Ami ( Jap. 阿美族 ami-zoku ; Chinese trad. 阿美族 , pinyin : āměi-zú , pall .: Ameizu ) or amis , also panzah - the most numerous ethnic group of Taiwanese aborigines . Ami speaks Amis . They occupy the territory on the east coast of the island and the valley between the central and coastal mountains in the counties of Hualien and Taitung .
In 2000, the number of Ami was 148,992 people, which is approximately 37.5% of the total indigenous population of Taiwan [1] Initially, Ami engaged in fishing in the Pacific Ocean , the Ami dominated matriarchy . [2] According to the traditional way of life, the Ami preferred to live in large villages with a population of 500-1000 inhabitants. Ami currently prefer to live in cities.
Content
- 1 Self-name and identification
- 2 Interesting Facts
- 3 notes
- 4 Literature
Self-name and identification
Ami call themselves panza , which means "people" or "our people." The name amis , meaning "north," is used more often.
According to one theory, the Puyum tribe called it, in relation to which the Ami live in the north. According to another theory, the inhabitants of the Taitung valley so called themselves as coming from the north.
Genetically, ami are closest to Filipinos [3] [4] .
According to the History of Taiwanese Aborigines , the Ami are divided into five groups:
- north ami (valley around hualien city)
- central ami (west of coastal mountains)
- coastal ami (east of coastal mountains)
- Phalango group (between Chenkun and the Taitung plain)
- Hengchun Group (on the Hengchun Peninsula)
This classification is based more on geographical areas than on cultural and linguistic differences.
Interesting Facts
In a family of women, women dominate and manage money.
Enigma's famous song Return to Innocence is based on Amis chants. The original performers were the folk duo of husband and wife Difan Duan and Igai Duan ( Chinese 郭英 男 Kuo Ying-nan and Chinese 郭秀珠 Kuo Hsiu-chu). Difan Duan and Yigai Duan filed a lawsuit over the illegal use of their chants in Return to Innocence .
Ami is famous for its harvest festival, which runs from July to September. [1]
Notes
- ↑ Preliminary statistical analysis report of 2000 Population and Housing Census Archived March 12, 2007. . Excerpted from Table 28: Indigenous population distribution in Taiwan-Fukien Area. Accessed PM 8/30/06
- ↑ Ethnologue report for language code: ami
- ↑ plbi-03-08-05 1..11 Archived on February 23, 2011.
- ↑ ア ー カ イ ブ さ れ た コ ピ ー . Date of treatment February 20, 2008. Archived February 14, 2010.
- Hsu et al. , Taiwanese Aboriginal History: Amis , Taipei: 2001. ISBN 957-02-8013-1 and ISBN 957-02-8003-4 . ( Chinese language )