Austronesian – Island Folklore | Taiwanese Tales & Traditions

Stories Behind Taiwan’s Place-Names

A tongue-in-cheek guide to the bizarre and multifaceted history of Taiwanese toponyms.

The story of an old Taiwanese chieftain who dared to march against the Empire of Japan.

A mysterious, otherworldly guide leads unsuspecting Thao hunters to a new homeland.

The indigenous folktale on the origin of the name of Taiwan’s beautiful Sun Moon Lake.

An ancient Atayal tale that tells of two suns in the sky and the hero who shot one down.

As newcomers settled in Taiwan, they faced the terror of the island’s notorious headhunters.

Fairies, genies and demons—Eurasian hinterlands are home to mythical beings, like Taiwan’s “mô-sîn-á.”

Black Bears and Clouded Leopards were not always black and spotted. This is their tale.

From the Holy Bible to Taiwan’s aboriginal tales, flood myths feature widely in ancient literature.

Take a guess: Is this a German fairytale? Or is it a Taiwanese folktale?

In the ancient homeland of the Amis and Puyuma peoples, women once ruled.

From pygmies to dwarves, legends of “little folk” exist all over the world, including Taiwan.

The Paiwan people have many origin myths. Here is a sampling of these Paiwan origin tales.

The Atayal are an ancient Austronesian tribe indigenous to Taiwan. This is their origin story.

Why do roosters crow? Why do stags have antlers? Why are dogs good deer-hunting companions?