Taiwan Aboriginal Culture FDC

Taiwan FDC
Name: Taiwan's Aboriginal Culture (Continued)
Date of Issue: 01 August 2008
Number: Sp.524

Having issued "Taiwan's Aboriginal Culture" (which featured the festivals of nine different tribes on April 22, 1999), this Post is following up with another set that showcases unique traditional tribal objects, including a Paiwan earthenware pot, an Ami lover's bag, a Rukai men's headdress, and a Bunun men's neck ornament.

Denominations:
NT$5.00: Paiwan Earthenware Pot
Paiwan society has a strictly delineated structure, and the quality and number of earthenware pots owned by a noble family demonstrate the family's social status and influence. This stamp features a pot with male and female patterns. A hermaphroditic pot is considered the noblest of all earthenware pots and is usually placed in the most sacred spot in a home. It must be carried with both hands, and grabbing its mouth is considered taboo.

NT$12.00: Ami Lover's Bag
This is a common accessory of the Ami, and bags of this kind are also called betel nut bags or messenger bags. Women usually make them for their children or lovers. Today, they have become bound up with Ami cultural identity and are regarded as necessary accessories for all members of the tribe during harvest ceremonies and other important activities. The correct way to carry the bag is across the body, with the strap on the left shoulder and the bag on the right hip.

NT$12.00: Rukai Men's Headdress
The headdresses of Rukai are richly varied and representative of the tribe. Accents made from different materials connote different meanings and social statuses. A lily blossom, symbolic of chaste women and heroic hunters, is the most sacred accent of all. A feather on a headdress denotes high social status; a person can only wear such a headdress openly after receiving commensurate formal recognition from the tribe.

NT$25.00: Bunun Men's Neck Ornament
Bunun men wear two kinds of neck ornaments: chokers and necklaces. The stamp features a choker. Chokers were made of square shells or a combination of square shells, shell beads and beads. Chokers have ties at the back. The most common figure used in Bunun neck ornaments is the hundred-pace snake, woven in diamond, triangle, strip, or checker patterns.

Comment: Taiwan Post had released the design before issue day, but the Rukai Men's Headdress's design was totally wrong, it depicted a Rukai Women's Headdress. In this case, Taiwan Post were withdrawn all of complete set pre-cancelled official FDC and this mistaken stamp before issue day. Lucky! their efficiency is good, they redesigned and reprinted the mistaken stamp in time.