Every summer many aborigine tribes hold the Harvest Festivals especially in Taitung country. There will be a total of 108 Harvest Festivals start from July to August this year. There are many aborigine tribes in Taiwan and their lives are mostly based on farming and hunting. Therefore the traditional events such as the Harvest Festivals are very important to them. The aborigine tribes that will hold the Harvest Festivals this summer are Amis tribe, Puyuma tribe, Paiwan tribe and Rukai tribe. It is a great time for visitors to get to know the aborigines cultures.

This year the first Harvest Festival is starting at July 4 which holds by Amis tribe and follows with more than hundred of Harvest Festivals. Therefore each of them would only take two to eight days. The three largest events would be hold in the middle of July. First from July 14 to 16 is Puyuma tribe’s Millet Harvest Festivals. Second the Makabahi aborigine event which holds by Taitung city government will start at July 19. Third from July 21 to July 22 is East Rukai tribe’s Harvest Festivals. Travel agencies are starting to plan out travel routes that include these aborigines’ events. Taitung country government is also holding some cultural summer camps and advertising some tours such as whale watching to enhance Taitung country’s tourism for the summer.

The Harvest Festival often starts with some traditional ceremonies such as praying Gods. After that it would be few days of dancing and singing. The traditional dancing and singing are the main attractions to visitors. Most of the aborigines are very friendly and zealous, so they often welcome visitors to join their celebration. However since aborigines might have some taboo visitors should know something about them before they go visit in order to avoid culture conflicts.