Becoming Indigenous (Observations over ten years)

Puebla -Parian Mexico (Nov 2024)

There is a Parian (aka Chinese village) in Keelung - Fuzhou 福州 street.

(This blogpost records copied-over texts and thumbnail screenshots from Facebook "My Anthropology 2025" Album. Full-featured on Facebook)

I have issues with (Proto-) Austronesian linguists claims and analysis - See No 1 &2. (Cases: Puyuma-Rukai. Pazeh-Kaxabu)

Not saying I am right, not at all, but I feel something is not right and has not been right for 30 years - I am raising questions. 

Not unreasonable to say - Until explained and evidences provided -  'consensus' claimed is/are questionable.

No.1 

Puyuma-Rukai, Pazeh-Kaxabu

Pa-ka Causative Verb “A Consensus” ? Probably not yet.

Something does not seem right, in my opinion, and maybe not right for 30 years.

Proto-Austronesian linguists need to provide evidence before claiming Pazeh-Kaxabu Pa-ka causative prefix ‘a consensus’.

Plus earlier claim of Puyuma/Rukai.(Blust 1999)

Causative MAKE/MADE

Paka - ka-

Proto-Austronesian Linguists need to provide linguist evidence that proto-Austronesian paka- ka- bears no relation with Mandarin Chinese 把給 to make their claim stand. 

pa- (Make/Made) only works in Mandarin/Chinese. As far as I see.

Example:

You made my clothes wet.

1. You pa- 把 my clothes ka- 給wet. (Only works in Mandarin)

2. You ka- 給 my clothes wet. (Works in both Mandarin and Hokkien）

3. Pa 把 used in this CONTEXT is equivalent to ka將.

Therefore - in Mandarin/Chinese The following two sentences grammatically is the same.

You ka-將 my clothes ka- 給 wet.

You pa- 把 my clothes ka- 給 wet.

No.2 

Pazeh-Kaxabu dialectal distinctions

“Ferrell (1968) was the first to mention dialectal distinctions between Pazeh and Kaxabu, while Blust (1999b, p. 323)…”

In my opinion - Blust Rice and Peanut analysis is outdated and flawed.

Proto-Austronesian linguists need to re-examine the (in my opinion outdated) data and analysis before taking (developing) Pazeh-Kaxabu distinction claims further.

No.3

Shibi/RaiSnay 石壁   Re’nai 瑞岩 (Atayal)

Shibi 石壁 Fujian bills itself as the ‘Cradle of the Hakkas’ for its place in Hakka history. 

Shibi/RaiSnay 石壁  Taiwan I have been twice - heavily Hakka influenced area.

nay,nai - loanword from 岩 meaning ROCK. Re,Rai is 瑞。

RaiSnay and Re’nai effectively is the same word just in different phonetic arrangement/linguistic disguise.
Both meaning Rock.

Both are Fujian place-name known for Rock and Hakka presence.

No.4

Saisiyat and Puyuma (Tsou/Bunun?)

Full-blooded Hokkien Chinese becoming Legendary Indigenous Leaders

1. Saisiyat 日阿拐 (origin Hokkien 張）1840-1903
2. Puyuma 馬智禮( origin Hokkien 朱來盛) 1887-1966
3. A mentioned Tsou/Bunun in 17 century yet to be identified and confirmed.

No.5

Atayal 'Yu' - hot springs

Origin - Japanese Yu ゆ 湯

U’lay/Wulai Predominant Atayal town name CLEARLY isn’t anything of Atayal language.

I am surprised no indigenous linguists pointed this out YEARS ago and put it right for good.

The key word is 湯 is pronounced Yu ゆ .

No. 6

Hakka Influence Black/Blue

Red Imported fabric since early 1900s

(Amis, Paiwan/Rukai, Atayal/Saisiyat)

One of the most important information learned from NTU Anthropology Professor is Indigenous costume colours.

