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Yami

 

Lanyu

 

* 美麗的達悟族拼板舟

* 達悟族拼板舟(dadala)的智慧

* The Influence on Traditional Culture of Tao People When Developing Ecotourism by Yi-Chen Chung

 

Videos:

• Orchid Island Fun Taiwan
• Yami People, Lanyu Island Taiwan
• 野性蘭嶼
• 蘭嶼的風
• 蘭嶼~藍洞
• 蘭嶼遊
• 達悟族舞蹈
• 達悟人划船
• 蘭嶼拼板舟巡迴展
• 夜間補飛魚
• Song: 飛魚來了
• Song: 陳建年~蘭嶼情歌

 

Flying Fish

 

Flying fish, often preserved by drying, are a staple of the Tao people of Orchid Island.

YAMI

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

The Tao (達悟), commonly known by the misnomer Yami (雅美), are a Taiwanese aboriginal people, native to tiny outlying Orchid Island in Taiwan. The Tao are an Austronesian people linguistically and culturally closer to the Ivatan people of the Batanes islands of Luzon in the Philippines than to other aboriginal peoples of mainland Taiwan. The word "Tao" (pronounced Ta-o) means "person" or "people" in both the Tao language as well as in Tagalog and all Philippine languages. The Tao people are traditionally good at making canoes, which is a symbol of their tribe.

In the year 2000 the Yami numbered 3,872. This was approximately 1% of Taiwan's total indigenous population.

 

The Tao language (達悟語), also known as Yami (雅美), is a Batanic language spoken by the Tao people of Taiwan who live on Orchid Island, 46 kilometers southeast of the main island of Taiwan. It is the only language of Taiwanese aborigines that does not fit in with the other Formosan languages but instead shares linguistic similarities with the Ivatan language spoken in the Batanes of northern Philippines.

All Austronesian languages spoken outside Taiwan (including its offshore Yami language) belong to the Malayo-Polynesian branch, sometimes called Extra-Formosan.

 

The Batanic languages (sometimes called ‘Bashiic’ or ‘Ivatanic’ or ‘Vasayic’) are four closely related languages which together form a subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Three of the languages (Ivatan, Babuyan and Itbayat) are spoken on Batan and three other small Batanes Islands, which are Northern Philippine islands located between Taiwan and Luzon. The fourth, Yami, is spoken on Orchid Island, near Taiwan.

 

 

Classification of Austronesian Languages

• Tsouic
  • Tsou
  • Saaroa
  • Kanakanabu
• Western Plains
  • Thao (AKA Sao. Brawbaw, Shtafari dialects)
  • Central Western Plains
    • Babuza (Taokas, Poavosa dialects)
    • Popora-Hoanya (Popora, Hoanya dialects)
• Northwest Formosan
  • Saisiyat (Taai, Tungho dialects)
  • Pazeh (AKA Kulun)
• Atayalic
  • Atayal
  • Seediq (AKA Truku, Taroko)
• East Formosan
  • Northern (Kavalanic)
    • Basai (Trobiawan, Linaw-Qauqaul dialects)
    • Kavalan
    • Ketagalan
  • Central (Ami)
    • Nataoran (North Amis)
    • Amis
  • Siraya
  • Malayo-Polynesian
• Bunun
• Rukai (Mantauran, Tona, and Maga dialects are divergent)
• Puyuma
• Paiwan (southern tip of Formosa)

 

 

 

Images from Among the Head Hunters of Formosa by Janet B. Montgomery McGovern

 

 

 

 

Image from Takao Club: Yami Men

 

 

Image from Vintage Formosa: Orchid Island Men with Silver Helmets

 

* Taiwan's Yami Tribe by Richard S. Ehrlich

Silver Helmets: Yamis still display their silver helmets during ceremonies when mature men boast about the value of their helmet, and seek to gain more silver coils to enlarge it, before handing it down to the next generation, from father to son. The valuable inheritance is kept and transported in a large, special "orisan" basket. But Yami silversmiths, who once enjoyed respect for their handiwork, are now a dying breed. Earlier, the ceremonial helmets were such a coveted item, that if a father had several sons, then the helmet's silver coils would be broken apart and divided, so that each son would have a piece of the metal hat which would then need to be repaired and rebuilt by finding more silver coins which could be hammered into coils—to once again form a completed helmet.

On an island where banks were unheard of, Yamis displayed their wealth by wearing ornaments during ceremonies. Tribes would open their orison baskets and extract their helmets, along with gold and silver jewelry, which usually appears in the shape of a disc that adorns a person's chest. Other gold and silver baubles include expensive bracelets. Such decorations are important when welcoming guests who arrive by walking from village to village, or by paddling their ubiquitous canoe-like boats which are protected with a hardened hull to prevent destruction on Lanyu Island's rocky shoreline. The boats carry up to 10 people, and its wood is elegantly decorated with carvings.

Ancient Yami tribesmen not only showed off their riches during festivals, they also held "machi vai-vait" competitions to prove who was the wealthiest of all. A family would select from among its relatives to find the best one capable of representing their dynasty, and then adorn that person in their finest silver helmet, chest discs, bracelets and other fancy items. The decked out individual would strut into a village, receive a ceremonious welcome, and grin delightedly while the village praised the person's status in special songs. This was not just for fun and games. Whoever could muster the most silver and gold—compared to other villagers who also competed—would then be assured of achieving a social superiority that would honor the lineage for generations.

 

 

Image from sinica.edu.tw: Hair Dance by Yami Women

 

 

Images from The Gerald Warner Taiwan Image Collection

 

Nine Orchid Island Women Dancing in a Circle

Nine women dancing in circle, hands clasped on upper arms, on beach, with canoes in the background. Ethnologist Kano Tadao, in a work first published in 1945, described the Tomoto Dance: "More than ten women with hands joined to form a circle and with the legs pressed together start the dance. In this position they begin to bend and stretch as they sing. The dance gains momentum as the legs come into action and the girls start jumping to the right or to the left as the circle is set in motion" (Kano 1956, p. 437). The dance depicted here resembles Kano's description of a Tomoto dance, though there are only nine participants. The other circular dance described by Kano was the 'Magaram Dance': "several young women form a circle with arms outstretched and hands clasping the alternating neighbors' hands behind the neighbors' backs to form two entwining circles. As they begin to sing the dance commences by drawing the left leg back then thrusting it forward with the foot gaining a few inches to the right. The fight foot follows as the circle slowly turns either from right to left or the reverse in rhythmic repetition' (Kano 1956, p. 436). In contrast to the short skirts depicted in [wa0003] and [wa0004], the longer garment worn by the woman in the center of this photo is called an "ayub" or women's lightweight gown. Chen, following Kano Tadao (1956, p. 104), writes that the ayub is a "rectangular robe made of wild ramie about 100 by 80 cm. in size, usually with twelve blue stripes running lengthwise. It is worn draped over the left shoulder" (Chen 1968, p. 172). Taiwan Aborigine circle dances were a common motif in Japanese photography, narratives, and drawings throughout the colonial period.

 

 

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to 1–2.5 m tall; the leaves are heart-shaped, 7–15 cm long and 6–12 cm broad, and white on the underside with dense small hairs—this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike nettles, the hairs do not sting.

Ramie is one of the oldest fibre crops, having been used for at least six thousand years, and is principally used for fabric production. It is a bast fibre, and the part used is the bark (phloem) of the vegetative stalks.

