ABSTRACT
Research conducted by linguists into the evolution of Austronesian languages in the Pacific area, DNA-based research by international genetic anthropologists, as well as the spread of the sweet potato and paper mulberry into other countries provide evidence that the Austronesian languages originated from Taiwan. Taiwan’s indigenous tribes each have different culture and language, demonstrating the richness of its cultural assets; hence Taiwan can be said to be the source of the ancestral origins of the Asia Pacific tribes. Taiwan also plays an important role in preserving the cultural heritage of the Austronesian languages. Subsequently, the onslaught of the industrial revolution, modernization, effects from foreign influences, as well as religious beliefs resulted in the predicament of cultural preservation and disappearance. This not only impacted the maintenance of ancestral spirit worship but also led to the gradual disappearance of substantive traditional techniques and crafts such as art, architecture, fishing, and hunting skills. This paper commences with a study of the reasons for the Taiwan indigenous tribes’ homage to ancestral spirits and how this worship is an extension of the culture of filial piety. The paper also includes a study into the characteristics of the worship of ancestral spirits and how this heritage can be enhanced and optimized to fit into a contemporary setting yet preserve the heritage and characteristics of this fine traditional culture. The paper will further investigate the possibility of developing this ancestral heritage to become the origin of a cultural and creative-based vehicle in order to inject economic power into this area of development and enhance the long-term preservation of this cultural heritage.
