In many fairy tales, a handsome prince and a beautiful princess fall in love, get married and live happily ever after. For Taiwanese Aborigines, the romantic love between a warrior and a tribal princess can also be the basis of a romantic story, although it comes with a little extra effort.
Chen Chin-yu (陳靳豫) and Lai Chien-yi (賴謙誼) met each other when they took part in the “Aboriginal Ambassador Princess and Warrior Competition,” an annual event organized by the Taitung City Government which started in 2007.
After entering the competition, Chen, an Amis Aborigne, began to date Lai, a woman from the Paiwan people, and their relationship blossomed sufficiently for the young couple to decide to marry.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
After registering their marriage at the local district office, they officially became husband and wife, at least in the eyes of the law.
Keen to follow traditional Paiwan customs, Chen has to wait until March next year before going to Lai’s house and taking her away as his wife. This is because Lai is a Paiwan princess and her family has ruling royal status in the local community. For a man to marry a Paiwan princess he has to carry her away on his back, and so must have the physical strength and stamina to manage the task.
Lai’s home is on Chinchen Mountain (金針山) in Taitung County’s Taimali Township (太麻里).
When he visits next year, Chen must carry Lai from her home and down the mountain for 3km to a ceremonial wedding site at Dawang Elementary School.
“According to Paiwan tradition, the groom must carry the bride on his back from her parents’ house to the site of the wedding ceremony,” Lai said.
“The groom must place both of his hands behind his back so the bride can kneel on his palms while being carried. This is the traditional way to do it,” she added.
“From my home to Dawang school is about 3km and is downhill all the way. As it is easier to carry someone uphill than downhill, it is a real challenge for my husband,” she said. “However, it should not be too hard for him because he serves in the military and is used to heavy physical exercise.”
Chen, who is enrolled in the air force’s officer training program, said: “We perform routine physical workouts everyday and I’m getting good training for my strength and stamina. If I keep this up until next year, I should be able to successfully complete my most important mission — to carry my wife to our wedding.”
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS