Post by Tukuler al~Takruri on Apr 21, 2020 2:29:00 GMT -5
As with everything else I quote or reference,
Not in 100% agreement with the presentation --
i.e.; use of Africoid as a phenotypic descriptor --
this old article is interesting for what an Asian
people themselves say about black skinned people
of their environs. The only yellow haired black
skinned people I know about are certain Oceanians.
Pacifica or Oceania black peoples live, and have
lived, alongside non-black peoples of the same
geographic region for thousands of years now.
The blacks of Oceania/Pacifica and the Indian
Ocean are by no means of recent African lineage.
but to the best of my research split Africa more
than 30,000 years ago. Below article is from
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/11/27/2003212815
Any and all hiliting or bulleting are mine and only for clarity.
Not in 100% agreement with the presentation --
i.e.; use of Africoid as a phenotypic descriptor --
this old article is interesting for what an Asian
people themselves say about black skinned people
of their environs. The only yellow haired black
skinned people I know about are certain Oceanians.
Pacifica or Oceania black peoples live, and have
lived, alongside non-black peoples of the same
geographic region for thousands of years now.
The blacks of Oceania/Pacifica and the Indian
Ocean are by no means of recent African lineage.
but to the best of my research split Africa more
than 30,000 years ago. Below article is from
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/11/27/2003212815
Any and all hiliting or bulleting are mine and only for clarity.
In honor of the Little Black People
The Saisiyat tribe of Hsinchu and Miaoli will perform a solemn rite
this weekend to commemorate a race of people that they exterminated
By Jules Quartly / STAFF REPORTER / Sat, Nov 27, 2004 page16
Drinking, singing and dancing are expected to take place deep in the mountains of Miaoli and Hsinchu
when the "Ritual of the Little Black People" (矮靈祭) is performed by the Saisiyat tribe once again this
weekend.
For the past 100 years or so, the Saisiyat tribe (賽夏族) has performed the songs and rites of the
festival to bring good harvests, ward off bad luck and keep alive the spirit of a race of people who
are said to have preceded all others in Taiwan.
In fact, the short, black men the festival celebrates are one of the most ancient types of modern humans
on this planet and their kin still survive in Asia today. They are said to be diminutive Africoids and are
variously called Pygmies, Negritos and Aeta. They are found in the Philippines, northern Malaysia,
Thailand, Sumatra in Indonesia and other places.
Chinese historians called them "black dwarfs" in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220 to AD 280)
and they were still to be found in China during the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1911). In Taiwan they
were called the "Little Black People" and, apart from being diminutive, they were also said to be
* broad-nosed and
* dark-skinned with
* curly hair.
After the Little Black People --and well before waves of Han migrations after 1600-- came the Aboriginal tribes,
who are part of the Austronesian race. They are thought to have come from the Malay Archipelago 6,000
years ago at the earliest and around 1,000 years ago at the latest, though theories on Aborigine migration to
Taiwan are still hotly debated. Gradually the Little Black People became scarcer, until a point about 100 years
ago, when there was just a small group living near the Saisiyat tribe.
The story goes that the Little Black People taught the Saisiyat to farm by providing seeds and they used to party
together. But one day, the Little Black People sexually harassed some Aboriginal women. So, the Saisiyat took
revenge and killed them off by cutting a bridge over which they were all crossing. Just two Little Black People
survived. Before departing eastward, they taught the Saisiyat about their culture and passed down some of
their songs, saying if they did not remember their people they would be cursed and their crops would fail.
The Saisiyat kept their promise and have held the Ritual of the Little Black People every year, though they scaled
down the ceremonies during the Japanese colonial period (1895 to 1945). Now the ritual is held every two years
on the 10th full moon of the lunar calendar, with a big festival once every 10 years. At this time, the Saisiyat are
not supposed to fight and they congregate in their ancestral areas of Miaoli and Hsinchu, in the mountains.
"I've seen it written of as a celebration, but to me it seemed quite a mournful affair, especially in the way
the music came across, which was trancelike, a haunting kind of chant with a series of 10 to 15 songs," said
long-term Taiwan resident Lynn Miles, who has been to the ritual three times and will be going again this year.
"There's nothing else quite like it in its tone and in its mood. I've been to other festivals but this is non-stop."
Miles said the dances were not set pieces but usually involved holding hands and moving around in a circle,
chanting, with those who know the songs doing most of the singing and a shaman figure keeping order.
