Paiwan indigenous people gather in a remote village of southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County to mark their most important festival.
Staged every five years, Maljeveq is the major festival of the Paiwan indigenous people. Last held in October, it is an opportunity for members of Taiwan’s second largest aboriginal group to pray for blessings from the gods and strengthen their bonds with ancestors, nature and the heavens.
The earliest written records of Maljeveq, which means “five-year festival,” date back to 1722. For a variety of political, religious and other reasons, many tribal villages no longer mark the occasion. Among the handful of communities keeping the tradition alive, Tuban, or Tjuwabar in the Paiwan language, in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung County is the only one that conducts the complete ceremony.
First observed by Japanese researchers in 1913, Tuban’s Maljeveq features a host of rituals held over five days. These aim to invite ancestral spirits and deities to participate in the festivities and ward off evil. The highlight of the event is a ceremony in which tribal warriors use long bamboo poles to try and spear rattan balls thrown high into the air. According to Paiwan beliefs, the gods determine the victors and offer them and their families good fortune until the subsequent festival.
Located deep in the mountains and inaccessible by public transportation, Tuban typically receives few tourists. But once every five years, the village throngs with tribespeople and visitors eager to experience this solemn celebration of Paiwan culture.
—by Jim Hwang
A retired shaman, left, offers guidance to her successor in preparing Formosan beautyberry leaves for the celebration. The plants are believed to dispel bad fortune.
Chief shaman Mamauwan Patjaljinuk, right, passes down traditional rites to a young tribesperson.
Traditional Paiwan dishes such as red quinoa and sticky rice wrapped in pinstripe ginger leaves and roast boar are prepared for the event.
A series of rituals are performed over the five-day festival to pray for blessings and ward off evil.
Tribal warriors set up a bamboo platform for the ball spearing ceremony, the highlight of the celebrations.
Spearing a rattan ball brings good fortune, but practice (top) may not guarantee success in the ceremony (bottom) as Paiwan beliefs state that the results are decided by the gods.
A brother and sister sport traditional attire during the Maljeveq celebrations.