Instead of giving flowers or chocolate as Valentine's Day gifts, Taiwan's Aborigines have different ways of expressing love to the people closest to their hearts.
In the Amis, a matriarchal society, young women take the initiative to ignite a love affair by giving a home-made betel-nut pouch to the man she admires or secretly filling his pouch with fresh betel nuts, according to Tien Che-yi (田哲益), an anthropologist and ethnologist who is a Bunun Aborigine.
The Puyama are also a matriarchal society and men usually take the bride's family name. When proposing, the two sides exchange headwear, betel-nut pouches or bunches of fresh betel nuts.
The Paiwan and Rukai have strong concepts of social class. When proposing marriage, the side taking the initiative will prepare a full truck of betel nuts to impress the other family and to show off the family's wealth, Tien said.
The Paiwan are traditionally tolerant toward the fact that the future husband or wife might have had lovers before marriage, and the former partners are normally invited to the wedding.
Among the Tao people, a man and woman will sing and dance all night on the beach after they fall in love. If approved by both sets of parents, the girl then comes to live in the man's home in a "trial marriage" arrangement.
The Saisiat people exchange tobacco as a token of love and some Saisiat women will plant a tree after the wedding to show her firm commitment to marriage.
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