Taiwan Austronesians

fearn · 16th October 2007, 07:32 PM

This is neat. I remembered reading an old National Geographic about the Yamis of Orchid Island (January 1977 according to Google). As I recall, the silver helmets are actually a display of wealth. They're made from recast silver coins, and as they are passed down through the generations, each owner adds a loop (or more) of silver to the outer rim, as economics permit. Presumably they work as helmets too, although silver is pretty soft.

Also, apparently the tribe call themselves the Tao, and they are linguistically closer to the Ivatan people of Luzon, for what it's worth.

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16th October 2007, 07:32 PM	#12
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	This is neat. I remembered reading an old National Geographic about the Yamis of Orchid Island (January 1977 according to Google). As I recall, the silver helmets are actually a display of wealth. They're made from recast silver coins, and as they are passed down through the generations, each owner adds a loop (or more) of silver to the outer rim, as economics permit. Presumably they work as helmets too, although silver is pretty soft. Also, apparently the tribe call themselves the Tao, and they are linguistically closer to the Ivatan people of Luzon, for what it's worth.