Siraya People
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The Siraya () people are a
Taiwanese indigenous people 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 ...
. The Siraya settled flat coastal plains in the southwest part of the
island of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...
and corresponding sections of the east coast; the area is identified today with
Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...
and Taitung County. At least four communities make up the group: Mattauw, Soelangh, Baccloangh, and Sinckan. The first four communities correspond to the modern-day districts of Madou, Jiali, Shanhua, and
Sinshih Sinshih District, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (), alternatively spelled Xinshi, is a rural district in central Tainan, Taiwan, about 11 km north of Fort Provintia. As ''Sincan'', it was one of the most important ...
, respectively. The Siraya are
Plains indigenous peoples Plains indigenous peoples (), previously called plain aborigines, are Taiwanese indigenous peoples originally residing in lowland regions, as opposed to Highland indigenous peoples. Plains indigenous peoples consist of anywhere from eight to twe ...
(''Pingpu'') — that is, occupants of flat coastal regions rather than mountain areas. Like other indigenous peoples of Taiwan they are ethnically and linguistically Austronesian. The name "Taiwan" (historically ''Taiouwang'', and other variants) originated from the
Siraya language Siraya is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Siraya people of Taiwan, derived from Proto-Siraya. Some scholars believe Taivoan and Makatao are two dialects of Siraya, but now more evidence shows that ...
. The Austronesian language family from which Sirayan belongs includes some of the most spoken languages in the western Pacific particularly Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese, Tagalog (or standardized as
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
), and
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
. Taivoan and Makatao used to be considered two communities of the Siraya but are now classified as independent indigenous peoples, based on the latest linguistic discoveries, cultural features, and the indigenous people's self-identification.


Modern history

After the port in the Siraya area of Taiwan was annexed in 1683 by Qing Dynasty China, a process of gradual
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 ...
led to the
Siraya language Siraya is a Formosan language spoken until the end of the 19th century by the indigenous Siraya people of Taiwan, derived from Proto-Siraya. Some scholars believe Taivoan and Makatao are two dialects of Siraya, but now more evidence shows that ...
falling out of use. Its last recorded regular use was in 1908, after Taiwan was under Japanese rule. The mother tongue of most Siraya families became
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
Chinese, with Japanese and Mandarin Chinese learned in schools as the government-mandated ''
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
''. The Siraya maintained many aspects of their culture despite this. A number of families in the Tso-chen, Kou-pei and Chiou-chen-lin of Sinhua Township in particular still identify themselves as Siraya. The family name ''Wan'' (萬), often encountered in the region, is a Chinese transliteration of ''Talavan'', a common Siraya surname. A Siraya Culture Association (台南縣平埔族西拉雅文化協會) was established in 1999. In 2002 the reconstructed Siraya language (see below) began to be taught in schools and used in new literature. In 2005 the Tainan County (now part of Tainan City) government established a Siraya Aboriginal Affairs Committee (台南縣西拉雅原住民族事務委員會) and subsidised a glossary, released in 2008, containing entries for over 4,000 Sirayan words. Efforts have been under way by the Siraya and related plains aboriginal peoples to gain official recognition from Taiwan's national government. In 2010 the Siraya enlisted the aid of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Siraya and Taiwan government representatives have noted a flaw in the language of the law: the Chinese term employed for indigenous peoples literally means "
mountain people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
." A literal reading of the law excludes coastal groups from recognition automatically. Government officials have proposed changing the law to ensure accuracy and inclusion of all indigenous groups.


Culture

Traditionally the Siraya lived in villages, which were in constant conflict with one another. Women handled agriculture and religion, while men handled hunting, warfare and decision-making. Married couples did not live together, with the wife living with her parents and the husband living in the men's quarters; if they wanted to see one another, the husband would have to visit in secret. The Siraya were unusual in that most women did not have children until their mid-thirties and if a woman became pregnant before this, an abortion would usually be performed by the village shaman, with most women having multiple abortions during their lifetime. This was because the Siraya held a belief that childbirth and child rearing had an adverse effect on success in warfare, thus childbirth was postponed until the husband retired from being a warrior (generally around age forty), with his wife being a few years younger than him and still having a few years of child-bearing left.


Language

According to
Taiwan Journal ''Taiwan Journal'' () is an English-language weekly newspaper published by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The newspaper, with both print and online editions, is published every Friday, 51 issues per year (no ...
, Taiwan's
Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
historians and linguistics announced, on 14 February 2006, that their team of researchers have deciphered up to 80% of the 187 so-called Sinckan Manuscripts (or ''Sinkang Manuscripts''), a set of documents from 17th and 18th centuries written in the language spoken by the Siraya people using a system of
romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
introduced by the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
in the 17th century. In order to convert the Siraya to Christianity, Dutch missionaries studied the Sirayan language, devised a romanized script in which to record it, taught the Siraya people how to use it, and began translating the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
into the Sirayan language. Copies of the Dutch missionaries' translation of the
Book of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and ...
into Sirayan have survived, and several of the manuscripts are bilingual, with side-by-side Sirayan and
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
versions of the contents.Excerpted from Taiwan Journal


See also

* Daniel Gravius - Siraya language scholar * Ali-zu - sinicized Siraya deity *
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


Further reading

* *


External links


Siraya Culture Association (台南縣平埔族西拉雅文化協會)
(Chinese)
Tainan Cultural Affairs Department (台南縣政府文化局)
(Chinese)
Siraya National Scenic Area (西拉雅國家風景區).
(Chinese, English)
National Museum of Prehistory, Taiwan (國立臺灣史前文化博物館)
(Chinese, English)
Siraya Aboriginal Affairs Committee (台南縣西拉雅原住民事務委員會)
(Chinese) {{Taiwanese indigenous peoples