Potteries Lazurite Beads Chiefains’Emblems
Headdress and Eagle Feather Spirits of Paiwan
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 it procreates will become nobles.
Age-old Pottery Pot is import and significant in Paiwan Tribe’s strict class society. The scales and quantities of Age-old Pottery Pot will decide the status and influence of a noble. On the other hand, Age-old Pottery Pot is also a required betrothal gift in the noble society.
The Raval subtribe calls Pottery Pot as Dilung, which is its general name. Dilung can be divided into two categories.
One is Reretan, the other is Kadilungan. Reretan is regarded as the first-rate treasure, only belonging to Mamszangilans, Puslus and Malada(but they can only use Augury Pot). Because it’s believed that the quality and quantity of Reretans they hold will decide one tribe‘s fate, the tribe people put high regard on Reretans. They believe that their gone ancestors live in the Reretans when they come back to the world, thereby Reretans are adored as ancestors’ holy.
Kadilungan is a common ware, just inferior to Reretan, not only belonging to the chiefs, but also extensively used by qatitans(citizens). Except being used for storing water and brewing wine, it can also be used for storing food and burying the dead.
The patterns on Reretans(pottery pot). There are 3 kinds of patterns on Reretans, one is qinadaqadavan(Sun Grains), the other two are qinarucaucauan(Human Shape Grains) and vinalingalavsn(Hundred-step Snake Grains). It is easy to find the first and third grain decorations, but the second grain decoration is rarely seen. The main reason is Reretan are impersonated by the clansmen and endowed with gender such as male pot, female pot or hermaphroditic pot. Thus the pot is human, and the pot body is human body.
The meaning of Vinalingalavs is the curly snake, with a shape like abaci’s bead. (shown in the picture). Their grain style is most delicacy and diversiform of all the pottery pot. The pot frame of Vinalingalavs usually has 3 patterns, Snake-shaped Grain, Human-shaped Grain and Sun Grain. The status of this pot is just inferior to Makatuvug’s pottery pot which is divided into male, female and hermaphroditic pot. The feature on pot frame of male pot, female pot and hermaphroditic pot is respectively the Hundred-step Snake’s pattern, the Sun pattern or the mixture of patterns of male and female.