The Tsuou are by no means milder in disposition than the others, but they have long given up the barbarous custom of hunting the heads of the lowlanders. They have been quiet and submissive to government authority and industrious in their daily work, though not without occasional fights with the Bunun.
The remaining three tribes are in general very docile and law-abiding, and they are engaged in peaceful husbandry. The most peace-loving and harmonious of all is probably the Yami, although the Ami are also very mild. Whenever they are attacked by their neighbours, as is constantly the case, they show an almost cowardly desire to keep out of a fight. In the neatness of their dwellings, too, they show such a high degree of culture that they scarcely deserve the name of "Savage people.”
The history of the Saisett people is not free from the stain of head hunting, but as they have remained on the level plains from the first they have generally become docile and have taken on many Chinese customs.
The survival of the barbarous custom of head-hunting among some of the tribes puts them beyond the pale of civilized people, but it is hard to uproot this custom because it is an established and sacred institution.
It is followed in response in an imaginary ancestral command, obedience to which guarantees them the protection of the spirits of their forefathers.
For this reason, whenever a head is obtained, the occasion is celebrated by a carousal, from two to four days in length, at which there is singing, dancing, and general rejoicing.
An occasion for such sanguinary expeditions may be, with the Taiyal, any one of the following:—
- To celebrate the "coming of age" of a youth.
- To celebrate the decision of a dispute.
- To dispel suspicion, or to clear away a false charge.
- To win the favour of a maiden over rival suitors.
- To exorcise a prevalent disease.
- To avert an evil omen.
- To display bravery.
