not touch the trunk when climbing trees, which requires the young man to have a strong physique and strength. This is a method of survival of the fittest in order to keep the nation strong. At this time, the girls gathered together, shouting loudly and cheering for their sweetheart, while quietly commenting on the young man's lithe and brave with his girlfriends. The boys are climbing very hard at this time, and they all want to show their skills in front of many girls to win their favor. When I climbed to the top of the tree, I quickly picked the betel nut, put it in a bag with beautiful patterns embroidered on my back, and quickly slipped down and ran to the girls. When the girls saw the young man running, they ran away with laughter. However, the young man had already secretly chosen the girl in his heart, so he chased after his lover. In this way, the girl ran in front, giggling as sweet as a bell, and the young man chased after her, panting and happy. When the young man catches up with the girl, he throws the betel nut into the girl's basket. At this time, the girl slows down and looks at the pursuer carefully with a smile. If she finds that she is not the young man she likes, she will smile apologetically, wag her body, shrug her shoulders, shake out the betel nut in the basket and run away with a smile. If you are the right person, you will stop and hold hands, talk in a low voice and tell each other your love. If the two sides are in harmony, the girl will take out her carefully embroidered purse and give it to the young man to express her sincere feelings. Then they will walk hand in hand into the betel nut forest and tell each other their true feelings, expressing their pursuit of pure love and yearning for a happy life. Such activities often stay up all night until dawn.

"Cage" tryst

In some villages of uneven level in the mountainous area of Taiwan Province, you can often see independent huts with unique styles, which are the "cages" for young men and women of Gaoshan nationality to make love and have trysts at night. When the girl reaches the age of 15 or 16 and becomes a graceful and charming girl, her parents will carefully build a hut-"cage" for her and let her live alone, which means that the girl has grown up and can participate in various activities of adults and make boyfriends. As a result, this "cage" has become a place where young men and women fall in love together and exchange feelings with each other. Whenever the night covers the earth, the moon rises from the treetops and the cottage is immersed in silence, young girls and boys are as ups and downs as Sun Moon Lake in a storm, eagerly looking forward to the exciting and unforgettable moment.

The girl who lives in the "cage" lit a pine lamp early, and the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the screen was silent, waiting for the arrival of her sweetheart. Ma Da (a young man) of Gaoshan nationality changed into clean and tidy clothes, dressed like a groom, and quietly came to the "cage" by moonlight. According to the traditional rules, Mada who meets the girl in the "cage" can't knock at the door, which is considered impolite and incompetent, and the girl will look down upon it and never open the door. It's a lifelong regret to see the beloved girl close at hand, but never meet each other. But this can't beat the witty and clever Mada. He took out a small and exquisite mouthpiece from his arms and put it in his mouth. He gently touched it with his hand, so a burst of melodious piano sounds floated into the "cage" with the breeze. This piano is telling the girl that Mada has arrived. Mada surrounded the "cage" and played one song after another. However, the door of the "cage" is often still closed, on the one hand, because the girl is shy, on the other hand, the girl is deliberately testing Mada. Of course, Mada can stand this test, and he will get up the courage to play the lute again and again without losing heart. The sweet sound of the piano touched the girl's heartstrings one after another. The girl finally opened the door and welcomed Mada into the room with a big smile.

The fire in the fireplace in the "cage" is blazing, and the faces of the girl and Mada are red. They sit around the stove, barbecue peanuts and taro, and talk softly, expressing their pursuit of sincere love. With the deepening of feelings, the * * * in my heart is burning like a fire, and Mada can't help but let go of her voice and pour out her love for the girl with a deep and vigorous singing voice; The girl looked at Mada with watery eyes and sang in love. You sing me and me on both sides, and the song connects the two hearts tightly.

This kind of tryst usually lasts until the cock crows for the first time before they break up. At this time, Mada often took out betel nuts from her intimate head and gave them to the girl. The girl gave Mada her carefully embroidered cigarette pouch, and both of them reluctantly waved goodbye. After a period of "cage" tryst, men and women are congenial, so they can tell their parents to fix the marriage.