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Hello everyone. I found this beaded dress several months and Pamela was one of the first people to help me identify it. After months of researching and asking questions I still have other questions. 1- I learned that only certain symbols were only used by noble people of the tribe.2-The snakes and the sun have a important meaning in the Paiwan culture .3-The butterfly has an important meaning.but i'm unclear what it is.
The other thing i'm unclear on is these were passed down as family heirlooms and over time pieces were added onto them...how does one go about determining who a dress was made for ? I apologize if the picture is to large, I'm not sure how to make it smaller. [Don't worry; duly edited. Pamela]
Thanks.
David

Thanks Pamela for editing the picture. What has me puzzled everyone....these were handed down as family heirlooms...Were certain motifs added over time according to the person status in the tribe as they were handed down ?

Maybe I should have asked in my first post ,Has anyone found one of these before ?
Thanks
David

Hello everyone,

This is not a Paiwan dress, but a Rukai one, from the Maolin District.

I admit that the difference is sometimes tiny for the outsiders but if you pay attention, these motives are, yes, similar to the Paiwan, but also different.

In fact, you can see the original ancestor, that is the hundred paces snake, and the multiple heads of the family ancestors/chieftain figures: these motives are common to both the Paiwan and the Rukai.

But there is also definitely some motives that you do not see usually among the Paiwan: first, the sun. And then there is another motive that is typical to the Western Rukai: the butterfly.

It's little complicate, but let's make it simple: Paiwan and Rukai are with the Puyuma originally belonging to a same large ethnic group but, through the centuries, they have evolved differently, very differently to the point that from one valley to the other, they speak sometimes languages they do not understand, have different traditions and were head-hunting each other in the past.

In addition, the separation on the central chain mountains, also added some differences among the Rukai on the Eastern Coast and the ones living on the Western Coast.

The butterfly motive is very common to the Rukai living in the Maolin District, in a valley known as the Butterfly Valley, located on the Western coast, on the Northern part of the Dawu mountains, the sacred mountains for both the Rukai and the Paiwan.

This a not very old dress and it was made less than 40-30 years ago to be used in a traditional ceremony, mostly a wedding or a harvest festival. These are still made today for this purpose. But they can be expensive, at least for the income of an aboriginal villager. Due to the many motives, it is a costly sample, and it was obviously made for a rich family. The many ancestors motives on the dress make me think this is also a chieftain family. As you know, the Rukai or the Paiwan have a traditional aristocratic society and today these aristocratic families are still the one with the money, the land and the authority.

Hope it answers the question!

Nicolas

Nicolas

Thank you very much indeed for taking the time and trouble to give us such informative comments on this textile which I have certainly found helpful and clear. Fortunately David's photo of the dress enables us to see clearly the various decorative motifs on which your identification is based.

Very many thanks for sharing your research with us.

Best wishes,

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

Sending these pictures right before leaving Shanghai for ski vacations in Japan...
These pics are taken from a Taiwan published book on island aboriginal traditional festival.

Thank you very much Nicholas. Pamela had suggested several months that it was either Paiwan or Rukai. The information you've provided is very helpful, and also the photos that you posted. Are there any other resources that I can research ? Enjoy your vacation !
Much appreciated.
David

Hello all. I'm posting a picture of what I hope is a close up of the beads and the sewing method on the dress. I apologize again in advance if the pictures are too big.(I tried to make them smaller ) Most of the beads look like these,some of the beads are long instead of round. How long would it take to complete a dress like this by hand ?
Thanks.
David