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Saisiyat, engaging in a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship. The short people, however, were lascivious and often made advances towards the
Saisiyat women. One day, some young Saisiyat decided to take revenge because of this disrespectful act. They cut the sturdy tree on which the short people rested. All the short people, except for two elders, fell from the cliff and died. These two surviving elders taught the Saisiyat the songs and dances of the Pas-ta'ai ritual and then left for the east. Shortly afterwards, the Saisiyat suffered from famine, which they attributed to the vengeful pygmy spirits. In order to appease the spirits, the Saisiyat began to hold the Pas-ta'ai and beg for forgiveness. In addition, the Saisiyat were to be hardworking, fair, honest, and tolerant in dealing with others.
144:(the northern ceremonial group). The ritual is held over the course of three days and nights, during the full moon of the 10th lunar month (mid-October), and occurs biannually - the first ritual held in a 10-year period is larger and carries more significance. The southern ceremony takes place one day earlier than its northern counterpart, and the two slightly differ in detail. One or two months before the ritual, both ceremonial groups send their delegates to decide on an appropriate date to hold the ritual, which is around the fifteenth day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar. Preparations are then begun and ceremonial songs, forbidden on other occasions, are practiced. The rituals, dances and songs performed in the Pas-ta'ai are complex, consisting of the five phases of
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In another version, the two elders of the short people put a curse on the
Saisiyat, who pleaded for forgiveness. The elders allowed this on the condition that the Saisiyat practice the dances of the short people to appease the spirits of the dead, else the crops of the Saisiyat would fail and wither.
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There are slightly different versions of the myth surrounding the ritual. According to one legend of the
Saisiyat, the short people, who were dark-skinned, less than a meter high and lived on the other side of the river, excelled in singing and dancing and were invited to the harvest festivals of the
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peoples of Taiwan (amongst others) also hold oral traditions of the existence of similar pygmy-like short peoples who possess similar anthropometric traits with
Negritos, possibly suggesting widespread Negrito presence on Taiwan prior to the Austronesian migration, though no physical evidence has
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as well as through increasing outsider interest. The Pas-ta'ai ceremonies were officially designated as Taiwan's
Cultural Heritage in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Over the years, certain external forces have had negative repercussions on the ritual, including improper intervention on the part of
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in
Saisiyat, Atayal and Philippine Negritos may characterize a Negrito signature in Taiwan. Although the molecular variation of D6a2 determines its presence in Taiwan back to middle Neolithic, other markers, Y-SNP haplogroups C-M146 and K-M9, warrant further analysis."
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in the
Philippine Negritos, Saisiyat, Atayal, Island Southeast Asia, and SEA (Southeast Asia) suggested a deeply rooted common ancestry, but could not support a past Negrito presence in Taiwan. Conversely, the sharing of cultural components and
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Other theories purport that the "Little People" could be
African slaves brought by European merchants during the 1600s. Letters sent by Dutch traders visiting Taiwan in the 1600s mention the existence of "short people" on the island.
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is used to provide spiritual security and to ward off evil. Tribal taboos are carefully observed during the ceremony; Saisiyat tradition holds that those who misbehave during the ceremony will consequently suffer from ill events.
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been found that attests to their existence. A 2019 genetic study comparing the genetic markers of
Philippine Negritos with that of several indigenous Taiwanese peoples was inconclusive in its findings; "The deep coalescence of
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Provisional
Committee on the Investigation of Taiwan Old Customs, Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan. Translated by the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (1998).
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The Pas-ta'ai ritual is purported to have been practiced for 400 years and was initially practiced every year during the harvest season. It was first recorded in 1915 in the
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103:. Under Japanese rule, the frequency was reduced to once every two years. According to anthropologist and filmmaker Hu Tai-li, from the Institute of Ethnology at
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origin if they existed at all. Some anthropologists suggest these may have been Proto-Australoid people who possibly arrived from Africa during the early
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The ceremony is traditionally the responsibility of the Saisiyat Titiyon family. The ceremony is held in Shiangtian Lake, Donghe Village,
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According to the legends, the short people had magical skills and brought luck to the Saisiyat if treated with respect or handled well.
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Traditional costumes with ornate decorations and bells (which enable a connection to the spirit world) are worn for the ceremony.
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The description of the Little People as dark-skinned and pygmy-like in stature has led to theories and associations with the
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164:(sending off the spirits). Following the five phases is the "post-ritual ceremony," which brings the ceremony to an end.
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Lan-Rong Chen; Jean Alain Trejaut; Ying-Hui Lai; Zong-Sian Chen; Jin-Yuan Huang; Marie Lin; Jun-Hun Loo (October 2019).
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government administrative sectors, biased media coverage, improper tourist behaviour, and the proliferation of waste.
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proposes that a common origin lies between the Taiwanese traditions and similar Malayo-Polynesian accounts of
421:"Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphisms of the Saisiyat Indigenous Group of Taiwan, Search for a Negrito Signature"
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When "Ta'ay" is Confronted with "Journalists": A Study of tourism and news coverage of the Pas-ta'ai.
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Nantou County: Department of Household Registration, Government of Taiwan Province.
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363:"A Past that Has Witnessed Gratitude and Resentment: The Legend of the Pas-ta'ai"
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A Study of the Traditional Ceremonies, Songs and Dances of Taiwan's Aborigines.
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Master's Thesis, Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University.
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Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia: An Anthropological Perspective
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Surveys of the Customs of Barbarian Tribes, Third Volume, The Saisiyat.
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BBC News: Taiwan's Saisiyat aborigines keep pas-ta'ai rituals alive
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Nantou City: Historical Records Committee of Taiwan Province.
140:(the southern ceremonial group) and in Taai Village,
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Edelweiss Journal of Biomedical Research and Review
293:Taipei: Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica.
277:History of Taiwan's Aborigines: The Saisiyat.
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97:Surveys of the Customs of Barbarian Tribes
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507:Taiwanese aboriginal culture and history
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391:Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
326:"Taiwan aborigines keep rituals alive"
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451:. New York: Routledge. p. 258.
296:Bin-Xiong Liu and Tai-Li Hu (1987).
324:Gluck, Caroline (7 December 2006).
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83:group. The ritual commemorates the
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445:Forth, Gregory (Jan 26, 2009).
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109:Aboriginal Taiwanese movement
27:Ritual of the Saisiyat people
156:(entertaining the spirits),
101:colonial Japanese government
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160:(chasing the spirits) and
254:Little people (mythology)
148:(welcoming the spirits),
152:(treating the spirits),
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34:Pas-ta'ai ceremonies at
522:Taiwanese folk religion
282:Yuan-Yi Huang (2008).
196:60,000 years ago. The
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537:Mythological peoples
81:Taiwanese aboriginal
397:on 23 February 2020
275:Xiuche Lin (2000).
527:Dwarves (folklore)
194:Southern Dispersal
138:Nanzhuang Township
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502:Culture of Taiwan
458:978-0-7103-1354-6
367:culture.teldap.tw
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305:References
464:6 October
430:6 October
401:5 October
340:5 October
244:Korpokkur
154:kisitomal
55:Pas-ta'ai
36:Nanzhuang
330:BBC News
249:Menehune
238:See also
182:Negritos
132:Ceremony
72:Ǎilíngjì
50:, Taiwan
18:Pasta’ay
264:Fairies
259:Dwarves
176:Origins
162:papaosa
91:History
59:Chinese
532:Ritual
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211:B4b1a2
206:Paiwan
204:, and
146:raraol
116:Legend
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67:pinyin
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202:Bunun
85:Ta'ai
466:2020
453:ISBN
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403:2020
342:2020
198:Tsou
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