The Forgotten Peoples

In what way should the history of Taiwan be interpreted?

Colonialism and invasion concepts brought forth by imperialism are dismissed as diplomatic power struggles in history. The indigenous peoples who fought relentlessly against the foreign powers, who were forced to migrate and into hiding again and again throughout history lost their culture and roots, and gradually “became Non-indigenous (people)” - this is the basic impression the Taiwanese public has of the plains indigenous peoples.

Originally settled down on Lanyang Plain, the majority of Kavalan people relocated on Huatung Coast after invaded by non-indigenous peoples and were often mistakened as Pangcah people. Now, Kavalan has been officially recognized by the government as the members of 11th indigenous community but for Kavalan people, they have not found their own name.

The name of “Kavalan people” was included in Article 2.1 of “The Indigenous Peoples Basic Law” after the indigenous name rectification but this is only applicable to those with indigenous peoples status who registered in 1956 or completed supplementary registration before 1963. For descendants of Kavalan people marked as “uncivilised savages” on the household registration books during the Japanese colonial period, the classified “Taiwanese Plains Indigenous Peoples,” are not acknowledged as indigenous peoples and their name has not really been “restored.”

In March, 1996, based on the suggestions provided by scholars and experts, the then Taipei City Hall renamed Jieshou Road in front of the Presidential Office Building Ketagalan Boulevard in commemoration of the history and culture of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. It was not until then did the people of Taiwan realise that an indigenous people called Ketagalan existed in Taiwan. After all these years, most people still have no realisation about who they are, what happened in the history, and where they are right now.

As is known to most of us, historically Taiwan has been undergone the successive rule of different foreign forces, from the Netherlands, Ming Zheng, the Qing Empire to Japan. These regimes have had a profound influence on the island, and their governance has contributed to the shaping of its modern-day geographical and cultural landscape. Yet, very few of us are aware that the Taiwanese Plains Indigenous Peoples who used to live in central Taiwan were massacred and persecuted during the invasion and colonization of these foreign regimes. To find more chances of survival, they had no choice....

Who once lived in the vast plains of Taiwan's southwest region? The southwestern plains were once occupied by the Taiwan Plains Indigenous Peoples, yet their history has been lost in time. Fortunately, historical documents studies and research offer more information to the descendants seeking their roots, as the stories of their ancestors are gradually uncovered.

In addition to the well-known Paiwan and Rukai peoples, Pingtung is also home to the Makatao, one of the Taiwan Plains Indigenous Peoples. An accumulation of diverse cultures and people, the Makatao has often been mistakenly classified in terms of ethnic group throughout history.

One of the most well-known Taiwan Plains Indigenous Peoples to the present public, the Siraya people not only has been fighting fiercely for name rectification with the Tainan City Government for the past decades, but also are the first group of indigenous people to have contact with individuals from other countries in history. The “Formosans” the Netherlands referred to were actually the four major communities in Tainan (Xingang, Xiaolong, Backloun, and Madou), the indigenous peoples who are now known as the Siraya.

If you ask which group of Taiwanese Plains Indigenous Peoples is the least-like “plains” indigenous peoples, the answer would be the Taivoan. Currently the Taivoan mainly reside in Kaohsiung's mountain areas such as Jiasian, Sanlin, Liugui, and Neimen, and these locations are actually at a higher elevation than many mountain indigenous peoples' villages.

In the past, the numerous Taiwan Plains Indigenous Peoples’ communities spread out in Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou were referred to as the Honya or Hoanya. But this name recorded by Inō Kanori (and had been used for so long) very likely had originated from the Taiwanese dialect word “Hoan-á” (“savage”) and does not actually refer to any particular ethnic group at all. The Lloa and Arikun peoples, who are considered branches of the Hoanya, are probably more accurate names for the indigenous peoples who have lived on this land for decades. Historically......