Taiwan Austronesians

[yuanzhumin]

These Taiwanese austronesian weapons entered my collection recently.They are not yet on my website (they will be soon), but I wanted to give you a preview as I know you would appreciate them.


1 A Yami fish skin armour with its helmet (end of 19th cent.)
46 x 43 cm
Made with rattan, wood, coconut bark, fish skin
Yami (Tawu) people, Orchids Island, Taiwan
Except the Yami, the other Formosan aborigines didn’t use any armour in fightings. This body armour is beautifully made with rattan and fish skin sewn on coconut bark, with some wood structures. The fish skin is a material that, once dried, is hard enough to protect against strikes, even from a spear. The use of such a material is unic among the Austronesian people, but is very logic for fishermen like the Yami. Not head hunters, the Yami fought frequently among each other to settle disputes or to revenge insults. Most of the time the fightings affected the community, through family groups, and could easily become inter-village fightings.

2 A Yami long fighting knife (1920s)
66 x 6 cm
Made with iron, wood
Yami (Tawu) people, Orchids Island, Taiwan
The Yami use 3 types of knives. This one, in particular, is very long and with a characteristic upward tip. The sheath and the handle are simple. This is a fighting knife that can be used also for working. Some fighting knives, exclusively used for fighting, are in wood – the purpose being to hurt, not to kill. The Yami people are also very well known for the hanging dagger called takkurus, that is a largely symbolic weapon, always carried by men when going outdoors as an ornament and to "fight"/repel the evil spirits. I think I displayed one of mine in a previous thread.

3 A Pingpu knife (end of 19th cent.)
48 x 6 cm
Wood, iron, vegetal string, coins, horn, brass
Pingpu people, Taiwan
With a shape close to Atayal or Amis knives but with some strong Chinese characteristics, this knife is in a transitional style that is typical of the Pingpu, the Austronesian people from the plains that were influenced early by the Chinese immigrants. The Pingpu were finally assimilated among the Taiwanese population, by opposition to the highlands aboriginal groups that are till today forming a distinct group.


yuanzhumin

www.formosatribal.com

[yuanzhumin]

The other pictures :

[VANDOO]

CONGRADULATIONS ON SOME VERY INTERESTING ITEMS

THE ARMOR APPEARS TO BE FROM FISH BELONGING TO THE TRIGGER FISH FAMILY "BALISTIDAE". THE LARGEST IS THE TITAN TRIGGERFISH "BALISTOIDES VIRIDESCENS" SO IT WOULD BE A GOOD POSSIBILITY IF IT IS FOUND IN THOSE WATERS. I AM NOT AWARE OF THIS TYPE OF ARMOR BEING USED ELSEWHERE BUT IT MAY HAVE BEEN AS THESE FISH ARE WIDELY AVAILABLE THRU OUT THE WORLD.

IN NORTH AMERICA THE SKIN OF THE GARFISH WAS SAID TO BE USED AS ARMOR AS WELL AS ARROW QUIVERS AND POINTS BY SOME TRIBES.

[Matt Splatt]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. That's wild armour, never seen anything like it.

[yuanzhumin]

Many thanks.
The Yami people, also called Tawu, live in Lanyu, a small island located around 40km south east of Taiwan. The island is also known under the name Orchid Island or also its old name, Botel Tobago.
For the one interested, I copied here after a link to the excellent article of Inez de Beauclair about the weapons and fighting traditions of the Yami.

http://www.sinica.edu.tw/~dlproj/article/ET-t/ET22.html

[yuanzhumin]

Many thanks.
The Yami people, also called Tawu, live in Lanyu, a small island located around 40km south east of Taiwan. The island is also known under the name Orchid Island or also its old name, Botel Tobago.
For the one interested, I copied here after a link to the excellent article of Inez de Beauclair about the weapons and fighting traditions of the Yami.

http://www.sinica.edu.tw/~dlproj/article/ET-t/ET22.html

yuanzhumin
www.formosatribal.com

[VANDOO]

THANKS FOR THE VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE IT COVERED A LOT OF MY INTRESTS AS WELL AS GOOD INFORMATION ON THE YAMI TRIBAL GROUP. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THE WAR CLUBS AND THE ARMORED HATS. I AM ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN OCEANIC CLUBS BUT KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE TYPES USED ON TAIWAN AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
I HAVE ADDED A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF TRIGGERFISH THE LARGE ONE IS THE TITAN AND THE SMALLER ONE IS A ORANGE LINED TRIGGER. SOME TRIGGERFISH CAN BE VERY AGGRESIVE AND WILL EVEN ATTACK DIVERS THE TITAN IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS DUE TO ITS SIZE, BITE AND ATTITUDE, ESPECIALLY WHEN NESTING.