Google you see indigenous develop their own story and version about their group colours—-

I listened attentively- Professor Lin says :

1. Amis earlier times Black (and Blue) was Hakka influences. 

2. Paiwan/Bunun/Rikai Black (and Blue) consequently was Amis influence.

3. Red fabric colour all across Taiwan was Imported. (In large quantity).

QUESTION: I am curious about Amis word for paper mulberry which makes Amis traditional bark clothes - why did they not have their own vocabulary for this important tradition- but appears borrowed from Taiwanese Hokkien unique Lok-Ah meaning Deer Tree 鹿仔樹. Documented in Qing . WHY?

No. 7

Short-statured mystical people

Saisiyat, Atayal (Seediq and the rest)

You ask this question-“How come a mythical short people who lived with Saisiyat and Atayal at the same location Ta’ai 大隘 ended up with two complete different names?”

Ta’ai - Saisiyat named after the place Ta’ai 大隘。Presented a unique Saisiyat cultural identity. 
Ta’ai 大隘 is 1835 Hakka establishment

(Note- Be aware of 洪敏麟 (1999:231) report in this regards ‘ta’ai’ place name and ‘ta’ai’ people.)

Sungut- Atayal (along with related groups and other more distant groups ) named after (Japanese-introduced) pigeon peas. 
Sungut is loan word from Chinese 樹豆。

Saisiyat

Northern Ta’ay- ta’ay 大隘 A Beipu Hakka establishment founded in 1835.
Extended to refer to Saisiyat unique cultural identity- ta’ay 達隘 the short mystical peoples once lived with Saisiyat at Ta’ay 大隘Wufeng county Hsinchu.

Southern Tungho 東河 - incidentally one of the 26+ matching Fujian place names I identified.

paSta’ay - pa to perform. A ceremony performed to remember ta’ay 達隘 - Held in each location different hosts North and South currently every 2 years.

No.8

Bunun 豆 taw/pu/bu pulse beans peas

Bunun 豆 pulse vocabulary several developed from loan words. Pigeon peas for example from Latin.

Hyacinth beans from Hokkien 肉 ba.

Many Bunun traditional 豆 (fully detailed including science names, cultivation, ROTATING crops , harvesting on Japanese records) originated from South/Central America.

Mexico where I’ve just been.

No. 9 

Saisiyat  祭 sai さい 祭屋 Saiya さいゃ

Saisiyat’s traditional Saiya 祭屋 さいゃis located in Ta’ai 大隘。Wufeng township Hsinchu.

The house is used to remember ta’ay 達隘 the mystical short people who lived in Ta’ai 大隘 with Saisiyat and Atayal.
(ps Atayal call these little people Sungut (pigeon peas) small as peas)

祭屋 Saiya さいやis a Japanese ceremonial term and usage. Always comes with making mochi.

First photo at Shimane Japan - a Grand Sai 祭 where you see 祭屋 Saiya and people making mochi.

No.10

Zaitun  刺桐 - Plains indigenous ‘Calendar’ signifying the beginning of the year.

In particular- The Kavalans (who influenced Amis)

Full details HERE. (https://katyhuiwenhung.blogspot.com/2023/08/zaitun-arabic-olive-indigenous.html)

No. 11

NO

Tsou Aiyu-Jelly 
Ficus awkeotsangMAKINO @Alishan

How did Aiyu become Indigenous (in particular with Tsou)?

I sussed it out with Tsou elder - they don’t eat that stuff, never did.

Aiyu seeds feed squirrels, squirrels feed Millet Goddess. Aiyu harvesting means squirrels hunting.

Japanese discovered the higher altitude the better Aiyu , therefore it became Indigenous Tsou’s.

No.12

(Atayal Seediq Tsou Bunun and several others)

Cajanus cajan /Pigeon peas/ 樹豆

Clearly - Bunun and Tsou (and several others ) from Latin either cajanus or cajan.

