My friend Jewar Alex is part of the Pangcah Aboriginal Tribe of Taiwan also known as Amis 阿美族. Most people refer to this Tribe as Amis 阿美族 however the tribe itself calls themselves Pangcah which translated means human or people of our kind. I find the Aboriginal tribes of Taiwan to be absolutely fascinating with their culture and dance rituals.
My friend Jewar is actually a dancer for this tribe and performs in many of these popular Pangcah dance rituals. The drama and beauty of these performances is spectacular and something very unique to the Formosa. The famous dance of the Pangcah (Amis) people is called 那魯灣舞曲 meaning Naruwan dance. Naruwan meaning “How are you?” or “Welcome”.
And I feel the spirit of the Pangcah is exactly that, welcoming. Their famous dance itself is called the Welcome Dance. How much more inviting could you get? I am including a video below that my friend Jewar Alex showed me of his people and the famous 那魯灣舞曲 Naruwan dance. You will notice a term in their song which is Naluwan.
Naluwan in English means “Hometown” And as you see in this video this term seems to be very special to the Pangcah people as I feel it is also very special to many Taiwanese people. The idea of “Home” or your “Hometown” has special power and feeling in Taiwan which I find very touching. Family and “welcoming” strangers is what Taiwanese do best. Watch this wonderful video and allow it to make you feel “welcome” to the beautiful Island and Country of Taiwan!