Taiwan's Aboriginals promote Tourism

PHOTO: CHANG TSUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Young people from a Tao Aboriginal dance group perform a traditional dance during a press conference in Taitung City (Taiwan) yesterday, called to promote tourism in their homeland, the island of Lanyu (Taiwan), southeast of Taitung City.

For those who don't know, there are 12 different tribes of aboriginal people in Taiwan. These tribes are the natives of this island.
Some 360,000 indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Taiwan, still live here; they can be distinguished into 12 different tribes, namely the Saisiyat, the Atayal, the Amis, the Bunun, the Puyuma, the Rukai, the Paiwan, the Tao, the Sao,the Taroko,the Kemalan and the Zou.
The mysterious customs and traditions of the aborigines, Taiwan's indigenous people, such as the Harvest Festival (Smatto), the Worship of Hunting (Mabuasu), spiritual rituals, totemism, and snake worship, give an extra dimension to Taiwan's culture. The aboriginal tribes of Taiwan form the most northern branch of the Austronesian language group, and ethnically belong to the Malay race.