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Ami's Harvest Festival is a festival celebrated by the Amis, one of the twelve ethnic groups which are recognized by the Taiwan government. The population is about 170,000, making it one of the largest ethnic groups. The Amis celebrate several small and larger festivals and ceremonies through the year. All the festivals and ceremonies pertain to important aspects of the Amis culture and identity. The “Harvest Festival”, also known as the “Harvest Ceremony”, is the most important festival for indigenous tribes in Taiwan and is held to celebrate the harvest. The ceremony lasts approximately seven days. The “Harvest Festival” is held during July, August, and September. Normally, different tribes will select different times to celebrate in the same area. Previously, the main purpose of the festival was to pray to the ancestral gods to bless successfully harvested crops, and to wish for a bumper grain harvest, growth of population and stock breeding in the coming year. After the rituals, people gather for dinner, dancing, a camp-fire party and games.〔"Amis" 20 Sep 2012 access〕 Currently, besides the worship of ancestors and gods, the celebration of the Harvest Festival is also an important program to attract the increasing number of tourists. Amis Harvest Festival is held on the full moon day after the autumn harvest. In the past, in order to celebrate the harvest of millet, the ceremony was held after the reaping of the millet. Since rice has become the main crop for Amis, now the ceremony is held after the gathering of rice. The Amis in the Taitung area celebrates in lunar July; the one in Hualien area celebrates in lunar August. The characteristics of celebration for different tribes are varied; and the duration for celebration is also different from just one day for some tribes to seven days for other tribes. At that time, the men and women, the young and old wearing festival costumes, led by a singer, dance with hand in hand. The young Amis men and women will take singing and dancing as an important thing for them to choose their partners. When a girl finds a boy she likes, she will actively stand by the boy and dance with him. The Amis Harvest Festival has very important meaning in respecting their ancestors and creating new life. In tribes of Amis, men bear the important task of making sure their tribe is safe. Attending the adult ceremony is a major milestone for boys becoming adults. All men in the tribe are divided into six groups: children, adolescents, warriors, the fathers of the youth, elders and chieftains. Each group takes different responsibility in the tribe. In the party of the ceremony, the elder people sit in the middle and the youths will dance around the elders and propose a toast with the elders. The one who has the potential to be the next chief of the tribe will be selected through this activity.〔("Amis’ Harvest Festival" ) 23 Sep 2012 Access〕 ==The priest== The ceremony will be hosted by the priest of the tribe, who is in charge of the sacrificial ritual. Since all the ceremonies of the Amis are closely related to the farming stuffs, the responsibility of the priest is to instruct the activities of plowing, sowing, weeding, and harvesting and so on. It is necessary for a priest to know the calendar, the weather, the history of the tribe, the dancing and how to communicate with the gods.〔("the Ceremonies of Harvest, Sea and Hunting of Amis" 23 Sep 2012 access )〕 Therefore, the priest is a knowledgeable and wise man. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ami’s Harvest Festival」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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