The Seediq are a Taiwanese aboriginal

Taiwanese aborigines

Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...

 people who live primarily in Nantou County

Nantou County

Nantou County is the second largest county of Taiwan. It is also the only landlocked county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya Taiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau. Nantou County is officially administered as a county of Taiwan....

 and Hualien County

Hualien County

Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan and is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan. It contains the island's largest port. It is the starting point of the Hualien-Taitung Line and the terminal point of North-Link Line of TRA...

. Their language is also known as Seediq

Seediq language

Seediq is an Atayalic language spoken in the mountains of Northern Taiwan by the Seediq and Truku people. There are 4,750 speakers out of a total of 25,000 ethnic members .-Subdivisions:Seediq consists of three main dialects...

. They were officially recognised as Taiwan's 14th indigenous group on 23 April 2008. Previously, Seediq, along with the closely related Truku people

Truku people

The Truku people are an Indigenous Taiwanese tribe. Taroko is also the name of the area of Taiwan where the Truku tribe resides. The Executive Yuan, Republic of China has officially recognized the Truku since January 15, 2004. The Truku are the 12th aboriginal tribe in Taiwan to receive this...

, were classified as Atayal

Atayal

The Atayal , also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are one tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. In the year 2000 the Atayal tribe numbered 91,883. This was approximately 23.1% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the second-largest tribal group...

.

Background

The Seediq were officially recognized as Taiwan’s 14th indigenous group on 23 April 2008. Though recognized relatively late, there are records of the Seediq from the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, anthropologists found that the Seediq and Taiya people share cultural similarities; in particular, the importance of face tattoos and the “chucao” tradition of headhunting. The more heads collected, the more recognized power in the tribe. Although their languages are not similar, the Seediq are also closely related to the Truku (Atayal) people. Both tribes have the same origin and culture, but separated early on due to different lifestyles.

During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, the anthropologist 伊能嘉矩 recognized all the indigenous tribes around Puli (埔里) as Taiya people, including the Seediq. This is because he was unable to visit all the tribes in Puli mountain area and was not able to observe the differences between the Taiya and Seediq. Even though Seediq people were not initially recognized, later anthropologists believe that the Seediq are different enough from the Taiya to be classified as a separate indigenous group,

Seediq people were made up of three groups: the Tgdaya (德克塔雅群), Toda (都達群), and Truku (太魯閣群).

Wushe Events

Starting from 1897, the Japanese began a road building program that brought them into the indigenous people's territory. This was seen as invasive. Contacts and conflicts escalated and some indigenous people were killed. In 1901, in a battle with the Japanese, indigenous people defeated 670 Japanese soldiers. As a result of this, in 1902, the Japanese isolated Wushe. Between 1914 and 1917, Japanese forces carried out an aggressive 'pacification' program killing many resisting people. At this time, the leader of 馬赫坡社, Mona Rudao, tried to resist rule by Japan, but he failed twice because his plans were divulged. At his third attempt, he organized seven out of twelve groups to fight against the Japanese forces.

Shin Cheng events (新城事件)

When Japanese soldiers raped some indigenous women, two leaders and twenty men and killed thirteen Japanese soldiers.

Tairuku battle (太魯閣之役)

The Japanese wanted to take over the Truku group. After eight years of investing the area, they attacked. Two thousand of the indigenous people resisted.

Renzhiguan events (人止關事件)

After taking over the plain, Japanese gained control of Wushe. Some of the Tgdaya people who showed admiration Japanese were shot. Because of this, fighting broke out again.

In the media

The Seediq people were featured prominently in the 2011 Taiwanese historical drama Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale.