ARIKUN – 阿立昆

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THE ARIKUN PEOPLE – 阿立昆

• The Arikun Indigenous People (also written Arikun, Arikan, or Arikwan) are one of Taiwan’s Plains Indigenous (Pingpu) groups. At the present time, they are not officially recognized by the Government of the Republic of China on the Island of Taiwan as a distinct Indigenous People, but they are historically & culturally documented to be an authentic indigenous people group on Taiwan.
• The traditional territory of the Arikun People lies in Central Taiwan, particularly in parts of today’s Taichung City, Changhua County & western Nantou County. They are classified as part of the “Plains Indigenous” (Pingpu) People Group. They are not officially recognized as a separate Indigenous People
• The Arikun historically lived in the fertile plains & foothills of central Taiwan and were active agriculturalists & traders. During the Dutch colonial period (1624–1662), Arikun villages appear in records kept by the Dutch, and they were often grouped with nearby plains peoples. Over time, the Arikun experienced heavy assimilation pressures, particularly during: (i.) the Qing Dynasty, with the influx & settlement by Han Chinese; and (ii.) the period of Japanese rule (1895–1945), which accelerated their cultural & linguistic decline. By the early 20th century, many Arikun people had been absorbed into Han society, although family lineages & local identities persisted.
• The Arikun language belonged to the Austronesian language family, but it is now considered to be extinct. The Arikun language & culture is often associated with or grouped near the Papora & Babuza peoples. Some historical word lists of the Arikun language survive in colonial documents and in the records kept by the Dutch missionaries.
• Historical sources suggest that Arikun culture & society shared common features with other Pingpu (Plains Peoples) Groups. They maintained a wet-rice and dry-field agriculture. They had a village-based social organization. They held spiritual beliefs of animism, which were later influenced by Christianity and Chinese folk religion. Their society also maintained matrilineal or bilateral kinship patterns, as was common among other Plains Indigenous groups. Their traditional customs faded earlier than those of more-isolated mountain Indigenous peoples due to closer contact with settlers.
• Today, the modern descendants of the Arikun often identify as Pingpu descendants. They are active in local history research, and participate in broader Plains Indigenous recognition movements. The efforts of the Arikkun descendants aim to: (i) reconstruct genealogy; (ii) preserve historical records; and (iii) seek cultural acknowledgment which will hopefully lead to legal recognition
• The Arikun are historically linked to other Plains Peoples: Papora, Babuza & Taokas People Groups. In some records, these groups are collectively referred to as part of the Central Plains Indigenous peoples, though each had distinct village identities.
• The Arikun people are an important reminder that: (i.) Taiwan’s Indigenous history extends beyond the currently recognized groups; (ii.) Plains Indigenous cultures played a major role in early Taiwanese history; and (iii.) Cultural disappearance often reflects the circumstances of colonial pressure, not necessarily the actual disappearance of the people.

• wikipedia.org – Arikun people – 阿立昆族 @ Wikipedia . org
• ipcf.org.tw – The mistaken names: Hoanya, Lloa & Arikun @ Indigenous Insight e-zine (published by the Indigenous People Cultural Foundation, Taipei).
• ipcf.org.tw – The Southwest Region of the Island – home to Taiwanese Plains Indigenous People @ Indigenous Insight e-zine (published by the Indigenous People Cultural Foundation, Taipei).

• ipcf.org.tw – The mistaken names: Hoanya, Lloa & Arikun @ Indigenous Insight e-zine (published by the Indigenous People Cultural Foundation, Taipei). (Chinese)
• ipcf.org.tw – The Central Taiwanese Plains People absent from the textbooks @ Indigenous Insight e-zine (published by the Indigenous People Cultural Foundation, Taipei).

• cip.gov.tw – Memories of Pingpu Collected: The Image of Kavalan in Museum Artifacts @ Indigenous Peoples Documents e-zine, published by the Taiwan Council of Indigenous Peoples
• wixsite.com – The Secrets of Taiwan’s Aboriginal Families: A Comprehensive Collection of Documentary and In-Depth Reports on the History and Culture of the Pingpu Indigenous Peoples @ South Island Dream Hatching e-zine
• wixsite.com – “Alikun or Babusa?: Historical stories of the Pingpu people from “Dawu County She (Shetou)” and “Dahongmao She (Tianzhong)” in Changhua, including “Old She”, “Sheshi”, and “Fan Yuanshuai” @ South Island Dream Hatching e-zine

• taipeitimes.com – Pingpu indigenous people’s act passed by the legislature @ Taipei Times website
• taipeitimes.com – Truku people seek recognition @ Taipei Times website
• foreignpolicy.com – The Inconvenient Truth of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples @ Foreign Policy e-zine

• oup.com – The genomic diversity of Taiwanese Austronesian groups: Implications for the “Into- and Out-of-Taiwan” models @ PNAS Nexus (an open access journal which expands on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
• iwgia.org – The Indigenous World 2024: Taiwan @ IWGIA – International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting & defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights)
• iwgia.org – The Indigenous World 2025: Taiwan @ IWGIA – International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting & defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights).

• ipcf.org.tw – Taiwan Indigenous TV & Radio @ Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation website
• atayal.org – The Atayal Organization website

• EASY SEARCH FOR MORE LINKS ! . . . . .

• scholar.google.com – The Arikun People – 阿立昆 @ Google Scholar
• youtube.com – The Arikun People – 阿立昆 @ You Tube . com
• images.google.com – The Arikun People – 阿立昆 @ Google Images

• The Language of the Arikun People – 阿立昆的語言

• _____ – The Language of the Arikun People – 阿立昆的語言

• scholar.google.com – The Language of the Arikun People – 阿立昆的語言 @ Google Scholar
• youtube.com – The Language of the Arikun People – 阿立昆的語言 @ You Tube . com
• images.google.com – The Language of the Arikun People – 阿立昆的語言 @ Google Images

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LATEST PAGE UPDATE: January 14 , 2026 .
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