Chinese Culture > Culture in Taiwan > The Culture of Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples > Yami Culture
The Yami's
The
Yami ethnic group which lives on Lanyu (Orchid Island) off Taiwan's east coast
numbers around 2,700 people and has an oceanic island culture very different
from those of indigenous groups living on Taiwan proper. For example, they do
not make alcohol or practice head-hunting, taro is their staple crop, and their
culture is centered on flying fish, which migrate annually through the waters
off eastern Taiwan. Distinctive features of traditional Yami culture include the
worship of anito (ancestral spirits), ceremonies to summon flying fish,
semi-subterranean homes, richly-carved fishing boats, belief in evil spirits,
and the hair-swinging dance, as well as a genetic and cultural relationship to
the inhabitants of the Batanes Islands of the Philippines.
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