page_title: Taiwanese indigenous peoples
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Taiwanese indigenous peoples / Aborigines in the democratic era / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Aborigine children in Lona Village, Taiwan, ROC.Bân-lâm-gú: Tī Tiong-hua Bîn-kok Tâi-uân Lô-ná-tshuan ê guân-tsū-bîn gín-á.佇中華民國臺灣羅娜村的原住民囡仔。
context_page_description: Taiwanese indigenous peoples or formerly Taiwanese aborigines, Formosan people, Austronesian Taiwanese or Gāoshān people, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, who number almost 569,008 or 2.38% of the island's population—or more than 800,000 people, considering the potential recognition of Taiwanese plain indigenous peoples officially in the future. Recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on Taiwan for approximately 5,500 years in relative isolation before major Han immigration from mainland China began in the 17th century. Taiwanese indigenous peoples are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian peoples. Related ethnic groups include Polynesians, most people of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, among others. The consensus amongst the scientific community point to Polynesians having originated from the indigenous Taiwanese through linguistic and genetic ties.
  For centuries, Taiwan's indigenous inhabitants experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonising newcomers.
context_section_description: Of the current population of Taiwanese aborigines, about 70% identify themselves as Christian. Moreover, many of the Plains groups have mobilized their members around predominantly Christian organizations; most notably the Taiwan Presbyterian Church and Catholicism.
  Before contact with Christian missionaries during both the Dutch and Qing periods, Taiwanese aborigines held a variety of beliefs in spirits, gods, sacred symbols and myths that helped their societies find meaning and order. Although there is no evidence of a unified belief system shared among the various indigenous groups, there is evidence that several groups held supernatural beliefs in certain birds and bird behavior. The Siraya were reported by Dutch sources to incorporate bird imagery into their material culture. Other reports describe animal skulls and the use of human heads in societal beliefs. The Paiwan and other southern groups worship the Formosan hundred pacer snake and use the diamond patterns on its back in many designs. In many Plains Aborigines societies, the power to communicate with the supernatural world was exclusively held by women called Inibs. During the period of Dutch colonization, the Inibs were removed from the villages to eliminate their influence and pave the way for Dutch missionary work.
  During the Zheng and Qing eras, Han immigrants brought Confucianized beliefs of Taoism and Buddhism to Taiwan's indigenous people. Many Plains Aborigines adopted Han religious practices, though there is evidence that many aboriginal customs were transformed into local Taiwanese Han beliefs. In some parts of Taiwan the Siraya spirit of fertility, Ali-zu (A-li-tsu) has become assimilated into the Han pantheon. The use of female spirit mediums (tongji) can also be traced to the earlier matrilineal Inibs.
  Although many aborigines assumed Han religious practices, several sub-groups sought protection from the European missionaries, who had started arriving in the 1860s. Many of the early Christian converts were displaced groups of Plains Aborigines that sought protection from the oppressive Han. The missionaries, under the articles of extraterritoriality, offered a form of power against the Qing establishment and could thus make demands on the government to provide redress for the complaints of Plains Aborigines. Many of these early congregations have served to maintain aboriginal identity, language and cultures.
  The influence of 19th- and 20th-century missionaries has both transformed and maintained aboriginal integration. Many of the churches have replaced earlier community functions, but continue to retain a sense of continuity and community that unites members of aboriginal societies against the pressures of modernity. Several church leaders have emerged from within the communities to take on leadership positions in petitioning the government in the interest of indigenous peoples and seeking a balance between the interests of the communities and economic vitality.
caption: Young residents in the Bunun village of Lona, Taiwan dress up for the traditional Christmas holiday (not an official holiday in Taiwan). Christian missionaries have converted many residents to the Catholic and Protestant faiths, and the town holds two large holiday parades.
exif: {}