External Interaction And Internal Differentiation:Anthropological Study Of The Atayal Mepaynox

Atayal Mepaynox belongs to Atayal——Proper Mapanox system,locates along liyungpaynux.An alliance of offensive and defensive alliances was established among the tribes.After the Japanese colonists launched the Mepaynox Campaign,they divided the Mepaynox into two parts,one part belonged to Miaoli Hall and the other part belonged to Xinzhu Hall.Following the administrative division of the Japanese colonists,today's Mepaynox spans two administrative units,Tai'an Township of Miaoli County and Heping District of Taizhong City.From the Qing Dynasty,Mepaynox has interacted with different ethnic groups in different historical stages,and they showed different characteristics and modes.This paper combines the author's fieldwork and related literature in the tribes of Yongan,Xiangbi,Tiangou,Daguan and Xueshankeng of Mepaynox,and explores the interaction modes and appearances between Mepaynox and surrounding groups in different periods.During the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese occupation period,trade and war were the main forms of interaction between Mepaynox and Han people,Pingpu people and Japanese colonists.Exchange,trade,conflict and reconciliation became the interactive themes of this stage.In the early period of Taiwan recovery(1945—1980),the veterans and the Pingdi people moved into the tribes,which had a certain impact on the tradition of Mepaynox in terms of language and customs.At the same time,under the comprehensive influence of political regionalization and transportation,the internal differentiation of Mepaynox includes not only the difference of culture and identity,but also the difference of interaction mode with Pingdi people.Compared with the tribes in Miaoli,the tribes in Heping District of Taichung City has more Han immigrants,and the content and level of the interaction between the Han and the Mepaynox were more complex and diverse.After 1980,Aboriginal Reserve and elections became the main content of interaction between Mepaynox and Han people.The internal differentiation of the Mepaynox is gradually expanding,and the Beishi Group in Heping District of Taichung City and the Han people form a symbiotic situation.Only by understanding the history and current interaction between Mepaynox and its surrounding ethnic groups can we understand the cultural characteristics and social changes of Mepaynox as a branch of the Atayal ethnic group more completely.