SaiSiyat
SaiSiyat refers to “human” in the tribe’s native language. The SaiSiyat population, which is the 10th largest of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, is concentrated in Wufeng Township of Hsinchu County and Nanzhuang and Shitan townships of Miaoli County. According to the tribe’s oral history, its place of origin is Dabajian Mountain, which it calls Oe’ pooh na’ boong. The tribe followed the rivers to lower elevations and spread out. About 400 years ago, there were SaiSiyat villages from as far north as Taoyuan County to the hills of Miaoli County and along the coast. However, due to invasion of its hunting territories by the Atayal tribe and the mass immigration of Han Chinese the SaiSiyat population rapidly decreased. In a 1906 census, the SaiSiyat population was recorded as 737. During the Qing dynasty, the superior weapons of Chinese troops forced the SaiSiyat to withdraw to its current locations.
This tribe possesses a patrilineal society with a strict clan structure, and the affairs of the tribe are decided by the elders of each clan in the form of a tribal council.
The SaiSiyat have many traditional rites and ceremonies, each organized by a particular clan. These include the Dwarf Spirit Ceremony, ancestral spirit worship ceremony and prayer for blessings. The SaiSiyat have been careful to preserve the taboos and shamanistic practices handed down to them by their ancestors. Thus, the ceremonies of the SaiSiyat are considered to be the most well-preserved when compared with the ceremonies of Taiwan’s other indigenous tribes.
