THE SEEDIQ PEOPLE Why does the Seediq need preservation?

INTRODUCTION  The Seediq was officially recognized as Taiwan’s 14 th indigenous group on 23 rd April  The Seediq and the Taiya people share cultural similarities: the importance of face tattoos and the tradition of headhunting

THE SEEDIQ CULTURE  Dakis Pawan, a Seediq expert says:” hunting is a lifelong mission for a Seediq man; for women, their mission is to weave.”

THE SEEDIQ CULTURE  Facial tattoo is an important spiritual and social practice to the Seediq people.  A Seediq male will get a tattoo on his forehead when he is seven, but he has to cut off a head of an enemy to get a tattoo on his chin.

THE SEEDIQ CULTURE  If a woman wants to earn a facial tattoo, she has to learn the art of weaving.  It is very difficult for men and women without facial tattoos to get married, so getting tattooed on the face is the most important event in a Seediq’s life time.

THE SEEDIQ CULTURE  Also, Seediqs who do not have facial tattoos cannot cross the rainbow bridge, which is a bridge that leads to where the spirits of their ancestors are gathered, after they die.  The facial tattoo, is like a passport for the Seediq that will lead them to cross the rainbow bridge to meet the spirits of their ancestor. – Dakis Pawan

THE FACIAL TATTOOS Men’s facial tattoos Women’s facial tattoos

WHY DO THE SEEDIQ NEED PRESERVATION?  They had lived here for thousands of years before the Han Chinese arrived, but now make up only 2% of the population (Sui).  Only about 35% of the 14 tribes’ people can speak indigenous languages. ( Sui)  They were punished for speaking their language in schools. ( Sui)  Most of them do not understand their culture. ( Sui)

WHY DO THE SEEDIQ NEED PRESERVATION?  It’s believed that there are only less than 10 Atayal and Seediq elders with facial tattoos left today, and the number is shrinking fast. ( Yeh)  Like the facial tattoos, the well developed skills from ancient time are almost extinct in the present days and are now painstakingly preserved by a small number of elderly Seediq women. ( Yeh)

WHY DO THE SEEDIQ NEED PRESERVATION  “Indigenous people’s culture is a very important part of Taiwan’s original culture.” Mr. Chang says. “If in the future, we can only see our culture and language in books, then how can we say we are indigenous? Then indigenous people will disappear from Taiwan.”

WORK CITED  "Seediq 賽德克族 Taiwan Aboriginal Tribe." The Taiwan Photographer RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar  Sui, Cindy. "Saving Taiwan's Tribal Cultures." BBC News. BBC, 14 Oct Web. 04 Mar  Yeh, Joseph. "Men Hunt, Women Weave: The Aboriginal Tribe Seediq." Web log post. Culture.tw. N.p., 10 Aug Web. 22 Feb