Visitors to Taiwan are often surprised by the richness of her aboriginal culture, but finding books in English describing the richness and variety of these cultures can be daunting. Taiwan’s Aboriginal Peoples (2002, ISBN 957-01-2744-9), with photographs and text by Wang Wei-chang, and English translation by Phillip Newell, is a lavishly photographed, bi-lingual, large-format book that brings the beauty and majesty of these cultures into light.

With the exclusion of the Pingpu western plains tribes, Taiwan’s aboriginal people are divided here into ten tribes: Atayal, Saishia, Bunun, Shao, Tsou, Rukai, Amis, Puyuma, Paiwan and Tao. This 200 page book contains scores of photographs of these peoples, their homes, crafts, clothing, and rituals. 60 of these photographs are reviewed, with additional text, at the end of the book. Wang is an exceptional photographer, combining documentary and art in a book that will appeal to ethnographers, travelers, and armchair adventurers. The creation of the book was a major undertaking planned and executed by Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Affairs through Yuanliou Publishers, as one inf the series of “Beauty of Taiwan” books.

We here at WoWasis discovered that this important book is not all that easy to find and purchase, even in Taiwan. In Taipei, it is always in stock at the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, though. Along with the Shung Ye Museum guidebook, it is essential reading for anyone interested in Taiwan’s aboriginal cultures.

For more about this book, visit the Council for Cultural Affairs website.