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.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS