BELIEFS OF THE TAIWANESE ABORIGINES

• Authors: Bzdyl Joanna
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper examines beliefs and rites of the Taiwanese indigenous people. The first part briefly presents Taiwanese society from the historical perspective and highlights main problems of the ethnic and the religious diversity of the Taiwanese population. Further, the authoress elaborates on the beliefs of several tribes officially recognized by the Republic of China. This part of the essay is mainly focused on tribes which belong to the anito and the kawas belief systems. At several points throughout the paper there is a reference to characteristic features of culture that are common to all Taiwanese tribes. However, as it is shown, these tribes do not constitute homogeneous organization, and in many instances differ from one another. Finally, the paper concludes with some reflections on the present situation of beliefs of the Taiwanese Aborigines. Especially interesting is the indication of the change in the religious life that has been observed from the beginning of the 20th century.

Keywords

EN

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS; SHAMANISM; TAIWANESE ETHNIC DIFFERENTIATION; TAIWANESE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE; TRIBAL RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

Discipline

• ANTHROPOLOGY: ANTHROPOLOGY

• Publisher: Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 25-34
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Bzdyl Joanna

• Joanna Bzdyl, ul. Sw. Filipa 18/20, 31-150 Kraków, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA069123