A spokeswoman at the Council of Indigenous Peoples (under the Executive Yuan) said that
those who have "unclean thoughts" have their souls snatched by the spirits of the Little Black
People and will pass out until the shaman revives them. Miles said the shaman seemed to serve
a public-order function by chasing off those who were too drunk or out of order.
The ceremonies are held in two places. The ritual began yesterday in Nanchuang Township, Miaoli County,
and will carry on there until Monday. Rituals start today in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County, and will last
through tomorrow.
Getting there:
To Wufeng: Route 122 to Wufeng can be accessed off No. 1 Highway near Toufen.
To Nanchuang: Take western No. 1 Highway. Near Toufen, take Route 124 toward Sanwan to Nanchuang.
Shuttle buses will take visitors to the ritual site at Xiangtian Lake.
The Saisiyat tribe of Hsinchu and Miaoli will perform a solemn rite
this weekend to commemorate a race of people that they exterminated
By Jules Quartly / STAFF REPORTER / Sat, Nov 27, 2004 page16
Drinking, singing and dancing are expected to take place deep in the mountains of Miaoli and Hsinchu
when the "Ritual of the Little Black People" (矮靈祭) is performed by the Saisiyat tribe once again this
weekend.
For the past 100 years or so, the Saisiyat tribe (賽夏族) has performed the songs and rites of the
festival to bring good harvests, ward off bad luck and keep alive the spirit of a race of people who
are said to have preceded all others in Taiwan.
In fact, the short, black men the festival celebrates are one of the most ancient types of modern humans
on this planet and their kin still survive in Asia today. They are said to be diminutive Africoids and are
variously called Pygmies, Negritos and Aeta. They are found in the Philippines, northern Malaysia,
Thailand, Sumatra in Indonesia and other places.
Chinese historians called them "black dwarfs" in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220 to AD 280)
and they were still to be found in China during the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1911). In Taiwan they
were called the "Little Black People" and, apart from being diminutive, they were also said to be
* broad-nosed and
* dark-skinned with
* curly hair.
After the Little Black People --and well before waves of Han migrations after 1600-- came the Aboriginal tribes,
who are part of the Austronesian race. They are thought to have come from the Malay Archipelago 6,000
years ago at the earliest and around 1,000 years ago at the latest, though theories on Aborigine migration to
Taiwan are still hotly debated. Gradually the Little Black People became scarcer, until a point about 100 years
ago, when there was just a small group living near the Saisiyat tribe.
The story goes that the Little Black People taught the Saisiyat to farm by providing seeds and they used to party
together. But one day, the Little Black People sexually harassed some Aboriginal women. So, the Saisiyat took
revenge and killed them off by cutting a bridge over which they were all crossing. Just two Little Black People
survived. Before departing eastward, they taught the Saisiyat about their culture and passed down some of
their songs, saying if they did not remember their people they would be cursed and their crops would fail.
The Saisiyat kept their promise and have held the Ritual of the Little Black People every year, though they scaled
down the ceremonies during the Japanese colonial period (1895 to 1945). Now the ritual is held every two years
on the 10th full moon of the lunar calendar, with a big festival once every 10 years. At this time, the Saisiyat are
not supposed to fight and they congregate in their ancestral areas of Miaoli and Hsinchu, in the mountains.
"I've seen it written of as a celebration, but to me it seemed quite a mournful affair, especially in the way
the music came across, which was trancelike, a haunting kind of chant with a series of 10 to 15 songs," said
long-term Taiwan resident Lynn Miles, who has been to the ritual three times and will be going again this year.
"There's nothing else quite like it in its tone and in its mood. I've been to other festivals but this is non-stop."
Miles said the dances were not set pieces but usually involved holding hands and moving around in a circle,
chanting, with those who know the songs doing most of the singing and a shaman figure keeping order.
A spokeswoman at the Council of Indigenous Peoples (under the Executive Yuan) said that
those who have "unclean thoughts" have their souls snatched by the spirits of the Little Black
People and will pass out until the shaman revives them. Miles said the shaman seemed to serve
a public-order function by chasing off those who were too drunk or out of order.
The ceremonies are held in two places. The ritual began yesterday in Nanchuang Township, Miaoli County,
and will carry on there until Monday. Rituals start today in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County, and will last
through tomorrow.
Getting there:
To Wufeng: Route 122 to Wufeng can be accessed off No. 1 Highway near Toufen.
To Nanchuang: Take western No. 1 Highway. Near Toufen, take Route 124 toward Sanwan to Nanchuang.
Shuttle buses will take visitors to the ritual site at Xiangtian Lake.
