Pas-ta'ai
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Pas-ta'ai (), the "Ritual to the Spirits of the Short eople, is a ritual of the
Saisiyat people The Saisiyat (; Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''賽夏族(Sòi-hà-tshu̍k)''), also spelled Saisiat, are an indigenous people of Taiwan. In 2000 the Saisiyat numbered 5,311, which was approximately 1.3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making ...
, a
Taiwanese aboriginal Taiwanese indigenous peoples, formerly called Taiwanese aborigines, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 600,303 or 3% of the Geography of Taiwan, island's population. This total is incr ...
group. The ritual commemorates the ''Ta'ai'', a tribe of short dark-skinned people they say used to live near them. The ritual is held every two years and all Saisiyat are expected to participate.


History

The Pas-ta'ai ritual is purported to have been practiced for 400 years and was initially practiced every year during the harvest season. It was first recorded in 1915 in the ''Surveys of the Customs of Barbarian Tribes'' by researchers operating under the colonial Japanese government. Under Japanese rule, the frequency was reduced to once every two years. According to anthropologist and filmmaker Hu Tai-li, from the Institute of Ethnology at
Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...
, the tradition had died down to the point to where it was largely only the elders of the Saisiyat who could practice the rituals; over the last 20 years, however, the tradition has been revitalized in the scope of the larger Aboriginal Taiwanese movement as well as through increasing outsider interest. The Pas-ta'ai ceremonies were officially designated as Taiwan's Cultural Heritage in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Over the years, certain external forces have had negative repercussions on the ritual, including improper intervention on the part of government administrative sectors, biased media coverage, improper tourist behaviour, and the proliferation of waste.


Legend

There are slightly different versions of the myth surrounding the ritual. According to one legend of the Saisiyat, the short people, who were dark-skinned, less than a meter high and lived on the other side of the river, excelled in singing and dancing and were invited to the harvest festivals of the Saisiyat, engaging in a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship. The short people, however, were lascivious and often made advances towards the Saisiyat women. One day, some young Saisiyat decided to take revenge because of this disrespectful act. They cut the sturdy tree on which the short people rested. All the short people, except for two elders, fell from the cliff and died. These two surviving elders taught the Saisiyat the songs and dances of the Pas-ta'ai ritual and then left for the east. Shortly afterwards, the Saisiyat suffered from famine, which they attributed to the vengeful pygmy spirits. In order to appease the spirits, the Saisiyat began to hold the Pas-ta'ai and beg for forgiveness. In addition, the Saisiyat were to be hardworking, fair, honest, and tolerant in dealing with others. In another version, the two elders of the short people put a curse on the Saisiyat, who pleaded for forgiveness. The elders allowed this on the condition that the Saisiyat practice the dances of the short people to appease the spirits of the dead, else the crops of the Saisiyat would fail and wither. According to the legends, the short people had magical skills and brought luck to the Saisiyat if treated with respect or handled well.


Ceremony

The ceremony is traditionally the responsibility of the Saisiyat Titiyon family. The ceremony is held in Shiangtian Lake, Donghe Village,
Nanzhuang Township Nanzhuang Township is a rural township in Miaoli County, Taiwan. Geography It has a population total of 9,029 (January 2023) and an area of . Demographics The population consists of Hakkas, Hoklos and the indigenous Saisiyat and Atayal pe ...
(the southern ceremonial group) and in Taai Village, Wufeng Township (the northern ceremonial group). The ritual is held over the course of three days and nights, during the full moon of the 10th lunar month (mid-October), and occurs biannually - the first ritual held in a 10-year period is larger and carries more significance. The southern ceremony takes place one day earlier than its northern counterpart, and the two slightly differ in detail. One or two months before the ritual, both ceremonial groups send their delegates to decide on an appropriate date to hold the ritual, which is around the fifteenth day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar. Preparations are then begun and ceremonial songs, forbidden on other occasions, are practiced. The rituals, dances and songs performed in the Pas-ta'ai are complex, consisting of the five phases of ''raraol'' (welcoming the spirits), ''kisirinaolan'' (treating the spirits), ''kisitomal'' (entertaining the spirits), ''papatnawasak'' (chasing the spirits) and ''papaosa'' (sending off the spirits). Following the five phases is the "post-ritual ceremony," which brings the ceremony to an end. Traditional costumes with ornate decorations and bells (which enable a connection to the spirit world) are worn for the ceremony. Silvergrass is used to provide spiritual security and to ward off evil. Tribal taboos are carefully observed during the ceremony; Saisiyat tradition holds that those who misbehave during the ceremony will consequently suffer from ill events.


Origins

The description of the Little People as dark-skinned and pygmy-like in stature has led to theories and associations with the
Negritos The term ''Negrito'' (; ) refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, th ...
of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. There is currently no scholarly consensus on whether the Little People were of pre-
Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...
origin if they existed at all. Some anthropologists suggest these may have been Proto-Australoid people who possibly arrived from Africa during the early
Southern Dispersal In the context of the recent African origin of modern humans, the Southern Dispersal scenario (also the coastal migration or great coastal migration) refers to the early migration along the southern coast of Asia, from the Arabian Peninsula via ...
60,000 years ago. The Tsou, Bunun, and Paiwan peoples of Taiwan (amongst others) also hold oral traditions of the existence of similar pygmy-like short peoples who possess similar anthropometric traits with Negritos, possibly suggesting widespread Negrito presence on Taiwan prior to the Austronesian migration, though no physical evidence has been found that attests to their existence. A 2019 genetic study comparing the genetic markers of Philippine Negritos with that of several indigenous Taiwanese peoples was inconclusive in its findings; "The deep coalescence of B4b1a2 in the Philippine Negritos, Saisiyat, Atayal, Island Southeast Asia, and SEA (Southeast Asia) suggested a deeply rooted common ancestry, but could not support a past Negrito presence in Taiwan. Conversely, the sharing of cultural components and mtDNa haplogroup D6a2 in Saisiyat, Atayal and Philippine Negritos may characterize a Negrito signature in Taiwan. Although the molecular variation of D6a2 determines its presence in Taiwan back to middle Neolithic, other markers, Y-SNP haplogroups C-M146 and K-M9, warrant further analysis." Anthropologist
Gregory Forth Gregory L. Forth is a retired professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta. He earned his PhD from University of Oxford in 1980. Beginning in 1986, Forth was a professor at the University of Alberta for over thirty years. Forth is a fello ...
proposes that a common origin lies between the Taiwanese traditions and similar Malayo-Polynesian accounts of little people. Other theories purport that the "Little People" could be African slaves brought by European merchants during the 1600s. Letters sent by Dutch traders visiting Taiwan in the 1600s mention the existence of "short people" on the island.


See also

*
Korpokkur Korpokkur (; ), also written Koro-pok-kuru, korobokkuru, korbokkur, or koropokkur, koro-pok-guru, are a race of little people (mythology) in folklore of the Ainu people of the northern Japanese islands. The name is traditionally analysed as a tri ...
*
Menehune Menehune are a mythological race of dwarf people in Hawaiian tradition who are said to live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, hidden and far away from human settlements. The Menehune are described as superb craft ...
*
Little people (mythology) Little people have been part of the folklore of many cultures in human history, including Ireland, Greece, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, Flores, Flores Island, Indonesia, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americ ...
* Dwarves *
Fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...


Further reading

*Xiuche Lin (2000). ''History of Taiwan's Aborigines: The Saisiyat.'' Nantou City: Historical Records Committee of Taiwan Province. *Yuan-Yi Huang (2008). ''When "Ta'ay" is Confronted with "Journalists": A Study of tourism and news coverage of the Pas-ta'ai.'' Master's Thesis, Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University. *Provisional Committee on the Investigation of Taiwan Old Customs, Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan. Translated by the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (1998). ''Surveys of the Customs of Barbarian Tribes, Third Volume, The Saisiyat.'' Taipei: Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica. *Bin-Xiong Liu and Tai-Li Hu (1987). ''A Study of the Traditional Ceremonies, Songs and Dances of Taiwan's Aborigines.'' Nantou County: Department of Household Registration, Government of Taiwan Province.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Pas-ta'ai
BBC News: Taiwan's Saisiyat aborigines keep pas-ta'ai rituals alive
Autumn festivals Culture of Taiwan Taiwanese aboriginal culture and history Saisiyat people Remembrance days Taiwanese folk religion Dwarves (folklore) Ritual Mythological peoples