Atayal related groups from Chinese 樹豆。(the first time I saw this Sungut ‘spelling’ was from a 15 years old menu at an indigenous restaurant)

No. 13 

#Proto-Austronesian (PAN)

#Formosanism (Li and Blust)

# Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD)

QUESTIONS - 

1. PAN *Cumay  Formosan black bear 

Is *Cumay* not *Kuma* Japanese for bear? クマ Kuma=bear

Ku/kuro is black 黑 in Japanese. 

If not - how did 'Formosa black bear' come under 'C' ('K'?) root?

2. PAN *qaRem  pangolin, scaly anteater

Is ‘Rem’ 鯉 lí ? 

pangolin in ancient Chinese/Hokkien  is 鯪鯉 lâ-lí which several indigenous Taiwanese borrowed to include in their dictionary. 

If not - how did 'Scaly' come under 'R'? root?

3. PAN *qesep q sip, suck

Is sep  Hokkien ‘stip’?

啜 tsip“甚”、“斟”

4. PAN *Cun Cun C make a booming sound

Is ‘cun cun’ Hokkien ts’ian? 嗆 ts’ian 

(Saisiyat's hip BELLS is  嗆 嗆 ts’ian ts’ian )

''booming sound' for ritual? Shamanship? root?

5. PAN *qesak ripe; cooked; ready to eat  

Is it related to Hokkien 熟 si̍k? Cooked . 

Including Cooked Aborigines 熟番。

“An aspect of the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD) by the late Robert Blust which remains underanalysed are what are termed “Formosanisms;” words which were restricted to the island of Taiwan and are not reflected in broader Austronesian.” (Roger Blench )

No. 14 

Formosanisms 'beans' (Proto-Austronesian)

“If the Formosanisms are a consequence of lexical diffusion, then by definition they would not be Proto-Austronesian (PAN), but rather a mosaic of loanwords. We would therefore expect a lack of regular sound correspondences, since the words would have spread from one language to another.” (Roger Blench. Brill)

“An aspect of the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD) by the late Robert Blust which remains underanalysed are what are termed “Formosanisms;” words which were restricted to the island of Taiwan and are not reflected in broader Austronesian.” (Roger Blench. Brill )

Thanks to Roger Blench - I now have a much clearer idea why I found Blust Puyuma-Rukai Pazeh-Kaxabu pa-ka, rice and peanut analysis and claims flawed and questionable. 

The problem came from Blust's hypothesis based on underanalysed data and claims - Example 'beans' (Proto-Austronesian)

Blust supported the reconstruction of Proto-Tsouic language by Japanese linguist Shigeru Tsuchida 土田滋 . 

My issue with Blust result is he did not examine and analyse further the cause, the roots. It appears Blust went on to develop his claims and hypothesis based on Tsuchida's results and that is the reason why I found his analysis outdated and flawed.

Proto-Austronesian linguists need to examine the Latin and Japanese roots of the Proto-Tsouic word 'beans'. And they need to be able to identify these root words and explain why.

And for example  - why pu't puh means Taiwan.

No. 15

No. 16

No. 17  Most curious!

Hufu 胡服 Ancient-China

Hufu Indigenous Tsou Clothing, Shelter

Short Robe

No. 18 Siraya - pa and pun.

No. 19

No. 20

No. 21

No. 22

 No. 23 

Atayal Yukan (Brave) 勇敢 Chinese

Questionable proposed etymology - 

1. Yukan meaning Brave 勇敢 is Chinese, not Japanese.

2. How and why, Atayal name was influenced by Japanese BEFORE Japanese took control of Taiwan? (Prior to Japanese Colonial??)

No. 24

Millet - Loan words

Rukai's is Latin

Puyuma's is Tagalog

Tao’s rai is Chinese 粱

Atayal Saisiyat Tsou's 粟 or 稷

Paiwan Bunun Amis's could all be 谷

N0. 25

95 Intellectual Property Entry in 7 years.

1930 Bunun 'pounding' music becomes Thao in 2017

1930 Bunun/Tsou weaving patterns and technique becomes Truku (3 entry ) in one day in 2023. (2023 Oct 12 Truku entry No. 4,5,6)

No. 26 

Heavy rely on Japanese records followed by developing linguistic strategies.

