Exhibition on the Yami, an aboriginal group from Taiwan

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by yuanzhumin

Migueldiaz, concerning the language of the Yami:
The Yami are very special Taiwanese aborigines because, today, they depend politically from Taiwan but they are in fact coming from Luzon. Let's go back in the time : the Austronesian began their migration from Mainland Asia around 8000 years ago, reaching first Taiwan. Then, on pirogues, they spread around 6000 years ago from Taiwan towards the rest of the Pacific till the Easter Island, in the West, and some part of Madagascar, in the east. On the beginning of this long migration, they reached first Luzon, in the Philippines, and mixed with other people that were already there for more than 20 000 years. It is now known that 800 hundred years ago, Ivatan people went from the batanes Islands (today Philippines) to the north, in the Bashi Channel, and reached the Orchid Island/Botel Tobago/Lanyu (today taiwanese territory) and settled down there to become the Yami. So the Yami, coming from Luzon, brought with them their batanic language that is still an austronesian language but more closely related to the Luzon languages than the Taiwanese aboriginal languages (even if originally they are all coming from the same place/family). Yami people can understand and be understood from the Ivatan people. In fact, tao/tawu as in Tagalog if I remember well means 'people'.

Very interesting, thanks for that background

Yes, tao (or tawo/ tawu) in the Philippines also means people or person.

In the study of swords (or any ethnic object for that matter), I'm sure all will agree that it helps a lot if we can also understand the wars fought, the trading and migration patterns, etc.

But a lot of history was not written. But thanks to linguistics we can see who really influenced whom and to what extent.

As for the Taiwanese aborigine word, anito (referring to gods and/or the spirits of departed ones), it's not only in the Philippines (i.e., anito or anitu) where the word and its derivatives are still being used --

antu (Sea Dyak), nitu (east Indonesia), nitu (Fiji), aitu (Samoa), etua (Mangreva, French Polynesia), akua (Hawaii), otua (Tonga), atua (generic Polynesian), atua (Rotuma, south Pacific), atua (Easter Is.), etc.

A prominent Filipino scholar (Dr. Zeus A. Salazar) has published a book by the way, related the subject -- Ang Pilipinong Banwa/ Banua sa Mundong Melano-Polynesiano (loosely, The Filipino concept of motherland in the Melano-Polynesian [Austronesian] world).

In summary, in the study of the sword, it helps a lot studying words!

Originally Posted by yuanzhumin

-Migueldiaz, for your wife : Taiwan is definitely a nice vacations trip to do ! Good restaurants, nice shops and museums, warm people, beautiful unspotted mountains ! You have everything there and cheaper than in Honkong or Japan !

Ok, you convinced me. But alone or with her, I'm definitely seeing that exhibit! A man has to know his priorities, you see