Ramie is one of the strongest natural fibers. It exhibits even greater strength when wet. Ramie fiber is known especially for its ability to hold shape, reduce wrinkling, and introduce a silky lustre to the fabric appearance. It is not as durable as other fibers, and so is usually used as a blend with other fibers such as cotton or wool. It is similar to flax in absorbency, density and microscopic appearance. However it will not dye as well as cotton. Because of its high molecular crystallinity, ramie is stiff and brittle and will break if folded repeatedly in the same place

 

 

Four Orchid Island Women

Four women, two standing and two seated under a thatched roof on pavement of round stones. The skirts in this photo are similar to the classic form described by Chen Ch-lu as being "made by sewing together three pieces of ramie cloth each 16-17 cm. wide. At both ends there are usually three blue stripes running lengthwise. The cloth is wound around the waist and held by a tightly-tied string. This skirt is worn from the age of five or six onwards....The older generation [Chen wrote in the 1960s] usually wears only a skirt; but the younger generation, probably because of foreign influence, may put on a breast covering" (Chen 1968, p. 172).

 

 

Orchid Island Architecture

Several Orchid Islanders, men and boys, posing for camera in loin-cloths, upper garments, and helmets. Some men are holding spears, standing on a rounded-stone wall. Kano Tadao labels the roofed structure on the left as a "Tagakal" or pile-raised resting platform. He writes: "Almost every Yami family owns a resting platform which is erected in front of the main dwelling. It is built on four piles with the plank flooring raised about 3 meters above the ground. The roof is thatched and access is by a ladder. Resting on the platform even in the heat of midday is refreshing and the refreshing cool sea breezes make it possible to forget the unbearable heat of the tropics. From this vantage point once can also see the incoming boats with their catches of fish" (Kano 1956, p. 70). Chen Chi-lu, following Kano, writes that one "characteristic feature of [Yami] construction is that the house is built in the center of a partially sunk shaft-like enclosure almost completely surrounded by high stone walls so that only the roof-tops can be seen. It is obvious that this type of construction is for protection against the violent typhoons which periodically visit the island, and therefore the type may be regarded as a local development" (p. 266). There are two types of Yami helmet present in this photograph. One is a silver helmet, known as a vuragat, "made by joining silver plates together....[It] is used only on ceremonial occasions. Because such a helmet takes a long time to make and requires a large quantity of silver, it is impossible for young people to own one. To make and possess a silver helmet is a man's life-time dream" (p. 205). According to Chen, "the [Yami] supply of silver is replenished from Japanese or Chinese silver coins which are cut into small pieces and melted in [a]...earthen crucible....In making silver plate, the silver is heated over the fire, and then beaten out with a stone hammer on a stone anvil. It is periodically cooled by plunging it into water" (p. 145). The other helmet shown in this image is also for ceremonial use, as evidenced by the fine weave and finished appearance. These are made of a rattan-like plant known as kasokaso" (p. 201; 205).

 

 

Orchid Islanders with Upright Spears

Several dozen Orchid Island males crouch with spears in upright position. H. Suzuki's caption has been copied onto the back of this card, suggesting that one of the Warners read H. Suzuki's 1935 photo album, or that Warner and Suzuki received this image from a common source. In addition to "Forest of upright spears" H. Suzuki added [trans.]: "Welcoming, en masse, the rare guest to the island" (H. Suzuki 1935, p. 109).

 

 

Orchid Island Woman with a Ceremonial Hat

This woman is wearing a "ragat" which Kano Tadao described as "large, heavy hat of carved wood, used on ceremonial occasions and corresponding to the male vurugat" (1956, p. 103).

 

 

Ten Orchid Island Women Carrying Vessels

(Image from The Gerald Warner Taiwan Image Collection)

According to Chen Chi-lu, only the Ami and Yami continued to manufacture pottery into the 1950s and 1960s. While pottery-making was women's work among the Ami, it was men's work on Orchid Island. The pottery pictured here are for storing water. Kano Tadao writes: ""Water for drinking or culinary use is always drawn from an open or artesian well inside the village. Besides the puraranaum, a water pot used for carrying and storage, a bamboo cylinder or a coconut-shell may be used for the same purpose...Sea-water is often used for boiling fish"" (Kano 1956, p. 234). Chen Chi-lu adds: ""For a cooking pot or water vessel, the Yami potter first puts a leaf...on the ground, and puts the clay on the leaf. A pancake of clay forms the base. Clay strips are then built up on it to form the wall of the vessel. It is then shaped by hand and by paddle and anvil to the desired form. Finally it is finished by paddle and anvil when half dry and smoothed with the edge of the bamboo engraver....When a water vessel is made, a concave base is obtained by hand pressure when it is half dry....After the pots or bowls have been completely shaped, they are never exposed to direct sunlight, but are wind-dried for several days, usually in the upper story of the working hut. Sometimes the drying is hastened by arranging the pots or bowls around a slow-burning fire on the lower floor of the hut....After a one meter square crib of meter-long fuel logs have been formed on the ground in such a way as to allow circulation of air underneath, the pots and bowls are then arranged on a floor within the crib, with the bases resting on the fuel. Additional fuel is then stacked around and over the vessels. The pile is fired from the top, the air circulating around the pots from underneath and creating an excellent draft....Making and firing pottery requires great skill and the pots are often broken in manufacture. In consequence, potters observe numerous taboos during the pottery-making season"" (Chen 1968, pp. 115-116).

 

 

Seven Ships of Yami Tribe

This photo was taken by Sasaki Shunichi 佐々木舜一 in August, 1911. Mori Ushinosuke supplied this caption: "A boat of the Yami of Orchid Island. This place is for launching boats to sea. These boats are built by hollowing out a single log. They join several boards together to build the keel 竜骨. The carvings differ from village to village. By viewing the carving design, it is quickly evident which village the boat belongs to. They weave a type of fibrous plant to make the sails" [translated from Japanese](Mori 1918:2, p. 9). Kano Tadao's illustrated ethnography contains a picture of an abaca-fiber sail like the ones pictured in this postcard; it is called a ""virad-no-tatara."" Kano notes that these sails are used on boats large and small (Kano 1956, p. 294).

 

 

Orchid Island Canoes

Yami boats with decorative designs are called "ipanitika." Kano Tadao writes: "Yami boats, large and small, are gracefully and variously decorated. In some of them, the strakes are decorated with carved designs while others are painted in three colors: white, made from lime, red from lateritic-soil and black from soot scraped from boiling-pots. The carved and painted ornaments on the strakes of the boats differ from village to village. Consequently, the various markings provide an easy way of distinguishing village origin and ownership. (Kano 1956, p. 286)."

 

 

 

Orchid Island Boats

 

 

Old photo of the shore of Orchid Island

(Image from wikipedia.org)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Orchid Island

Map of Botel Tobago (Orchid Island), Batanes and Babuyan Islands

Orchid Island (Yami language: Ponso no Tao or Pongso no Tao; 蘭嶼) is a 45-km² volcanic island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan island and separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait. It is governed as Lanyu Township of Taitung County, Republic of China (Taiwan). The island is home to the Tao, an ethnic minority group who migrated to the island from the Batan Archipelago 800 years ago. The island is known to them as Ponso no Tao or Pongso no Tawo (island of the people) or Irala. The island is also known as Botel Tobago.

The island was first mapped on Japanese charts as Tabako-shima in the early 17th century and Tabaco Xima on a French map of 1654. The Chinese who had no contact with the inhabitants of the island, called it Hongtouyu (紅頭嶼 Red-headed island), from which it was called Kōtō-sho during Japanese rule of Taiwan. The Japanese government declared the island an ethnological research area off-limits to the public. This restriction remained in effect when the Republic of China took over in 1945, but was lifted in 1967. It was because of the restriction that the Tao have the best preserved traditions among the Taiwanese aborigines. Since then, schools were built on the island and education in Mandarin became compulsory. Tourism to the island has also increased. The island is known by the Ami as Buturu and by the Puyuma as Botol.

In January 19, 1946, the island was designated as Hongtouyu Township (紅頭嶼鄉 "Red-headed Island") of Taitung County. November 24 of that year, it was renamed to Lan Yu, or Orchid Island, after the local Phalaenopsis orchids.

