Introduction to the Traditional Festivals of the Takayama People

1. The traditional festivals of the Alpine people include: the Sowing Festival (Atayal, late March, the day of the end of spring sowing), the Peace Festival (Bunun, early April 4), the "Ali" Ancestor's Festival (Pingpu, September 16), the Bountiful Years' Festival (Tsou, Rukai, and Dawu, August 15), the Bamboo Pole Festival (Paiwan, October 25), the Monkey Festival and the Great Hunting Festival (Peinan, November), the Short Spirit Festival (Saixia, October 11-18), and the Flying Fish Festival of the Dawu people, to name a few. The Monkey Festival and the Great Hunting Festival (Peinan people, November), the Short Spirit Festival (Saisiat people, October 11-18), and the Flying Fish Festival of the Daguo people, to name a few. The traditional festivals of the Gaoshan people are usually combined with rituals and are complicated, but the Taiwan authorities advocate simplifying and combining them, and the above list is the main festivals that are popular nowadays. During the festivals, in addition to songs and dances and gatherings and feasts, sports competitions, cultural exhibitions and amusement activities are also added.

2. The Gaoshan ethnic group is a collective name for the ethnic groups of the South Island language family in the Taiwan region of China. 2008, the total population was 494,107.

3. The Gaoshan mainly live in Taiwan Province of China, with a few scattered in coastal areas such as Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces. The Gaoshan live mainly in the mountainous areas of central Taiwan, the longitudinal plains of eastern Taiwan, and on the island of Orchid Island.

4. The Kaoshan people have a predominantly rice farming economy, supplemented by fishing and hunting production. The handicrafts of the Gaoshan people mainly include weaving, bamboo weaving, rattan weaving, routing, carving, bamboo chipping and pottery making.

5. The Alpine people have their own language, which belongs to the Indonesian language family of the South Island language family, and can be roughly divided into three language groups, namely, Atayal, Tsou, and Paiwan. There is no national script, and Chinese is the common language of the Alpine people living in the mainland. Alpine compatriots living in Taiwan have their own unique culture and art, they are rich in oral literature, myths, legends and folk songs.