The dynamic diversity of Taiwan’s Indigenous religions: Animism, analogism, and totemism

• Published in: Social compass Vol. 71; no. 2; pp. 289 - 307
• Main Author: LIU, Pi-Chen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2024; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Animism; Deities; Diversification; Ethnic groups; Indigenous peoples; Intention; Intentionality; Ontology; Religion; Rituals; Totemism; analogism; diversité religieuse; totemism; religious diversity; peuples autochtones de Taiwan; analogisme; Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples; totémisme; animism; animisme
• ISSN: 0037-7686; 1461-7404
• DOI: 10.1177/00377686241261281

The traditional religions of Taiwan’s Indigenous people (Austronesian speaking) are very diverse. The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups differ markedly in notions of deities, spirits, ancestors, classes of beings, and ritual groupings. This article attempts to use Philippe Descola’s concept of ontology to understand their differences. I investigate how Indigenous people perceive their world through the two basic mechanisms of body and intentionality to infer similarities and differences between themselves and nonhuman beings. Three modes of identification result: animism, analogism, and totemism. Their traditional religions are often regarded as animism, rather than typical of societies identified with analogism or totemism. However, I will explore these groups’ distinguishing ontological characteristics. By demonstrating the process of diversification through the religious changes since the 1950s, a new understanding of their impacts on different combinations of ontology will be obtained. This can avoid the critique that structuralist and ontological approaches ignore contemporary changes.