The annual harvest festival of the Thao tribe was listed an important national folk customs Sept. 13 by the Ministry of Culture, underscoring the commitment of the government to preserving and promoting Taiwan’s indigenous communities.
Held on the first day of the eighth lunar month, the ritual coincides with the traditional start of the Thao New Year. It involves the tribal headman carrying aloft a holy shield adorned with the symbols of the sun and the moon at the head of a procession of dancers. Another fascinating feature is the rhythmic pounding of wooden pestles against stone slabs.
At a ceremony in Yuchih Township of central Taiwan’s Nantou County, MOC Minister Hung Meng-chi presented a national folk customs recognition certificate to the local Thao cultural promotion organization.
“This move will help enhance public awareness of Taiwan’s cultural diversity and preserve an important Thao festival while passing on unique customs to the tribe’s younger generations,” he said.
The Thao is among the smallest indigenous groups in Taiwan, with latest Council of Indigenous Peoples statistics showing a population of 752. In addition, its language is deemed critically endangered by UNESCO.
According to legend, the Thao discovered Sun Moon Lake and settled in the region while chasing a white deer. Although the tribe is deeply influenced by Han culture, it still retains its unique customs, especially the annual harvest festival.
Separately, Hung took part Sept. 12 in a traditional Paiwan wedding symbolizing the induction of an ancestral spirit totem into Taipei City-based National Taiwan University Museum of Anthropology.
The four-sided wood carving was designated a national treasure by the MOC in March along with a Janus-faced stone sculpture by the same tribe. (SFC-JSM)
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