Millet Culture of Paiwan Tribe    ◎ Written by Zi Gao ◎ photos by Zi Gao

        Millet culture is called Masuvigu in Paiwan dialect.  Millet Festival is to celebrate the harvest festival and is also known as Harvest Festival, to celebrate the harvest.  It is also the beginning of month calculation of Paiwan Tribe.  In the past, Paiwan Tribe calculates the age by the number of Millet Harvest.  It plays a great role in the harvest festival.  Millet festival also means a lot in the life of Paiwan Tribe.

      Millet serves in many ways.  It can be brewed into wine, cooked into rice, Cinavu, and Avai a kinpelj, etc.  Wrap millet into Avai a kinpelj or Avai a kinpelj as the noblest foods of Paiwan Tribe.  These two are the required gifts in festivities, births, trips, sacrifices, serving in army, and marriages.  They represent the most sincere and highest respect.

      Therefore, Pazazeliuliulj before harvest and Masaseljevaleva after the harvest were created from planting millet—opening up, seeding, removing weeds, and cooking.
※ Italics refer to the technical terms in Paiwan dialect.       Nex