The island is accessible only by sea or air. Daily Air is the only airline to offer flights to Orchid Island. The flight duration is half an hour and the daily frequency is dependent on weather conditions. Ferry trips to the island is available from Taitung's Fukang harbor.

There are eight mountains over 400 m high, the tallest mountain is Mt. Hongtoushan (紅頭山) at 552 m.

The islanders are farmers and fisherman relying on a large annual catch of flying fish and on wet taro, yams, and millet.

 

 

Ivatan People

The Ivatans are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group predominant in the Batanes Islands of the Philippines. The origins of the Ivatans remained untraced among scholars, although evidences suggest that they are Christians who lived in the islands between northern Luzon and Taiwan. Ivatans was long free before they were colonized by the Spaniards.

The culture of the Ivatans is partly influenced by the environmental condition of Batanes. Unlike the old-type nipa huts common in the Philippines, Ivatans have adopted their now-famous stone houses made of limestone, designed to protect against the hostile climate.

Origins: Documents do not show much about the history of the Ivatans and at present, scholars who study their origins are still unsure as to their exact origin. They question whether the pre-historic Ivatans came from the northern part of Luzon or southern portions of China and Taiwan. There is evidence that they might be a surviving group of Christianized people that once resided on the islands that are between Luzon and Taiwan. However, they have considered the close racial resemblance of the Ivatans to the Malays and the structure of their language could mean they came from other parts of the Philippines. Tracing their roots through Batanes' folklores, genetic studies of Omoto, a Japanese anthropologist, of the Yami of Orchid Island (Lanyu) show closer genetic affinity of the Yami to the Tagalog and Visayan and linguistically to the Basiic sub-branch of the Malayo-Polynesian branch.

History: The indigenous people of the Batanes are called Ivatan (a native name in the Batan Islands) and share prehistoric cultural and linguistic commonalities with the Babuyan on Babuyan Island and the Tao people of Orchid Island. With the exception of Spanish ancestry introduced to the Ivatan and Babuyan over the centuries, the Ivatan, Babuyan, and Tao peoples are racially the same.

This divided nation is a result of the Dutch invasion of 1642. The northern half of the Ivatan homeland, Formosa and Orchid Island which were formally part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, fell to the Dutch who were in turn expelled in 1662 by forces of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, led by the Chinese pirate Koxinga who then set himself up as The King of Taiwan.

The southern half of the Ivatan homeland, the islands of the Batanes, was reinforced and fortified by Spanish refugees from Formosa before being formally joined in the 18th century with the Spanish government in Manila.

Physical Attributes: One of the earliest accounts of the Ivatan is that of the British buccaneer William Dampier in 1687. Dampier described them as "short, squat people; hazel eyes, small yet bigger than Chinese; low foreheads; thick eyebrows; short low noses; white teeth; black thick hair; and very dark, copper-colored skin." They also have strong mixture of the short type of the Mongols, and there are some individuals who seem to have some physical characteristics peculiar to the Ainus of Japan.

Demographics: In 1990, population of the Ivatans was 15,026, an increase of 24% over the 1980 population of 12,091. These were distributed to the six municipalities, with 38% residing in Basco, 23% in Itbayat, 12% in Sabtang, 11% in Mahatao and 8% for Uyugan and Ivana. In the 2000 census, 15,834 Ivatans comprised of the 16,421 population in Batanes.

The mother tongue of the Ivatans is the Chirin nu Ibatán, but is commonly known as Ivatan. A distinct Austronesian language, the Ivatan has two dialects including the Basco, the Ibayáten and possibly the Yami. The Ivatans widely speak and understand Tagalog and English languages.

Today, most Ivatans are Catholics, like the rest of the country, although some have not converted practice ancestral worship to their anitos. However, there are growing Christian denominations specially in the capital town of Batanes.

Culture: The Ivatan's culture have been largely influenced by the climate of Batanes. Exposed to high risks of disruption to their agriculture, Ivatans have adopted strategies in order to live. Traditionally, because of the frequent typhoons and drought, they plant root crops able to cope with the environment. These crops include yam, sweet potato, taro, garlic, ginger and onion, as they ensure higher chances of survival during awry climate conditions. The Ivatan study the behavior of animals, sky color, wind and clouds to predict the weather. The Ivatans usually gather their animals and stay in their houses when they see that the cows take shelter from the payaman (communal pasture) and birds taking refuge in houses or in the ground. A pink sky with an orange hue also heralds a storm. The sea is vital to the Ivatan's way of life. Although abundant only in the month of March to May, they depend on the flying fish (dibang) and dolphinfish (arayu) present on the shores of Batanes. They have a native delicacy called uvod (the pith of the banana stalk) which is served, along with the wine palek, on festive occasions such as weddings

Before Spaniards arrived at the Philippines, Ivatans built their houses largely from cogon grass, small and well situated, designed to protect against strong winds of the place. The Spaniards introduced large-scale production of lime for the construction of their now-famous stone houses. With meter-thick limestone walls, the type of their infrastructures are designed against the harsh Batanes environment, which is known as a terminal passage of typhoons in the Philippines. The basic cogon grass is still preserved as roofs of their houses, thickly constructed to withstand strong winds. These houses are comparable to the white houses in New Zealand, Ireland and Scottish Highlands.

One of the endemic clothing of the Ivatans is the vakul. A vakul is a head gear designed to protect the wearer from sun and rain. It is made from abaca fiber of the vuyavuy palm.

The Ivatan have three different folk songs: the laji, the kanta and the kalusan. The laji are ancient lyrical songs that are supposed to be sung when they are merry or just finished work. The kalusan on the other hand is sung during work. The Ivatan also have legends that are called kabbata. They also have the rawod, chants that chronicle the adventures of the Ivatan's forefathers as they escape a disaster.

The Ivatan language, also known as Ibatan (though in ISO classification Ibatan is reserved for a closely-related language spoken in the Babuyan Islands, which is assigned the code [ivb] as opposed to [ivv]) or Chirin nu Ibatan (meaning, "language or dialect of the Ivatan people"), is an Austronesian language spoken exclusively in the Batanes Islands. Despite the islands' closer proximity to Taiwan than Luzon, it is important to not group the language with Formosan languages, which in fact are assigned one of ten sub-families within the Austronesian language family, whereas Ivatan is included with other Philippine languages in the Malayo-Polynesian sub-family, an immense group of 1248 languages not restricted to the languages of the Philippines, but, as the name suggests, includes Malayic and Oceanic languages. Confuses arises because the Batanic, or more commonly, Bashiic division does contain Tao (Yami), a language spoken by the people of Orchid Island off the east coast of Taiwan, who are ethinically related to the Ivatan. Tao is the closest language to Ivatan if Ibatan, whose status as an independent language is still unclear to scholars, is disregarded.

 

 

* Diversity of HLA among Taiwan's Indigenous Tribes and the Ivatans in the Philippines by CC Chu, et al.

