The harvest festival of Saisiyat, pa∫ta?ay, is observed every other year. It used to last a full week, but was shortened to three days and four nights during the period of Japanese occupation. It is a service performed for the spirits of the pygmies, generally belived to be the Negritos. The songs must have been transmitted from generation to generation among the Saisiyat people for centuries.
Ths songs and legends of pa∫ta?ay have been studied and briefly reported on by several scholars. The most comprehensive study was by Lin Hen-li (1956). However, even Lin left out some important details concerning the songs.
This paper focuses on the structure and meanings of the words in the songs, as wellas the legends and some of their implications. The rhyming scheme is among one of the most fascinating subjects of study for the songs. Like traditional Chinese poetry, each line mostly contains seven syllables. Each stanza may have one or more than one rhyme, designated by a plant name. The Saisiyat people sing and dance together while observing the ritual ceremony.
According to the legends, the Saisiyat and the pygmies used to live nearby at which time they got along fairly well. The pygmies were very skillful in weaving and cultivating, and shared their knowledge with the Saisiyats. But one year, during a certain ceremony, unfortunately a pygmy raped a Saisiyat woman. The enraged Saisiyats murdered all the pygmies except an old man named Ta?ay and an old woman named Toway. Hence the entire pygmy race became extinct.
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.
