Island Folklore

Matriarch

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

In this instalment, we pay homage to the Int’l Women’s Day with Taiwanese women’s tales!

An overview of six general categories into which we organize our Taiwanese tales and traditions.

A holiday message of gratitude from the Island Folklore team to our readers.

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.

This is the legendary tale of a petty criminal who became an outlaw and a folk hero in Taiwan.

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

In the late 1600s, a pirate king ruled Taiwan. Today, he is a folk hero and this is his story.

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