Feng Nian Festival

Taitung is home to the Indigenous people who were the first to arrive on this island before the Chinese did. When the Chinese came, they drove most of the indigenous folks into the mountain with some living by the coast on the east side of Taiwan. Today, indigenous people are the minority and few really get to see their culture. For the most part, it's become more of a tourism asset.

This is the annual Feng Nian Festival, which means the harvest festival. This is the time when a year ends and starts. This is a time where, no matter how good or bad the past year has been for you, it's a fresh start. This is a time to thank and to appreciate.

The festival used to last for about a week with lots of dances and drinking. Today, because many young ones have to work, especially those who have left for the cities, the festivals have to be cut short. Now, it's usually three days. Young folks return for the festival and prepare dances. The tribe leader will judge who dances better and who's the slacker. In the past, only rice wine was allowed. Now, beer is what most drink.

Every tribe will have their own festival, but they are mostly similar to each other. Dance and dance and dance. Then they stop and eat, then dance and drink. On the last day, everyone will head out to hunt or prepare to cook the catch of the day and the whole tribe gets to enjoy the meal together. I personally don't know what to make of all these because I have never seen how it was like in the old days, and how the new version really is. The dances now are mostly for tourists to take photographs of (like me) and much of the traditions have been diluted. Well, all I know is, people are having a great time dancing and drinking around!