THE SEEDIQ PEOPLE

Why does the Seediq need

preservation?

INTRODUCTION

The Seediq was officially recognized as Taiwan’s

14th indigenous group on 23rd April 2008.

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. 2013.

Sui, Cindy. "Saving Taiwan's Tribal Cultures." BBC

News. BBC, 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.

Yeh, Joseph. "Men Hunt, Women Weave: The

Aboriginal Tribe Seediq." Web log post. Culture.tw. N.p.,

10 Aug. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.