The Gaoshan ethnic group is the general name for Taiwan’s aboriginal people, including Pingpu, Atayal, Sasit, Yamei, Bunun, Zhuou, Baiwan, Rukai, Beinan, Ameisi and other ethnic groups. It can be roughly divided into three language groups: Atayal, Tsou and Paiwan. The population is approximately 500,000. The naming customs of the Gaoshan people include naming rituals, naming according to traditional name trees, naming from ancestors, changing names, etc.
The ancestors of the Gaoshan ethnic group mainly come from the southeastern coast of the motherland. They are descendants of the Minyue branch of the Ancient Yue people. They and the Hokkien (Fujian immigrants) and Hakka (Guangdong immigrants) who later arrived in Taiwan are originally from One family. Compatriots of the Gaoshan ethnic group have been proud of the Miao descendants of Yan and Huang since ancient times. Therefore, since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, when large-scale immigrants from mainland China came to Taiwan to colonize Taiwan, they have changed their surnames to Han surnames. There are two categories of surnames. The granting of surnames by the government occurred in the early Qing Dynasty, and was mainly given to Gaoshan people who had made meritorious service in assisting the Qing government in fighting. For example, in the 23rd year of Qianlong's reign (1758), the Qing government once granted seven surnames: Wei, Jin, Qian, Liao, Gong, Pan, and Li to the Gaoshan people in Zhubei Xinshe, Hsinchu. A local temple in Xinshe still enshrines the tablets of the ancestors of these seven surnames. The locals call it Fanzi Ancestral Hall. For example, when Hengchun County was added in the first year of Guangxu (1875), it was to commend the cooperation of the local Paiwan leaders. It is also special. Give him the surname Pan. Speaking of why there are so many Gaoshan compatriots with the surname Pan, it is said that this has a origin. It turns out that when immigrants from mainland China came to Taiwan to colonize in the early Qing Dynasty, the government adopted a protective policy towards the Gaoshan people, and all those who cultivated the land had to pay rent to them. With this preferential treatment, they believed that as long as they had water, rice, and fields, their lives would be worry-free, so they all adopted the surname Pan, who had water, rice, and fields.
Among the Gaoshan ethnic group, the Atayal and Ami people do not have surnames. They usually add the father's name to the child's name. If the father dies, the mother's name is added. The surnames of some ethnic groups are Sun, Cicada, etc. Experts believe that they are mostly symbols of totems.
As for the self-chosen surnames, they are mainly from a group of high mountain people called Pingpu people who live in the plains and hills. Because they live together with the Han people in Changlang, their lifestyles and customs They have all been Chineseized, so the Chineseization of surnames is also a matter of course.
Naming customs of the Gaoshan people
① Naming ceremony. Among the Gaoshan tribe, the original belief in people's names is still preserved. This belief believes that a person's name is not just a symbol or a simple word, but is inseparable from the person's own existence and is an organic part of the person. Names have certain spiritual power or magic. By applying certain magic to a person's name, you can affect that person's destiny, character, health, etc. Therefore, in the eyes of the Gaoshan people, naming is by no means a casual thing, but a sacred thing. Naming activities are always accompanied by specific rituals, which have a strong color of witchcraft and primitive religion. For example, the Amish people are a people who are good at hunting. When naming their newborns, they must hold a unique hunting ceremony. After the baby is born, the father goes into the deep mountains and old forests to divine based on the direction of the birds' flight and the sounds of their singing. If the fortune is auspicious, he begs for the protection of his ancestors and starts hunting. After returning from hunting, they name their children after the beasts they hunted. If they hunted a bear, they would name the child Bear; if they hunted a leopard, they would name the child Leopard. They think that such a name can ensure that the child will be like a bear in the future. Kong is powerful, agile and vigorous like a leopard. If you return empty-handed from your first hunting trip, you must choose an auspicious day to hunt again. Only after hunting a beast can you hold a naming ceremony for your child. When the Bulan people name a newborn, they also hold a ceremony. The ceremony is presided over by a respected elder. The elder uses gourds and gourds to hold wine to worship the gods and ancestors, and then names and blesses the newborn. Children are not allowed to be present at the naming ceremony, for fear that the ignorant children will do something inappropriate and offend the gods, which will bring disaster to the named child.
② Named according to traditional names. The so-called traditional names are said to be auspicious names assigned by ancestors and passed down from generation to generation. As long as the child is named according to the traditional name book, it will ensure that the child has good luck throughout his life and avoid disasters. Except for a few of these names, most of them are names that are said to have been used by ancestors. Since these names have been passed down for many generations, most people only know their sounds but cannot understand their meanings.
Since the names in the ancestral genealogy are limited, duplication of names will inevitably occur as the population increases. The people of the Gaoshan tribe have their own way to solve this problem, which is to give them different nicknames based on the personality characteristics of the people with the same name, such as Shula (earth), plus the nickname Fatty Shula, the big one Shula, Hunter Shula, Black Shula, etc. Colorful nicknames add a lot of interest to the names of the Gaoshan people.
③From the ancestral name. The Gaoshan people worship their ancestors and believe that their ancestors’ spirits in heaven will protect their descendants from multiplying and living happily. The ancestors’ names are used as their own names. They believe that doing so will allow the ancestors’ souls to be reborn through the bodies of their descendants, and the ancestors’ power will be passed on to the world. Popular from generation to generation. One of the most common forms of taking ancestral names is the joint naming system of parents and children.
④ Change the name to eliminate evil spirits. If a Gaoshan tribesman gets sick, has a child die in the family, or even hunts without success, they will think that there are evil spirits at work. This person will ask a wizard for divination and ask the wizard to give him a new name to ward off evil spirits and disasters. . This custom is actually a legacy of the belief in the unity of name and reality in primitive times. The ancestors believed that a person's name and his soul are one, and that his name and his soul are closely related. Therefore, if a person believes that he has been harmed by evil spirits, he believes that by changing his name, he can appear in a new way. The evil spirits will no longer recognize him and will naturally not be able to persecute him.