Kavalan
In December of 2002, the Kavalan were recognized as Taiwan’s 11th official tribe. Kavalan refers to “the people living on the plains” in the tribe’s native language. The Kavalan were the earliest people to inhabit the Lanyang Plains of Yilan County. The earliest record of this tribe is a Spanish attack on the Kavalan in 1632 in retaliation for the tribe’s assaults on Spanish ships. Eighteen years later, the Dutch recorded 36 Kavalan villages on the Lanyang Plains. However, after years of conflict the tribe eventually moved southward to Hualien City. Following the loss to Chinese troops in the 1878 Jialiwan Incident, the survivors scattered throughout Hualien and Taitung.
The Kavalan are a Pingpu (plains-dwelling Aborigines) tribe and traditionally possessed a matrilineal society. The right to inheritance of family property was given to daughters. Men married into and lived with their wife’s family. It was the women who served as shamans. The chieftain was an elected position. The affairs of the village were handled by a division of labor according to an age hierarchy.
The Kavalan tribe believes that all things on Earth have a spirit, some friendly and some unfriendly. Thus, there were rites that had to be performed before any large gathering. One of the major ceremonies that have been preserved is the Palilin, held in the beginning of the year. Another important ceremony is the Marine Festival, which takes place every year in March or April. According to Kavalan legend, the tribe’s ancestors arrived by boat, and thus the Kavalan worship the sea and ask the sea deity for protection and good fishing. The Harvest Festival held every August is the liveliest of the Kavalan ceremonies.
