The Pingtung County Government on Tuesday approved the listing of heritage sites, ceremonies and protection of Paiwan artifacts.
The artifacts include a skull altar and ceremonial house with a wall relief of human faces, both in Wangjia Township’s (望嘉) old village; the former Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) railroad crossing through Chaojhou Township (潮州); the Chang family’s ancestral residence in the north gate area of Hengchun Township (恆春); the Shan Mu Catholic Church in Sinpi Township (新埤); maljeveq ceremonies — a ceremony to worship ancestors — in the Bailu (白鷺) and Wangjia townships (望嘉); the pusau ceremony — a ceremony to send ancestors away — in Laiyi Township (來義), and a ceremonial procession called xun nan ding (巡男丁) in Pingtung County’s Haifong Township (海豐).
The government said the rack of skulls in Laiyi Township is the largest among Paiwan relics, and is the most well-preserved altar made from human skulls, a site that experts believe dates back 400 years.
Laiyi Township Mayor Tou Wang-yi (竇望義) said the altar was built over many years and has many skulls that Paiwan warriors took when head-hunting — a practice that proved the mettle of a warrior and maximized the use of limited resources among different villages.
The ceremonial house with a wall relief of human faces has seen generations of Paiwan worship, Tou said, adding that the building was also important for tracing the migration of the Cimo people.
It is believed that Cimos migrated to Taiwan from Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) and then split into two subgroups, one remaining in Laiyi Township and being assimilated with Paiwans, while another group crossed the mountains into Taitung, later merging with a group of Puyuma people.
The county government’s Department of Cultural Affairs said that Wangjia Township’s old village played an important role in the history of the Paiwan people and suggested that the area become a “cultural sightseeing” destination.
The government said it listed a railway bridge as a designated heritage site in an effort to prevent further damage, after a planned cycle path across the bridge caused damage last year.
The catholic church in Sinpi was built in 1965 using pebble stones from the nearby Laiyi River (來義溪). German architects hired by the Order of Preachers designed the church, known for its unusual hexagonal roof.
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