The Pazeh people (or Pazih; 巴則海 or 巴宰), including the
Kaxabu, are the descendants of the
Pazeh-speaking
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
from
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
and
Miaoli
Miaoli City (Wade–Giles: ''Miao²-li⁴''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-sṳ''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-chhī'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Miaoli County, Taiwan. Miaoli has a relatively hi ...
areas of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Due to the processes of
acculturation
Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...
and cultural
assimilation, the majority of
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
who identify themselves as Pazeh reside in the
Ai-lan district (愛蘭地區) in the central city of
Puli,
Nantou Nantou may refer to:
* Nantou County (南投縣), a county in central Taiwan (Republic of China)
* Nantou City (南投市), seat of Nantou County, Taiwan
* Nantou (historical town) (南头), a historic town and former administrative center of Xin' ...
. Christian missionaries arrived in Taiwan in 1865, and the Pazeh people in the area were fully converted to the religion by 1871.
Current status
The current Pazih community is located around the Ai-lan (愛蘭)
Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which provides support for the Pazeh cultural revival and political mobilization. Presbyterian minister Rev. Daxawan Lai built a museum for Pazeh artifacts and to be a center for Pazeh language learning and cultural activities.
The Ai-lan Pazih are currently petitioning
Taiwan's government for official status as a recognized
Taiwanese Aboriginal
Taiwanese indigenous peoples (formerly Taiwanese aborigines), also known as Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese, Yuanzhumin or Gaoshan people, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 5 ...
ethnic group.
See also
*
Pazeh language
Pazeh (also spelled Pazih, Pazéh) and Kaxabu are dialects of an extinct language of the Pazeh and Kaxabu, neighboring Taiwanese indigenous peoples. The language was Formosan, of the Austronesian language family. The last remaining nativ ...
*
Kingdom of Middag
The Kingdom of Middag (), also known as the Kingdom of Dadu (), was a supra-tribal alliance located in the central-western plains of Taiwan in the 17th century. This polity was established by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples of Papora, Babuza, ...
*
Taiwanese indigenous peoples
Taiwanese indigenous peoples (formerly Taiwanese aborigines), also known as Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese, Yuanzhumin or Gaoshan people, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 5 ...
References
Taiwanese indigenous peoples
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