Truku

Truku tribe has more than 20000 people living in areas along Liwu River, Towsay Stream and Mukua Stream. About three to four hundred years ago, Truku ancestors set off from Nantou County, conquered obstacles of nature and surmounted Mount Cilai in the Central Range to migrate along the valley of Liwu River to the east.

For hundreds of years, Truku people have developed ethnic specialties; they fought against Japanese Army and worked hard enough to build up their houses. On 14th January 2004, the Executive Yuan of the R.O.C. officially declared Truku as the twelfth tribe of Taiwan indigenous peoples. After some ten years of efforts, Truku's wish for their identity to be recognized was eventually accomplished. Truku are good at hunting, weaving and knitting. They keep traditional techniques of knife making and shaman until now. Ceremony to worship the ancestors is held every year. The story about the rainbow bridge and the ancestors are with special meaning to the tribe. Because of its heavenly landscape, Taroko National Park has made itself a world-famous tourist sightseeing spot.