Taiwan has 16 officially recognized aboriginal tribes. The Tourism Bureau is putting on a three-day event in Taipei for everyone to learn all about Taiwan’s indigenous culture, craft and food.
The 2020 Taiwan Indigenous Tourism Carnival will begin on September 18 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei . The three-day event will bring together all 16 of Taiwan’s officially recognized indigenous tribes. On show will be the culture, arts and crafts, and food of Taiwan’s 170 aboriginal villages.
The Tourism Bureau says that aboriginal villages can be found in all of Taiwan’s national parks－Sun Moon Lake, Ali Mountain, Siraya, Maolin, Tri Mountain, East Coast and the East Rift Valley National Scenic Areas. Villages from all seven of those areas will be at the festival.
Paintings of aboriginal life by artist Chang Wen-sung will also be on display. Most notably, his paintings documenting the lost custom of facial tattooing will be at the festival. Chang says the last woman of the Atayal tribe to have facial tattoos passed away last year. He says he was glad to be able to record the tradition through his artwork.
Also at the festival will be traditional dance shows and music performances by Taiwan’s prominent indigenous singers.