The glass and ceramic beads represent an important part of Paiwan
culture, one of the aboriginals in Taiwan. The history and origin of Paiwan beads are
fascinating. With so many unique multi-colored patterns, each bead has its own name,
meaning, and a legend behind it.
History of Paiwan Beads
Tradition and Heirlooms
Paiwan tribe is one of the 14 aboriginal tribes of
Taiwan. In their traditional
culture, glass beads played a very important part of it. The multi-colored beads were a symbol of tribe
social status. Certain beads were
reserved for the chief or aristocracy. Some, as symbol of honor, were rewarded to warriors
who performed well in the battlefield or hunting field. During the once every five year festival and
special occasions such as traditional ceremonies or wedding, Paiwan indigenous would
wear the necklace made up with glass beads.
The number of beads on the necklace represented the wealth and position
of the wearer.
The glass beads could be used as wedding gift or
as a currency. Glass beads also considered as family heirlooms and passed down
from generation to generation.
The Origin of Paiwan Beads
It is still not clear what the origin of Paiwan glass beads is.
Some said they were introduced to Paiwan society through the trade with Dutch
in the 17th century. Some said the handicrafts were simply passed
down from ancient Paiwan tribe, but the creation method was not recorded.
Without the knowledge of how to make glass beads, the number of
antique Paiwan beads had been diminishing due to the collectors’ acquisition and
lost in natural disasters. The most recent
disaster was Typhoon Morakot
in 2009. Some of the precious antique Paiwan bead
necklaces were collected and exhibited at the Museum of Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica
in Taiwan.
Rediscover the Art of making Paiwan Glass Beads
When the number of antique Paiwan beads dwindled down, it was difficult
to conduct the traditional Paiwan ceremonies. Realized
that this was a threat to the Paiwan culture, a Paiwan artist named Umass Zingrur started his search of how to re-create Paiwan glass beads about 40 years ago.
Through the research and experiments, he had found the formula to re-create the
Paiwan glass beads. Due to his efforts,
as many as 34 patterns of glass beads are now in production at various Paiwan
tribe studios.
In the film, different
Paiwan glass beads were given to the main characters to reflect each person’s
personality. Due to the popularity of
the film, the Paiwan glass beads became the most sought jewelry and gift items instantly
in Taiwan. Especially for the “Bead of Warrior” worn by the main actor and the
“Bead of Peacock” worn by the main actress, the lead time of obtaining these
beads could be as long as 3 to 4 months.
In 2010, Jialand Bayi Workshop was established
to help the affected Jialand villagers to regain their footing after the
disaster. One of the main goals was to train the villagers the basic techniques
of making ceramic beads with Paiwan style. The Jialand style ceramic beads have
the same multi-colored patterns as the traditional Paiwan glass beads. The Paiwan ceramic beads are quite new
compared with the Paiwan glass beads.
But they carry the same Paiwan tradition and legend.
Paiwan people claimed to be the descendants of hundred-pace
viper, which was also considered as the guardian god of the clay pots for tribe
chief. The rhombus-shaped pattern of the hundred-pace viper is a symbol of
courage. This bead was only given to the warriors who had excelled on the
battlefield or on the hunting grounds. For a Paiwan male, possessing
a Mananigai bead was one of the highest honors.
This bead was also called the bead of warrior.
There
are many versions of the legend of this bead. One version says that there was a
peacock from the heaven that could turn himself into a man. He fell in love to a
beautiful daughter of tribe chief and asked for permission to marry her. But
the chief refused. He pleaded to give hundred peacock bead necklaces, hundred peacock
bead bracelets, hundred peacock bead rings, and hundred peacock bead hair pins
as the wedding gift. The chief finally
agreed the marriage of his daughter. The pattern on this bead resembles a
feather from the tail of a peacock. This bead also means bead of love.
The
traditional dwellings of the Paiwan tribe were made of slates, which were
stacked to create the walls. Due to the small openings between the slates, the
smoke from cooking inside would escape to outside and upward to the heaven in
wave-like pattern. Paiwan people believed this is the link between heaven and
earth. They also believe the rainbow is the link between heaven and earth. Since
this bead has the wave-like pattern and three rainbow colors, it represented
the link between heaven and earth and thus was the bead of noble. It was
considered the most valuable of the traditional Paiwan beads and could only be
possessed by chief and aristocracy.
Cape No.7 and Paiwan Beads
In 2008, a Taiwanese romance comedic drama film “Cape No.7”
became one of the most watched movies in
the country's cinematic history, just behind James Cameron's Titanic.
The film won the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award
for Best Narrative at the Hawaii
International Film Festival.
Bayi Ceramic Beads Workshop
In 2009, the most powerful typhoon in Taiwan recent history hit
hard on Jialan, one of the Paiwan villages. Among those lost were the precious
Paiwan glass beads, the heirlooms of many villagers.
Legends of Paiwan Beads
When Paiwan artist Umass Zingrur
searched for the techniques for re-creating the traditional Paiwan glass beads,
he also interviewed the elders of the tribe. He found out that each bead had a
name, a meaning, and a legend. In fact, there can be more than one name,
meaning, or legend for each bead. It
seems to be the story may vary among the tribal clans. Below are the stories of some of the Paiwan
beads.
Bead of Warrior (Mananigai)
Paiwan people claimed to be the descendants of hundred-pace
viper, which was also considered as the guardian god of the clay pots for tribe
chief. The rhombus-shaped pattern of the hundred-pace viper is a symbol of
courage. This bead was only given to the warriors who had excelled on the
battlefield or on the hunting grounds. For a Paiwan male, possessing
a Mananigai bead was one of the highest honors.
This bead was also called the bead of warrior.Bead of Peacock (Kurakurau)
There
are many versions of the legend of this bead. One version says that there was a
peacock from the heaven that could turn himself into a man. He fell in love to a
beautiful daughter of tribe chief and asked for permission to marry her. But
the chief refused. He pleaded to give hundred peacock bead necklaces, hundred peacock
bead bracelets, hundred peacock bead rings, and hundred peacock bead hair pins
as the wedding gift. The chief finally
agreed the marriage of his daughter. The pattern on this bead resembles a
feather from the tail of a peacock. This bead also means bead of love.Bead of Noble (Mulimulitan)
The
traditional dwellings of the Paiwan tribe were made of slates, which were
stacked to create the walls. Due to the small openings between the slates, the
smoke from cooking inside would escape to outside and upward to the heaven in
wave-like pattern. Paiwan people believed this is the link between heaven and
earth. They also believe the rainbow is the link between heaven and earth. Since
this bead has the wave-like pattern and three rainbow colors, it represented
the link between heaven and earth and thus was the bead of noble. It was
considered the most valuable of the traditional Paiwan beads and could only be
possessed by chief and aristocracy.