Abstract: Taiwan's indigenous tribes, especially the east coast tribes are not only closely related to Oceania but also with the Australian aborigines. The Ivatans of the Batan Islands in the Philippines are closely related to the Yami tribe of Taiwan as cultural and anthropological studies have shown. Many DRB1 alleles (*15021, *16021, *0404, *04051, *11011, *12021, *1401, *08032) have high allele frequencies (>20%) in certain tribes, suggesting Taiwan's indigenous tribes are homogeneous populations. These high frequency DRB1 alleles and also some HLA-A-B-DR haplotypes found in Taiwan's indigenous tribes are also found in Oceania, Australian aborigines, south and north east Asians and American Indians, lending further support to our previous findings that Taiwan's indigenous tribes are more or less genetically related to both northern and southern Asians, possibly as well as Amerindians. HLA-A*2402 with a remarkably high frequency among Taiwan's indigenous tribes (52.1% approximately 86.3%), especially the central mountain tribes, possibly represents not only founder effects and population bottlenecks, but also positive selection of the allele. Although the Ami tribe has the highest ever reported frequencies of the DRB1*0404 and DRB1*0405, these alleles have not been found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis as previously described for Caucasians. In addition, DRB1*1401 has a high frequency in most tribes but is not associated with psoriasis as previously indicated in some studies, suggesting the involvement of some additional genetic and/or environmental factors mechanism in the development of these diseases.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

* 從醫學資料看臺灣的族群融合 by 陳順勝

6,000年前 南島語族遷移來臺灣發展族群：泰雅族、鄒族、賽夏、巴則海、洪雅族 　

5,000年前 排灣族群：排灣、卑南、魯凱族群遺址 (卑南遺址) 　

2,000年前 凱達格蘭族遷回臺灣

1,500年前 阿美族在靜浦─靜浦文化，鐵器時代 　

1,000年前 猴猴族遷回臺灣或由泰雅族分出(？) 　　

500年前 雅美族由菲律賓巴丹島移居蘭嶼

 

 

* Polynesian Origins: Insights from the Y chromosome by Bing Su, et al.

Y-chromosome Haplotype Frequency Distribution in Asian and Oceanic Populations

Populations	N	H1	H2	H3	H4	H5	H6	H7	H8	H9	H10	H11	H12	H14	H16	H17
Bunun	9									11.1	66.7
Atayal	24						29.2	4.2	4.2	54.2	8.3
Yami	8									25.0		75
Paiwan	11								18.2	54.5	27.3
Ami	6									100.0

 

The Phylogeny of Y-chromosome Haplotypes in East Asians (H1-H17) from Natives or Immigrants: Modern human origin in east Asia by Li Jin and Bing Su

 

 

* Recent Anthropological Genetic Study of Taiwan Indigenous Populations by Shu-Juo Chen, et al.

Y-chromosome Haplotype Frequency Distribution in Asian and Oceanic Populations

Populations	N	H1	H2	H3	H4	H5	H6	H7	H8	H9	H10	H11	H12	H14	H16	H17
Bunun	17					5.9				17.6	58.8		17.6
Atayal	22						4.5			95.5
Yami	7							14.3		71.4	14.3
Paiwan	22								9.1	63.6	27.3
Ami	19							31.6	5.3	36.8	26.3
Puyuma	11							9.1		72.7	9.1			9.1
Tsou	18							5.6		88.9	5.6
Rukai	11									81.8	18.2
Saisiat	11							27.3		45.5	9.1	9.1	9.1
Thao	11					9.1		9.1		72.7	9.1
Pazah	11					18.2		27.3		18.2	36.4

 

 

* Y-Chromosome Evidence for a Northward Migration of Modern Humans into Eastern Asia during the Last Ice Age by Bing Su, et al.

Abstract: The timing and nature of the arrival and the subsequent expansion of modern humans into eastern Asia remains controversial. Using Y-chromosome biallelic markers, we investigated the ancient human-migration patterns in eastern Asia. Our data indicate that southern populations in eastern Asia are much more polymorphic than northern populations, which have only a subset of the southern haplotypes. This pattern indicates that the first settlement of modern humans in eastern Asia occurred in mainland Southeast Asia during the last Ice Age, coinciding with the absence of human fossils in eastern Asia, 50,000–100,000 years ago. After the initial peopling, a great northward migration extended into northern China and Siberia.

Principal-component Analysis of Y-chromosome Haplotype Frequencies of 30 Eastern-Asian Populations from

(Yami clusters with Li and NE Thai)

 

Hainan

The Li (黎) or Hlai are a minority Chinese ethnic group, sometimes colloquially known as "Sai" or "Say." They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. 94% of the Li live off the southern coast of mainland China on Hainan, where they are the largest minority ethnic group. As well as Hainan, the Li people are also found in some islands in the S.China/Luzon Sea area that are considered Filipino territory. Native islanders of the S.China/Luzon Sea, such as Filipino people, are included under the "Li" ethnic group in China.

 

Northeastern Thailand

Isan is the northeast region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River (along the border with Laos) to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima. To the west it is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range.

In the beginning 20th century the region of northeast Thailand was officially named as Isan, a term adopted from Sanskrit that means “northeast.” The Lao-speaking people from this region, who comprise a majority of the population, distinguish themselves not only from the Lao of Laos but in addition also the central Thai by calling themselves as Khon Isan. The Khmer and Kuy (Suai) who live in the southern part of the northeast region of Thailand communicated in languages and follow custom that are more similar to Cambodia than to the tradition of either the Thai people or the Lao people.

Isan has a number of important Bronze Age sites, with cliff paintings, artifacts and early evidence of rice cultivation. Iron and bronze tools, such as found at Ban Chiang, may predate similar tools from Mesopotamia.

 

 

* mtDNA Analysis of Bunun Remains Stored in the National Taiwan University by Shinoda Ken-ichi

Abstract: The Bunun tribe is one of the aboriginal Taiwanese populations living in the central mountain area of Taiwan. In this study, we analyzed the sequence variability of hypervariable region I and II of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in order to investigate the relationships between modern and historical Bunun populations. mtDNA sequences were retrieved from 25 of 34 samples that were obtained from the historical Bunun skeletal remains stored in National Taiwan University. In combination with the mtDNA data of 8 extant Taiwan aboriginal populations, we carried out phylogenetic analysis based on haplogroup frequency data. The results show that the genetic structure of the historical Bunun population is a complex matriline and that these samples share the same haplogroup with the extant Bunun population. Analysis of the genetic composition of the aboriginal populations also reveals an important ethnic heterogeneity of the present aboriginal Taiwanese. Analysis of genetic distances based on haplogroup frequencies revealed 2 distinct clusters composed of northern and central mountain groups (Atayal, Saistat, and Bunun) and east coast and southern mountain groups (Paiwan, Rukai, Amis, and Yami). The mtDNA haplogroups in the Taiwan aboriginal populations were found to be different from those in the Chinese and Taiwan-Han population; therefore, these Taiwan aboriginal haplogroups might have stemmed from the gene pool of the initial late Pleistocene settlers. Genetic diversity among the aboriginal populations may be attributed to the prolonged isolation and random genetic drift after the single introduction of all mtDNA haplogroups into Taiwan. Our experiments also indicate the availability of the past skeletal remains for verifying the hypotheses formulated on the basis of genetic data derived from the present populations.

 

 

* Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphisms in Nine Aboriginal Groups of Taiwan: Implications for the population history of aboriginal Taiwanese by A. Tajima, et al.

Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in the D-loop region and the intergenic COII/tRNA(Lys) 9-bp deletion were examined in 180 individuals from all nine aboriginal Taiwanese groups: Atayal, Saisiat, Bunun, Tsou, Rukai, Paiwan, Ami, Puyuma, and Yami. A comparison of 563-bp sequences showed that there were 61 different sequence types, of which 42 types were specific to respective aboriginal groups. D-loop sequence variation and phylogenetic analysis enabled the 180 aboriginal lineages to be classified into eight monophyletic clusters (designated C1-C8). Phylogeographic analysis revealed that two (C2 and C4) of the eight clusters were new characteristic clusters of aboriginal Taiwanese and accounted for 8.3% and 13.9% of the aboriginal lineages, respectively. From the estimated coalescent times for the two unique clusters, the mtDNA lineages leading to such clusters were inferred to have been introduced into Taiwan approximately 11,000-26,000 years ago, suggesting ancient immigrations of the two mtDNA lineages. Genetic distances, based on net nucleotide diversities between populations, revealed three distinct clusters that were comprised of northern mountain (Atayal and Saisiat), southern mountain (Rukai and Paiwan), and middle mountain/east coast (Bunun, Tsou, Ami, Puyuma, and Yami) groups, respectively. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of 16 human populations (including six other Asian populations and one African population) confirmed that the three clusters for aboriginal Taiwanese had remained largely intact. Each of the clusters (north, south, and middle-east coast) was characterized by a high frequency of a particular lineage (C4, C2, and 9-bp deletion, respectively). This may result from random genetic drift among the aboriginal groups after a single introduction of all the mtDNA lineages into Taiwan, but another plausible explanation is that at least three genetically distinct ancestral populations have contributed to the maternal gene pool of aboriginal Taiwanese.