[yuanzhumin]

Thanks Vandoo for the name and photos of the fish. Yes, it seems that the triggerfish skin has been used in this armour. It’s a very interesting info.
Here are some pictures that can help answer your questions concerning the clubs and the helmets of the Yami. These are pictures I’ve taken of drawings and photos published in ‘The Yami of the Orchid Island’ by Hans Egli, and in the Inez de Beauclair book.
The 3 first ones are drawings of the very special Yami fighting club and long wooden sword, both few meters long.
The 2 following ones show the use of the club in a simulated situation, while the three photos after show a shield. On all this pics, you can also see body armours and helmets similar to the one I already displayed in this thread or previous threads on the forum (also on my website).
The next picture is showing a map of Lanyu and its location away from Taiwan. The last drawing is showing a traditional dagger sheath like the ones I also displayed in the pics published before on the forum.
The last few photos are of Yami men 40 years ago, in traditional attires. I love the one of this man wearing the silver helmet and a pectoral adorned with dolls and other lucky charms.
Note the rattan armours and helmets, the spears and the knives similar to the one in the post above.
I’m myself trying to get a hand on a club to put it in my collection. If I do, I will show it to you first.
Any comments or reactions are welcome.
Yuanzhumin
www.formosatribal.com

[yuanzhumin]

Here are the other pictures :

[yuanzhumin]

Some of the last pictures are not in the right place and don't follow anymore my comments. I think you will be able correct by yourselves without any problem.

[VANDOO]

THANKS FOR THE PHOTOS OF THE CLUBS AND FULL ARMOR,THE SHIELDS ARE VERY CRUDE AND LOOK LIKE PART OF A FENCE BUT WOULD BE EFFECTIVE COVER. I WOULD CONSIDER THE LONGER CLUBS A TYPE OF POLE ARM OR SPEAR THE CROSS GAURD WOULD INDICATE THAT THEY DID FENCE WITH THEM AS IT IS THERE TO PROTECT THE OPPONENTS WEAPON FROM SLIDEING DOWN THE SHAFT TO STRIKE THE HANDS. PERHAPS THE PICTURES SHOWN WITH THE MAN WITH SHIELD AND THE OTHER WITH NO SHIELD AND THE LONG CLUB IS THE FORM USED FOR CEREMONIAL COMBAT?. WHERE THE AGRESSOR AND HIS ROCK THROWERS GET SEVERAL WHACKS AT THE ONE WITH THE SHIELD AND THEN THEY GIVE THE OTHER SIDE A TURN WITH THE CLUB? THEY PROBABLY ALSO FOUGHT WITH NO SHIELD WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FUN TO WATCH AS THERE WOULD BE A LOT MORE MOVEMENT ESPECIALLY IF STONES WERE ALSO BEING THROWN. THE METAL HATS LOOK REALY COOL AND SCARY BUT WOULD BE A BIT NOISY IN THERE IF STRUCK WITH A CLUB OR ROCK.

IT IS INTERESTING THE SIMULARITYS IN THIS TYPE OF COMBAT WHICH ALSO OCCURS IN THE GILBERT ISLANDS. THE TWO WARRIORS FACE OFF AND ARE HEAVILY PROTECTED WITH ARMOR EACH SIDE HAS PEOPLE THERE THROWING ROCKS AT THE OTHER SIDE. I SUSPECT THERE WERE FEW FATALITYS DUE TO THE ARMOR AND THE SHARKTOOTH SWORD CLUBS USED, PERHAPS IT ENDED WHEN BLOOD WAS DRAWN? SEE PICTURE OF GILBERT IS. WARRIOR, NOTE THE HIGH COLLAR TO PROTECT THE WARRIOR FROM ACCIDENTLY BEING STRUCK IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD BY A ROCK FROM HIS OWN SIDE.. GOOD LUCK ON AQUIREING A CLUB.

[fearn]

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.