Note - e and o are added if necessary to identify 'foreign' loan words.

No. 27 

Bunun Samu  - Loan word from Polynesia 'tapu' meaning 'taboo' ?

No. 28 

Atayal 'Ruma' - makino bamboo

Ru - Bamboo - Mandarin

Ma - Makino - Latin (Phyllostachys makinoi)

No. 29

# Formosan language (a mosaic of loanwords?)

Do not equate # Austronesian language

# Bunun language reconstruction loanwords - Japanese and Latin. 

 That’s how Bunun ‘Job’s tears’ is reconstructed - Loanword from Japanese ‘pea’ and ‘black’. 

 

Pea - pu (Japanese) 

Black - kuro (Japanese)
Sorghum Bunun word is Latin.

No. 30 

Formosan language (a mosaic of loan words)? 

Bunun reconstructed language- Loanword (Japanese) 

Cassava Pretty obvious Loanword Reconstructed 

キツ ‘kis

No. 31

 Formosan language (a mosaic of loanwords?) 

Lima beans 觀音- Kilin (Hokkien/Holo)

No. 32 

It appears PAN Austronesian map 2011 (Academic Sinica) was made based on Ross 2009. 

Questionable and under-analyzed in my opinion. 

They would have to first clarify these loanwords before continue their PAN Austronesian hypothesis and theory. 

1. PAN 2 Rukai millet is Latin.

2. PAN 2 Puyuma millet is Tagalog. 

3. PAN 2 Tsou millet is Chinese/Hokkien. 

Sharing a same loanword is not an evidence for a same ancestor. 

Nor does not sharing a same loanword direct to a different root. 

PAN 2 Tsou loanword - 

稗 is 糯米 （Chinese or Japanese)

Pigeon peas is Latin

No. 33 

# Cultural and lexical diffusions examples through 

# Short people phenomenon and 

# Proto-Austronesian morphology hypothesis 

First to note -  "If the Formosanisms are a consequence of lexical diffusion, then by definition they would not be Proto-Austronesian (PAN), but rather a mosaic of loanwords..." Blench 2024.

I found Blust's Formosan and Proto-Austronesian analysis and claims questionable and outdated before I saw Blench's most useful information.

However, let's look at these from a different angle!

ta'ay Chinese loanword 大隘

Short people myth, in my opinion, started at Kunlun/Saisiyat area. There are historical reasons why 'ai-hei-ren' became a unique Saisiyat identity. Such people Saisiyat called 'ta'ay'  - ta'ay people 達隘 lived in ta'ay place 大隘 with Saisiyat （and Atayal）.

Second to note - 

Cajun people are not related to pigeon peas, but pigeon peas are also known as Cajanus cajan. 

Pigeon peas 樹豆 is used to represent Short people for several indigenous groups.

The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) 樹豆 Latin. Chinese loanwords.

Singut - Short people 樹豆 Chinese loanword used by Atayals, Seediq, Truku.

Shlilitun - Thao. 

Saluso - Bunun. 

Variation of 樹豆 Chinese, in my opinion.

Tsou (PAN 2)  is an interesting one - 

Sayucu - Tsouic pigeon pea used for plant appears Latin loanword.

However, pigeon pea used for short-people appears Chinese loanword. 

Kavuruana - Southern Tsou Saaroa. No idea - although strangely .... it sounds bit like their neighboring Tsouic people Kanakavu. Maybe their nice generous short-people lived or came from Kanakavu village? 

Kikik - Puyuma (PAN 2). Maybe means short (in length. 短). or development from 短. ie 'peas' 豆。

Latin loanword 'black' 

ngutol -  Rukai (PAN 2)

ngedrel - Paiwan (PAN 2)

Both sounds like negrito.  I think it's their word for 'Black'. In which case, Latin loanword.