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

Knowing millet and the purposes
      Millet is one-year herbaceous with 4-5 meters height. The leaves are like those of corns. The flowers are intensive with small cones. The fruits are small and yellow. The corn is edible, for brewing or bird food. It is the traditional grain crop of Paiwan Tribe in Taiwan.

Introduction ─Role of Millet in the Traditional Harvest Festivals

    In the traditional harvest festivals of Biyouma of Paiwan Tribe, the elders and sacrifice people gather at the place of chief. They taste the millet wine brewed by the chief. The meaning of tasting is to predict the future.  They open the win jar first before tasting to observe the following situations by the brewing:

(1) Boiling: the coming year will have many typhoons—
      the more bubbles, the more typhoons.
(2) Fir in millet wine: people in the village will be killed
      by enemies.
(3) Wood bits: someone will die in the mountain.
(4) If none of the above three is in the wine, the coming year will have a great harvest.
<Quoted from the graduation thesis of Lai Chao-cai at Yushan Theological College & Semingry, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan