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 The
Naming of Mgay Bari
In the Truku society, every ritual activity is
operated by a group of clansmen or a Gaya of
clansmen. Whatever rituals, their primary aims
are to thanks the ancestral spirits or gods.
Such annual rituals are called Mgay Bari.
1. Records of the Rituals in Japanese Documents:
According to Japanese
anthropologist, the Truku¡¦s annual rituals can
be classed into two categories: Mqaras Tmukuy
(Millets Seeding Ritual, in December), Mqaras
Knciyan (Harvesting Ritual, in June and July),
and Smapuh utux (Ancestral Spirits Ritual) of
the Truku Mkbaraw (inner Truku, who live in the
Central Mountain region inside Buluowan); Mqaras
Tmukuy (Millets Seeding Ritual, in December),
Mqaras Knciyan (Harvesting Ritual, in June and
July), and Smapuh utux (Ancestral Spirits
Ritual) of the Truku Mksiyaw (outer Truku, who
live on the coast near the Pacific Ocean) .
(Note 1, Note 2)
2. Oral Records of Truku
Elders:
Several elders such as Hsin-de Tian, Tong-yi
Hsu, Jin-cheng Wu, Shun-yi Gao, Chang-hsing
Huang, and Ching-shan Jin explained in details
about Truku annual rituals on the 23rd of
September, 2004. They all agreed that the aim of
Mgay Bari is to thank the deity Utux for
bestowing them with abundant resources, and
strongly believed that Mgay Bari should be
treated as a ritual of the Truku.
In Mgay Bari, the traditional religious beliefs
of the Truku¡¦s ancestors and the blessings and
protection from deities are revived, and the
Truku will pray to gods for more preys and
harvests in the coming year. As a result, Mgay
Bari became an important annual ritual of the
Truku.
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References:
Note 1: Provisional Taiwan Convention
Investigation Commission (2), March 30, 1917,
p.13-15,17-21
Note 2: Sencho, Records
of Taiwan Barbarians,
Vol. 1, March 1917, p.235-248
Lin, E.H. (1989), A Research on the Documents
of the Annual Rituals of Taiwan Mountain
Residences, Taipei: Ministry of the
Interior.
Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples
¡VTheir Cultures of Tradition, Ritual and
Life¡XThe Truku.
http://www.dmtip.gov.tw/Aborigines/Article.aspx?CategoryID=3&ClassID=9&TypeID=19&RaceID=10
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The
Meaning of Mgay Bari
Mgay Bari
Ritual:
To thank the ancestral spirits for bestowing
them with abundant harvests. Through the
ancestors¡¦ traditional religious beliefs and the
blessings and protection from deities, as well
as the prayer to gods for more preys and
harvests in the coming year, the ritual teaches
us to respect always of the Gaya (the norms) we
inherit from the ancestors, and to comply with
various rituals, culinary culture, conventions
and ethics of the Truku culture.
References:
Digital Museum of Taiwan Indigenous Peoples
¡VTheir Cultures of Tradition, Ritual and
Life¡XThe Truku
http://www.dmtip.gov.tw/Aborigines/Article.aspx?CategoryID=3&ClassID=9&TypeID=19&RaceID=10
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A student¡¦s comment
:
Wen-bin:
After I watched the film in today¡¦s
class, I discovered that Mgay Bari
is a sacrifice to our ancestors, and
that we should not forget our
culture.
I found that we have a lot of things
in the sacrifice to our ancestors,
such as singing and dancing
performance, as well as facial
tattoos and hunting skills, which
all made me curious about them. I
will never forget about them. |
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