[yuanzhumin]

The tribesmen call themselves Tawu, but their official name remains Yami.
They are in fact related to the Batan people of the Northern Philippines from where they came long time ago. They had very close contacts with the rest of their people in todays Philippines till the 16th cent., when a war pushed them to cut their ties with the main part of the ethnic group. They remained isolated till the 20th cent. The Orchid Island is close to Taiwan and was joined to Taiwan through the aleas of history. It became Japanese in 1895, at the time Taiwan itself became a Japanese colony, till 1945. The Japanese becoming masters of the Orchid Island for fifty years, they decided to make it a kind of natural human reserve open only to Japanese ethnologists and few officials. It is still a remote place.

So, in fact, the Yami had no contacts with the Formosan aboriginal people, and have not much to see with them, except for the fact they are all Austronesians. The Yami have an oceanic culture, when the other Austronesian people in Taiwan are turned towards the land and the mountains. The Yami didn't go headhunting, while this was a very important custom for the Taiwanese tribes. The Yami didn't drink alcohol, which was also very important for the other tribes... Many big differences. The Austronesian in Taiwan initiated the migration towards the Philippines and then the whole Pacific, till Polynesia. But the Yami of Orchid Island came from the Batan Islands later and most probably didn't go anywhere else than their island.

The silver helmet is made with silver obtained from trade, usually coins that are worked, (another difference with the Austronesian groups on Taiwan itself as these ones were using the coins as ornaments but without transforming them). The purpose of the helmet is not for fighting. It is to show the wealth, yes, but mostly it has a religious, magic power. It is worn for all the big ceremonies and even considered as having its own spirit. Sometimes, it was left outside in the middle of the fishes caught and driying in the sun, just to insure another abundant catch the next time. When the men prayed on the beach for more catches, at the opening season of the flying fish, they were waving their silver helmet toward the ocean to invite the fishes to get caught.

[fearn]

Thanks Yuanzhumin!

I understand that they also divide their silver helmets periodically, so that when one gets too big, they make two out of it?

[KuKulzA28]

[bumping this in case anyone is interested due to recent discussion of Yami peoples]

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

[bumping this in case anyone is interested due to recent discussion of Yami peoples]

didn't see this thread before ... thanks!

[yuanzhumin]

I wrote in a post before on the same thread : “ hanging dagger called takkurus, that is a largely symbolic weapon, always carried by men when going outdoors as an ornament and to "fight"/repel the evil spirits. I think I displayed one of mine in a previous thread.:

And I was wrong : I didn’t display any Yami short daggers in detail here before. In previous threads, a drawing was shown (http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000858.html), and some daggers could be seen from far, behind windows, on the pictures of the exhibition dedicated to the Yami at the Shisanhang Museum (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=yami ). But never in detail.

Thank you Kukulza for giving me this opportunity to correct myself on this thread, also to add more on this subject and do a follow up with the more recent thread about the current Yami exhibition in Taipei.

So here is a nice example that I acquired recently and that is not yet on my website.
The blade of the dagger shown here is 25,5 cm long and 5 cm wide, and is absolutely exceptional when considering these dimensions. This takkurus blade is nearly twice longer and twice wider than the other traditional hanging daggers. For the rest, it is exactly the same shape as the others. Only the sheath of this one is not carved when, usually, the others are (see also the graphic posted before on this same thread). Nevertheless, the handle is carved with lines symbolizing the waves and the ocean. For more example at usual sizes, you can go to my website : www.formosatribal.com

Here are some explanations (see also the graphic with many Taiwan knives) about the Yami knives coming from ‘Material Culture of the Formosan Aborigines’, a reference book by Chen Chi-Lu,;
‘The Yami of Botel Tobago have two kinds of swords. The long sword is characterized by its slightly upwards turned tip. The blade measures about 30 cm [12 inches] long and 2.5 cm [1 inch] wide. There is no guard on the Yami sword. The handle and the sheath are similar to that of other groups, but normally simple and plain (Figure 54: C). Another kind of sword used by the Yami is the hanging dagger which is called takkurus. The takkurus is a very meagre blade that measures about 15 cm [6 inches] long and 2.5 cm [1 inch] wide. But it is ill matched with a large sheath made of hard wood. The sheath is an axe-blade shape (wide in both ends and narrow in the central portion) with a pointed end. Both surfaces of the sheath are engraved with designs. Besides geometric designs, quite often the figures of magamaog, a legendary culture hero of the tribe, are seen (Figure 52: D). This dagger is not for practical use. It is always carried by men outdoors as an ornament and as a means of exorcising evil spirits."