 

 

* Traces of Archaic Mitochondrial Lineages Persist in Austronesian-Speaking Formosan Populations by Jean A. Trejaut, et al.

Principal Components Analysis

 

 

* A Comparative Study of Sakizaya and Amis in Hualien by Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Analysis by Li-huang Tsai

NJ Tree

 

UPGMA Tree

 

 

* More Genetic Sharing among the Population of Taiwan than Expected: A plain tribes (Pinpu) perspective by Marie Lin, et al.

Mitochondrial DNA (Neighbor Joining Phylogram)

 

 

* Heterogeneity of Taiwan’s Indigenous Population: Possible relation to prehistoric Mongoloid dispersals by m. Lin, et al.

Neighbor-joining Tree of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples, Asians, North American Indians and Oceanians

Taiwan’s indigenous groups were found clustering together and adjacent to Maori and PNG Highlanders. Pazeh showed affinity with ‘Taiwanese’ (Minnan, Hakka)

 

 

* Genetic Relationship of Populations in China by J. Y. Chu, et al.

Phylogeny Constructed by Using the Neighbor-joining Method based on 30 Microsatellites

 

 

* Population Genetic Studies on Nine Aboriginal Ethnic Groups of Taiwan - Red Cell Enzyme Systems by Feng Jin, et al.

NJ Dendrogram

 

 

* Nonmetric Tooth Crown Traits in the Ami Tribe, Taiwan Aborigines: Comparisons with Other East Asian Populations by Y Manabe, et al.

Abstract: The frequencies of occurrence of 17 tooth crown traits in the living Ami tribe, which inhabits the east coast of Taiwan, were investigated and compared with other East Asian populations based on Turner's (1987) Mongoloid dental variation theory. Principal coordinate analysis based on Smith's mean measure of divergence using frequencies of the 17 traits suggests that the Ami tribe together with the Yami tribe and the Bunun tribe is included in the sinodont group typical of the Chinese mainland and northeast Asia. In light of these results and the estimated distribution of sinodonty and sundadonty in the past and the present, we speculate that the gene flow from Chinese mainlanders to native sundadonts, who seem to have migrated northward to Taiwan, contributed significantly to the formation of the living Taiwan aboriginal groups, sinodonts. Among the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan, the Ami have characteristics intermediate between those of the Yami and the Bunun. The relative positions of these tribes in East Asian populations suggests that the extent of sinodontification and of genetic isolation is one of the causes of the intertribal variation.

 

 

* The GM Genetic Polymorphism in Taiwan Aborigines: New data revealing remarkable differentiation patterns
by Alicia Sanchez-Mazas, et al.

Excerpt: The MDS (characterized by a very good stress value of 0.041) segregates four Northern and Central Han populations at the top, the Minnan from Taiwan in a central position, and the Southern Han from Guangzhou, the eight Austronesian populations from Taiwan and the extra-Formosan Yami at the bottom. The four Northern and Central Han populations are genetically linked to each other according to a pattern recalling their relative geographic position. The Minnan are genetically intermediate between the Northern and the Southern Han but are very distant from both groups and significantly differentiated from all populations. Within the last group, we observe three clusters of genetically related populations: the Atayal, Taroko and Tsou; the Pazeh, Siraya, Bunun and Puyuma; and the Ami and Yami. In addition, we find that the Southern Han from Guangzhou are genetically very close to the Taroko, Atayal and Tsou, from whom they are not differentiated significantly according to the permutation statistical test (dotted lines). Genetic relationships are also suggested between the Taroko and both the Siraya and Bunun, and between the Puyuma and the Ami according both to the permutation test and to their relative position in the MDS.

Multidimensional Scaling Analysis among 15 Populations from Taiwan and
China Based on the Frequencies of GM ± 23 Sub-haplotypes

Solid lines link populations that are undifferentiated at the 5% level according to an exact test of population differentiation. Dotted lines link populations that are undifferentiated at the 5% level according to a permutation test on pairwise Fst’s, but not to the exact test. Final stress = 0.041 (excellent). White circles: Sino-Tibetans; triangles: Austronesians from Taiwan; black circle: Extra-Formosan Austronesians.

 

Multidimensional Scaling Analysis among 63 Populations from Southeast Asia
Excluding all Sino-Tibetans but the Southern Chinese (grouped)

The ‘mixed’ sample is composed of individuals from Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Hunan. ST-SC: Sino-Tibetan, Southern Chinese (Min, Xiang, Gan, Hakka, Yue); AA: Austroasiatic; KA: Tai-Kadai; AN-EF: Extra-Formosan Austronesian; AN-TW: Autronesian from Taiwan; HM: Hmong-Mien.

 

 

* HLA Genetic Diversity and Linguistic Variation in East Asia by Alicia Sanchez-Mazas, et al.

Multidimensional Analysis (MDS) of Asian Populations Based on the HLADRB1 Allelic Polymorphism

AL: Altaic; AN (EF): Austronesian (Extra-Formosan); AN (TA): Austronesian (from Taiwan); AU: Austroasiatic; CK: Chukchi-Kamchatkan; EA: Eskimo-Aleut; GI: Gilyak; IEUY: Indo-European and Uralic-Yukaghir; KA: Tai-Kadai; SI: Sinitic; ST: Sino-Tibetan (here only Sinitic). Chinese (1): Northern Chinese; Chinese (2): Southern Chinese.

 

 

* Population Genetic Studies on Nine Aboriginal Ethnic Groups of Taiwan II. Serum Protein Systems by Isao Yuasa, et al.

NJ Trees for the Nine Aboriginal Groups of Taiwan and Eight Other Populations Based on Ds (A) and Dc (B) Distance Matrix

 

 

* Genetic Diversity in the Class HLA-B Gene of the Nine Taiwan Aboriginal Tribes and Han Chinese as Revealed by High Resolution Sequence-Based HLA Typing Implication for the Origins and Dispersal of the Taiwan Aborigines by 賴朝陽

Abstract: The polygenic HLA (human leukocyte antigen) gene complex is the most polymorphic cluster of functional genes known. The high polymorphism of HLA genes makes these functional genes ideal genetic markers for studying inter-relationships among various human populations. Combing the results of HLA polymorphism with evidences from socio-cultural, archaeological and linguistic studies, we may understand better the origins and dispersal of human populations. In this study we have used sequence-based typing (SBT) to analyze the degree of polymorphism of class HLA-B gene in the nine Taiwan aboriginal tribes (Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiat, Tsou, and Yami) and Taiwan Han Chinese. The allele frequencies of each population are estimated by a maximum-likelihood method and used to calculate genetic distances between pairwise populations according to Nei s formula. Phylogenetic tree is then constructed from these genetic distances. The results show limited genetic diversity of Taiwan aborigines. The distributions of allele frequencies of Taiwan aborigines versus Han Chinese are different. All the Taiwan aboriginal tribes have a high percentage of B*1301, B*3901, B*4001, B*4002, B*4801, B*5502. Allele frequencies of HLA-B in Yami and Taiwn Han Chinese are different from those in the other populations. The total frequencies of these six alleles are more than 70 in all tribes except Yami, Puyuma and Taiwan Han Chinese. The results of allele frequencies and genetic distances also indicate that Yami and Taiwan Han Chinese are more different from the other populations. Phylogentic trees constructed from both class  HLA-A,-B and class  HLA-DPB1, -DRB1, -DRB3/4/5, show that 1 the Atayal and Saisiat, as well as Rukai and Bunun, probably are monophylic; 2 the Yami tribe seem to be very different from the other aboriginal tribes. In the future, when there are more genetic data from populations in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, South mainland China and Pacificregions, we may understand much more about the origins and dispersal of Taiwan aborigines in particular, and the Austronesians in general.

