Potteries Lazurite Beads Chiefains’Emblems
Headdress and Eagle Feather Spirits of Paiwan
Paiwan Tribe, with a population of 60,000, is located in southern and eastern Taiwan and is the 3rd largest local tribe in Taiwan province. According to geography and culture, it approximately has 2 subtribes, Raval and Vutsul. Vutsul is divided into 3 communities, the pau-maumaq(North Paiwan Tribe), chaoboobol and parilario(east Pai Bay). Due to the strict social class system, everybody in Paiwan Tribe has a life of ease and the village develops peacefully, therefore Paiwan Tribe demonstrates better art of culture than other local tribes. It has many art forms, such as: mythos, legend, hunting, farming, wedding, sun grains and head grains, reveals rich and colorful feature of its daily life. These patterns are applied in fineries, engravings, intertexture, swords for ceremony and colored-glaze pearl. But nobles can enjoy themselves on special patterns and grains that common people do not have.
Paiwan Tribe has precious things-Walking Saber, Age-old Pottery Pot and Lazurite Beads. These are regarded as treasure of supremacy in noble class, especially for Age-old Pottery Pot. A lot of stories derive from Age-old Pottery Pot. In Raval subtribe’s stories, Age-old Pottery Pot gets pregnancy from the sunlight and the son or daughter will become nobles.
Walking Saber is the basic outdoor equipment of the men in parilario subtribe. They regard it as their second life. It can be used for carving out a way, dismembering hunted animal and making tools. There are 2 kinds of Walking Saber, one is working sword used in daily life, the other is sword for ceremony, i.e. the sword with complicated decoration. The sword for ceremony is different from common working sword for it has fine engraved handle and scabbard, and is much more precious than common working sword.
The relationship between Lazurite Beads and Paiwan Tribe is historic. With great respect, the tribal people regard them as their heirloom and indispensable for marriage. In traditional Paiwan Tribe, only nobles have Lazurite Beads, which symbolize the unusual position of their holders. Based on different colors and grains of Lazurite Beads, there are different stories for them which gives them life and holiness. For example, Pearl of Peacock, Pearl of Dignity and Beauty, Pearl of Sun, Pearl of Eyes, etc.
he class system of Paiwan Tribe is directly revealed from the traditional dress and grains. In addition to the obvious difference between the flower patterns, colors and fittings, the sable amices and caps, pantherskin vests, eagle-feather headgears and pig-tooth caps are limited to nobles.
During the Japanese-occupied period, in order to reinforce their rules, the Japanese give each chiefain a chiefain’s badge, as a symbol of colony.