Atayal Tribe
1. Distribution: This tribe is found on both sides of the Central Mountain Range eastward to Hualien and westward to Dongshi, as well as northward to Wulai and southward to Renai Township in Nantou County. It was once the tribe with the largest distribution.
Introduction: The Atayal tribe was divided into two major subtribes, Atayal and Sediq. There are different dialect groups and three different creation legends which describe three different places of origin of this tribe. The first is Dabajian Mountain in the Xueshan Mountain Range. The second is Faxiang Village (Pinsbukan) in Renai Township of Nantou County. The third is Baishi Mountain in the Central Mountain Range, also in Renai Township of Nantou County. Due to increasing populations, the Atayal spread out in different directions: northwest, east and southwest.
Although there are differences among the dialect groups, the Atayal was classified culturally and academically as one ethnic group during the time of Japanese occupation (1895-1945). In 2004, the Truku became Taiwan's 12th officially recognized indigenous tribe. Then, in 2008, another ethnic group, different from the Truku, called the Sediq, was recognized as the 14th indigenous trib
2.Clothing culture
Traditional Atayal clothing was mostly produced using square pieces of woven cloth that were sewn together. Sometimes, cloth was worn draped over the body. In traditional Atayal society, there were no obvious class distinctions. Therefore, there was not much variation in the clothing worn by the chieftain and the chieftain's family, when compared with that worn by the other members of the tribe. Basic clothing for men consisted of headband, head ornaments, chest cloth, cape, loincloth and knife strap.