 

 

* A Homeland or Hostland? The power and challenges of genetic studies on Austronesian’s expansion by Mutsu Hsu and Shu-Juo Chen

Neighbor-joining Tree of Taiwan AN Populations, East Asians, Southeast Asians and Other Populations Worldwide (from Chu et al. 2001)

 

Neighbor-joining (NJ) Tree for the Nine Taiwan AN Populations and Other Asian and African Populations (from Tajima et al. 2003)

Ami showed difference with other eight populations (including Yami)

 

 

* The Peopling of the Pacific from a Bacterial Perspective by Yoshan Moodley, et al.

The Distribution of H. pylori Populations in Asia and the Pacific

(Distribution of hspMaori among Taiwnaese aborigines: Kavalan 0/1, Atayal 4/4, Amis 7/16, Bunun 13/14, Rukai 3/3, Paiwan 15/18, Yami 1/3)

1. Japan-Hokkaido, 2. Japan-Honshu, 3. Japan-Okinawa, 4. Korea, 5. China-Hong Kong, 13. Vietnam, 14. Singapore, 15. Malaysia, 16. Thailand, 17. Philippines, 18. India - Ladakh, 19. New Caledonia - Melanesians, 20. New Caledonia - Polynesians from Wallis and Futuna, 21. New Zealand, 22. Samoa/Tonga

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

* Signatures of Demographic History and Natural Selection in the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex Loci by Diogo Meyer, et al.

Excerpt: The Malay population has high heterozygosity relative to the aboriginal Taiwanese populations (Puyuma, Saisiat, Yami), which have low values and substantial variation among them. These aboriginal Taiwanese populations are a set of relatively isolated groups with little historical or ongoing admixture (Mack et al. 2006). The low heterozygosity is due to one or two high-frequency alleles at each locus that make up over half of the allele frequency spectrum for these populations (A*2402 in all three populations; B*3901 in the Saisiat and B*1525 and B*4002 in the Yami; and C*0801 and C*0304 in the Puyuma, C*0702 in the Saisiat, and C*0304 and C*0403 in the Yami). The A*2402 allele is also at high frequencies in the Yupik, accounting for their low heterozygosity.

 

 

HLA-B1525

HLA-B62 (B62) is an HLA-B serotype. The serotype identifies certain B*15 gene-allele protein products of HLA-B.

B62 is largest of many split antigens of the broad antigen, B15. B62 best identifies the B*1501, B*1504, B*1507, and B*1525 allele products.

 

HLA B*1525 Frequencies

Population	Freq (%)
Taiwan Tao	40.0
Taiwan Thao	11.7
Taiwan Pazeh	10.9
China Yunnan Lisu	8.7
China Yunnan Nu	8.3
PNG West Schrader Ranges	8.2
Indig. Australian Groote Eylandt	8.0
Taiwan Puyuma	7.0
Taiwan Rukai	7.0
Taiwan Bunun	6.4
Indig. Australian Yuendumu	5.7
Taiwan Siraya	4.9
Taiwan Tsou	4.9
Philippines Ivatan	3.0
Taiwan Atayal	2.8
Taiwan Ami	2.6
Thailand	2.5
China Guangzhou	2.0
Thailand pop3	2.0
Hong Kong Chinese	1.9
PNG Wanigela	1.5
PNG Wosera	1.5
Singapore Thai	1.5
India Andhra Pradesh Golla	1.4
PNG Eastern Highlands Goroka	1.4
China South Han	1.1
China Inner Mongolia	1.0
India North Hindus	1.0

 

Lisu People

(Photo from OMF International)

The Lisu people (傈僳族ู่) are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group who inhabit the mountainous regions of Burma (Myanmar), Southwest China, Thailand, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

About 730,000 live in Lijiang, Baoshan, Nujiang and Dehong prefectures in the Yunnan Province of China. The Lisu form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. In Burma, the Lisu are known as one of the seven Kachin minority groups and an estimated population of 350,000 Lisu live in Kachin and Shan State in Burma. Approximately 55,000 live in Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes. They mainly inhabit the remote country areas.

Origins: The Lisu are believed to originate from eastern Tibet. Research done by Lisu scholars indicates that they moved to northwestern Yunnan. They inhabited a region across Baoshan and the Tengchong plain for thousands of years. The Lisu, Lahu, Akha and Kachin languages are Tibetan-Burman languages, distantly related to Burmese and Tibetan. After the Han Chinese Ming Dynasty, around 1140-1644 A.D. the eastern and Southern Lisu language and culture were greatly influenced by Han culture of China. Taiping village in Yinjiang, Yunnan, China, was first established by Lu Shi Lisu people about 1000 years ago. In the mid-19th century, Lisu peoples in Yinjiang began moving into Momeik, Burma, a population of Southern Lisu moved into Mogok, north-eastern Burma, and then in the late 19th century, moved into northern Thailand.

Migration into Arunachal Pradesh: Christian Lisu in Arunachal Pradesh, India are believed to have migrated from the Patkai Hills. Part of the population was believed to have migrated from China to Burma, fleeing the Communists, and then were ordered to leave Burma by the government at the time; this group also settled in Arunachal Pradesh. In Arunachal Pradesh, they are primarily concentrated in Changlang District and Tirap district.

 

The Nu People

(Photo from paculnull.com)

The Nu people (怒族) are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Their population of 27,000 is divided into the Northern, Central and Southern groups. Their homeland is a country of high mountains and deep ravines crossed by the Lancang (Mekong River), Dulong and Nujiang rivers, and this area is rich in natural minerals. The name "Nu" comes from the fact that they were living near the Nujiang river, and the name of their ethnic group derives from there. (Nujiang is also called Nu river or Salween River; 怒江)

The Nu live mainly in Yunnan province. 90% of them are found in Gongshan, Fugong, Laping and Bijiang counties in Yunnan Province, along with Lisu, Drung, Tibetan, Nakhi, Bai and Han. There is also a sparse distribution of Nu in Weixi County in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Zayu County in Tibet Autonomous Region, particularly at the border between Yunnan and Tibet.

The Nu speak a language in the Tibeto-Burman family of languages.

 

HLA-Cw4

HLA-Cw4 (Cw4) is a human leukocyte antigen serotype within HLA-C serotype group. The serotype is determined by the antibody recognition of α4 subset of HLA-Cw α-chains. For Cw4, the alpha chain are encoded by the HLA-Cw*04 allele group and the β-chain are encoded by B2M locus. Cw4 and Cw*04 are almost synonymous in meaning.

Cw4 is more common in SE Europe. Cw4 in Europe is part of the Cw4-B35 haplotype.

