踏溯台南

踏溯台南

文學院 通識教育課程

Migration and Settlement of the Siraya Tribe

Route Introduction

  • Worshipping ancestors with betel nuts and pork while remembering them with thousands of kettles of water- We Have Always Been Here.

       The Sirayan tribe has been living on the Tainan plain area. Dutch East India Company tried to preach Christianity to the aborigines when they newly arrived, hence the origin of "Xin-Gang Writing." Xin-Gang Community (Xin- Shi District), Tavocan Community (Xin- Hua District), Soulangh Community (Jia-Li, Ci-Gu, Jiang-Jun Districts) and Ma-Dou Community (Ma-Dou District) and Backloun Community (Shan-Hua District). After the 17th century, these communities' territories gradually shrank because of Han people's migration and movement, and the Sirayan tribes were forced to migrate. After the mid-Qianlong era, the Soulangh Communities gradually moved to Kabuasua (or Kabuasua, at Dong-He Village of Dong-Shan District), well-noted ones.

       Alid (the name can be varied with different districts, Alimu, Alizu, Tai-Tzu, Lao-Tzu, and others.) is the main god the tribes worship. It means the ancestors (Alid), yet there are no statues nor ancestral plaque, the only symbols are the water in bottles and urns, branches with green leaves are then put into the water for the ancestral spirit to rest in and being worshipped, yet the urn itself is not the body of the god. Exploring Tainan will get into a Sirayan village, getting to the worshipping rituals, the public meeting houses, lifestyles, and traditional delicacies. The tribal people will guide outsiders and give them a glimpse of life wisdom and everyday culture of the Sirayan tribes over hundreds of years.