 

HLA Cw*0403 Frequencies

Population	Freq. (%)
PNG West Schrader Ranges	45.9
Taiwan Tao	40.0
PNG Eastern Highlands Gor…	34.9
PNG Madang	25.0
PNG Wanigela	16.0
Australia Indig. Cape Yor…	15.7
Australia Indig. Yuendumu	15.1
Australia Indig. Groote E…	12.3
Taiwan Puyuma	12.0
PNG Karimui Plateau	11.9
Taiwan Pazeh	11.8
Taiwan Thao	11.7
New Caledonia	11.1
Singapore Riau Malay	9.8
PNG New Britain Rabaul	8.9
PNG Wosera	8.0
Singapore Javanese	7.0
Taiwan Rukai	7.0
Taiwan Bunun	6.4
American Samoa	6.0
Thailand	5.3
Philippines Ivatan	5.0
Taiwan Siraya	4.9
Taiwan Tsou	4.9
Australia Indig. Kimberly	3.6
Taiwan Atayal	3.3
Taiwan Ami	2.6
China South Han	2.1
Taiwan Hakka	1.8
China Qinghai Hui	1.4
Iran Tehran	1.3
China Guangdong Meizhou H…	1.0
China Inner Mongolia	1.0
India West Coast Parsis	1.0
Taiwan Minnan pop 1	1.0
Taiwan Paiwan	1.0
India New Delhi	0.9
Russia Tuva	0.9
China Tibetan	0.6

 

 

Map of Oceania

(Map from geographyworldonline)

 

Papua New Guinea

Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 years ago. These ancient inhabitants probably had their origins in Southeast Asia, themselves originating in Africa 70 to 50,000 years ago. New Guinea was one of the first landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, with the first migration at approximately the same time as that of Australia (see Early human migrations). Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 9,000 years ago (about 7,000 BC), making it one of the few areas of original plant domestication in the world. A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 2,500 years ago, and this is correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques.

 

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's population.

The Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands which are at the northern-most tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea. The term "Aboriginal" has traditionally been applied to indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some of the other adjacent islands. The use of the term is becoming less common, with names preferred by the various groups becoming more common.

The earliest definite human remains found to date are that of Mungo Man which have been dated at about 40,000 years old, but the time of arrival of the ancestors of Indigenous Australians is a matter of debate among researchers, with estimates ranging as high as 125,000 years ago.

Though Indigenous Australians are seen as being broadly related as part of what has been callled the Australoid race, there are significant differences in social, cultural and linguistic customs between the various Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.

 

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island (Grande Terre), the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands. Approximately half the size of Taiwan, it has a land area of 18,575.5 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi).

The western Pacific was first populated by humans about 3,000 years ago. The Austronesians moved into the area later. The diverse group of people that settled over the Melanesian archipelagos are known as the Lapita. They arrived in the archipelago now commonly known as New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands around 1500 BC. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific.

From about the 11th century Polynesians also arrived and mixed with the populations of the archipelago.

 

American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa. American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain.

Archeologists place the earliest human settlement of the Samoan archipelago around 1500 B.C. This time period is based upon the ancient lapita pottery shards found throughout the islands. Samoa's oral history, however, can only account for as far back as 1000 A.D. The mystery remains as to what happened from 1500 B.C. to 1000 A.D. Perhaps, this was the period of great migrations that eventually led to the settlement of what is today, Polynesia. Another mystery is why the making of pottery suddenly stopped. There is no oral tradition in reference to pottery use, but it abounds with proverbs on the starmounts used for the ancient sport of pigeon snarling, once popular among Samoa's nobility. Linguistically, the Samoan language is part of the Austronesian language family. Historically, Samoa is recognized as the center of Polynesia from whence migrations to the Marquesas in the east and south to Niue and the Pukapuka islands of Rarotonga; and north to the Tokelau and Tuvalu island groups. In all these islands, oral tradition accounts of their ancestors coming from the Samoan islands. These migrations by alia reflect the extraordinary courage these seafaring people had and in navigating with the instruments to sail throughout the vast Pacific Ocean.

 

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HLA-B38

HLA-B38 (B38) is an HLA-B serotype. B38 is a split antigen of the broad antigen B16, and is a sister type of B39. The B*3801 allele is more common in Eastern, Southern and Southeastern Europe, while the B*3802 allele is more common in the Far East.

Disease: A higher frequency of HLA-B38 was noted psoriatic arthritis patients with erythroderma. Psoriatic arthritis is linked to MICA and/or B39 in other peoples. In Pemphigus vulgaris a haplotype containing B38 was identified and found to be shared between Spanish and Jewish patients. Linkage studies indicate a factor in the HLA-class I region is more greatly associated, with HLA-B38 so far the only linked allele

 

HLA B*3802 Frequencies

Population	Freq (%)
Taiwan Tao	11.0
China Guangxi Maonan	8.3
China South Han	7.1
Singapore Javan. Indonesians	7.1
Singapore Chinese Han	6.4
Taiwan Minnan pop 1	6.4
China Guangzhou	6.0
Philippines Ivatan	6.0
Hong Kong Chinese	5.4
Singapore Chinese	4.7
Singapore Riau Malay	4.5
China Guangzhou Han	4.3
India West Bhils	4.0
Taiwan Hakka	3.6
Singapore Thai	3.5
Taiwan Siraya	2.9
Taiwan Pazeh	1.8
India Mumbai Marathas	1.2
South Korea pop 3	1.1
Taiwan Puyuma	1.0
Taiwan Saisiat	1.0
China Beijing	0.8

 

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達悟族

達悟族為台灣原住民的一支，分佈於台東縣東南外海49海里的蘭嶼島上，人口約三千餘人，善於航海，愛好和平。自古以來與菲律賓巴丹島來往密切，語言十分相近，因此兩地的傳說故事亦十分類似。昔稱雅美族（Yami，1998年正名），這是日本人類學者鳥居龍藏所命名，由島上原住民對自己的稱呼：Tao，（意義為「人」），近年來漸漸改以達悟族作為蘭嶼原住民的族名。巴丹群島最北端最靠近蘭嶼的Mavudis島，舊名亦稱為Yami島。

達悟族自古以漁業為生，他們有一傳統，即每年三至六月飛魚季節期間，除飛魚外，不捕其他魚類。進入現代後，這項傳統被忽視已久，蘭嶼附近的海洋生態因濫捕而嚴重破壞，一直到2005年6月份，在台灣的中華民國行政院為了保護達悟人的飛魚文化，規定每年三至六月蘭嶼海岸線外六海里內的海域，禁止10噸以上漁船捕魚，也禁止使用流刺網、追逐網，尤其禁止毒魚、炸魚。結果蘭嶼附近的海洋生態恢復生機，令人認識到了達悟族的傳統符合環保概念，可以令海洋生物休養生息。

達悟族人愛好海洋，海洋是他們的家。他們不是氏族社會也不是貴族社會，但是他們有「魚團組織」，大家分工合作下海捕魚，並且平分魚獲。

 

禁忌

達悟族禁忌非常多且繁複，舉偶如下：

• 棋盤腳：被達悟族視為禁忌物、魔鬼樹，絕不能帶入房舍。又例如達悟族人捕獲一船飛魚，但有人在旁說了達悟族語棋盤腳這個字，那整船的飛魚便被視為不祥，可能會被丟棄。
• 飛魚季時不得觸摸拼板舟，女性則是一概不准，認為會影響漁獲
• 女性嚴格禁止登小蘭嶼。
• 桔子不可帶至海邊，尤其是飛魚季時。

 

蘭嶼

蘭嶼為台灣蘭嶼鄉最大島，亦為當中唯一有人島。

蘭嶼最早的名稱是達悟族語：「Ponso no Tao」意思是「人之島」，漢人以閩語音譯紅頭嶼或紅豆嶼。於1947年因島上盛產蝴蝶蘭而改名

蘭嶼的島上原住民為「達悟族」舊稱為「雅美族」。島上原住民製作拼版舟，並在春夏季節出海補飛魚，亦稱為「飛魚季」。有「飛魚的故鄉」之稱。

 

 

原住民族與臺灣政府新的夥伴關係條約

《原住民族與臺灣政府新的夥伴關係條約》最初是在1999年臺灣舉行總統選舉期間，由原住民族人士組織各族代表與當時的民主進步黨總統候選人陳水扁於蘭嶼所共同簽訂的歷史性文件，內容包括七大項：

承認臺灣原住民族之自然主權；

1. 推動原住民族自治；
2. 與臺灣原住民族締結土地條約；
3. 恢復原住民族部落及山川傳統名稱；
4. 恢復部落及民族傳統領域土地；
5. 恢復傳統自然資源之使用、促進民族自主發展；
6. 原住民族國會議員回歸民族代表

此一「新夥伴關係條約」在陳水扁當選之後雖成為民主進步黨政府在原住民相關政策的指導方針，但由於「條約」簽訂當時陳水扁仍未具有國家元首身分，因此其法律效力遭受質疑。至2002年10月19日，陳水扁方以總統身分，透過原住民各族傳統的締約儀式，代表政府與原住民族完成「新夥伴關係協定」再肯認的儀式，為該條約的簽署提供更實質的效力。 .

 

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Artist: 飛魚 - 夏曼‧瑪德諾‧米斯卡 (黃清文)

(Photo from 飛魚•夏曼 用藝術守護原住民族的根與葉 by 李韻儀)

 

* 代表學校參賽落選　立志走上藝術一途 by kuba

Excerpt: 達悟族藝術家夏曼．瑪德諾．米斯卡（黃清文），1970年生於蘭嶼。大家都稱呼他為「飛魚」，自幼在蘭嶼海洋文化中成長，深刻體認土地與原住民族之間有著密不可分的關係，然而擁有繪畫才華的他，最擅長以飛魚做為藝術創作的題材，同時也展現出飛魚般的十足活力，不僅在創作中強烈表達反核的悲憤訴求，更數度親身帶領族人投入反核運動，以具體行動表現對大自然的尊重與關懷之情。

 

 

外婆的晚餐 (Grandma's Dinner) by 飛魚

 

 

勇士的祈禱 (Warrior's Prayer) by 飛魚

 

 

* 飛魚•夏曼 用藝術守護原住民族的根與葉 by 李韻儀

 

(Photo from It's Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away - 飛魚夏曼咖啡屋)

 

* 來去台東／原味餐廳　飛魚˙夏曼　有父愛的味道 by 陳志東

Excerpt: 「以前，只要叫我『飛魚』就可以，但現在開始，請叫我『飛魚˙夏曼』」。帶著一點驕傲的神氣，飛魚說，「『夏曼』，就是達悟族人『爸爸』的意思」。在位於台東都蘭海濱的「飛魚˙夏曼」咖啡屋裡，飛魚一邊畫著畫，偶爾起身煮杯咖啡，偶爾看看自己跟小孩的合照，臉上盡是滿足的神情。

飛魚本名為「席˙傑勒吉藍」，自從生了小孩後，就依達悟族傳統改名為「夏曼˙瑪德諾˙米卡斯」，意思就是「我是瑪德諾˙米卡斯的爸爸」的意思。這是達悟族人的命名習慣，當爸爸後，就一定得改名成「某某人的爸爸」。

 

 

* 夏天！跟著史前館去旅行-

 

 

 

 

 

 

天還未亮─台灣當代原住民藝術發展 (Before Dawn: The development of contemporary indigenous art in Taiwan) by 盧梅芬

 

 

 

本書是台灣第一本以藝術評論為基礎關懷的原住民藝術論著，並涉及人類學、博物館與文化研究領域。

同時爬梳歷史，以歷史背景鋪陳做為當下原住民藝術窘狀的基礎根源；並透過作品接合歷史血肉，分析台灣原住民藝術如何從族群藝術、「泛原住民藝術」發展到現代或個人藝術？藝術的功能，如何從生活藝術、觀光商品、藝術產業到純藝術創作？而在此變遷的過程中，原住民藝術的角色與價值又是為何？

本書試圖將當代原住民藝術發展過程中的問題與困境做踏實的釐清、試圖揭開隔閡現實中的原住民藝術與社會大眾之間的虛幻幛幕，包括浮濫的天賦描述、原始的想像、差異的光環等。思考要如何讓這個社會更能深刻、敏銳地感受到原住民藝術所需面對的殖民障礙與現實困難。

 

 

* Aesthetics and Politics in Taiwan’s Aboriginal Contemporary Arts by Stevan Harrell

Abstract: Since the democratization of Taiwan politics and the advent of the Aboriginal Rights Movement, both of which happened in the mid-1980s, the arts of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have undergone a great expansion and transformation. Although traditional tribal arts, rooted in the social structures and institutions of village communities, have continued to thrive and in some cases have been revitalized, the most interesting phenomenon is the emergence of contemporary artists from Aboriginal backgrounds. These artists create non-traditional works in a variety of media, which often make trenchant political commentaries on the present state of Aborigines in Taiwan’s society. Much of what has been written on the Aboriginal Contemporary Arts movement has been concerned with the historical roots of the movement, the stylistic characteristics of different artists and “schools” within the movement, and the biographies of individual artists (Lin, Jian). In this essay, by contrast, we concentrate on “what the artists have to say,”-- the political, social, and cultural messages in their art. In order to understand these messages, however, we first have to place their works in their social and artistic context, and to give a brief history of the development of the movement. We then proceed to examine representative individual works of art that illustrate a series of themes; individual and society, the breakdown of tribal communities, gender, human-environment relations, and relations with the “mainstream” society of Taiwan.

 

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Writer: 夏曼．藍波安

(Photo from NewTalk.tw)

 

* 文學勇士夏曼．藍波安 擁抱飛魚之夢 by 邱斐顯

Excerpt: 夏曼．藍波安，達悟族的文學作家，民族正名及自治運動、以及蘭嶼反核廢料運動的先驅，一九五七年生，從小在達悟族人口中的「人之島」蘭嶼長大。一九八八年，投入蘭嶼反核自救運動，曾擔任蘭嶼「驅除惡靈運動」總指揮。

從一九九二年到二○○二年，他陸續出版了《八代灣的神話》、《冷海情深》、《黑色的翅膀》、《海浪的記憶》等四本文學著作。

夏曼．藍波安是一個能文能武的文學勇士。他擁有淡江法文系學士，以及清大人類學碩士的學歷。他一方面用文學寫作，為達悟族的生命與生活經驗，留下珍貴的文字記述；另一方面，他身兼人類學者與原住民的身分，以自己的體力，身體力行，親身參與族人造船、捕飛魚等等的文化模式。

 

 

黑色的翅膀 by 夏曼．藍波安 - 吳濁流文學獎

《黑色的翅膀》是一則島嶼與海的故事，紀錄著四個達悟青年自小愛戀海洋的夢想與友情，從孩童的眼中看著長輩的歸航到自己的首次出航，生活圍繞著拼版舟、大海藏匿的浩瀚知識，又得兼顧漢人老師帶來的學習，部落與「文明」相遇的火花，在生動、有趣的求學歷程與兒時回憶下，與長大成人後該何去何從的想像，宛如夜晚月色照耀下的海洋，譜成一曲愛戀大海的樂章。

 

冷海情深 by 夏曼．藍波安

 

 

 

 

八代灣的神話 by 夏曼．藍波安

 

 

 

 

海浪的記憶 by 夏曼．藍波安

 

 

 

 

 

* 夏曼‧藍波安 夠資格獲諾貝爾文學獎！ by 陳其南

* 試論《海浪的記憶》(2000~2002)時期夏曼．藍波安的文化策略 by 楊政源

* 航海家的臉—暢談夏曼‧藍波安海洋文學 by Taiwan's Indigeneous People Resource Center

* 夏曼‧藍波安 訪談 by 林建享

* 原初的優雅，未竟的浪漫 -- 試論夏曼‧藍波安書寫中的傳統與現代 by 董恕明

* Videos: 夏曼.藍波安來拜/郭建平放網捕魚/海邊訪問 , 夏曼藍波安演講

 

 

 

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Map of Taiwanese Aboriginal Tribes