[yuanzhumin]

I went to ski in Heilongjiang (Chinese Siberia), trying to survive daily minus 35 celsius degrees temperatures. Then, on our last day at ski there, my wife broke her leg on a black slope. Well, it was quite a tough start for the New Year. After her successful surgery, I’m now back to my computer and trying to catch up on this thread.

Migueldiaz, you wrote : Of course one logical explanation is that the Austronesian migration to the Philippines came by way of Taiwan (see invasion route below of your great-great-xxx grandfathers. Austronesian migration came from Taiwan to the Philippines and then further down, this is an established fact now. But it doesn’t mean that the Austronesian people were the FIRST or the LAST ones to reach the Philippines. Some populations were already there. The Austronesian migrants brought their languages (that have often prevailed ) and mixed with the people that were there before them. All along their migration road down to the South Pacific, the only place were they didn’t meet pre-existing cultures is the one where they were the first to settle that is Polynesia and its islands.

Migueldiaz, you wrote : PS - By the way and as we all know, aside from archeology one other solid proof of this Austronesian migration theory is linguistics. Yes, archeology showed it first, with the discovery in many places all along the migration road of the Austronesian people of a common kind of pottery called lapita. Then, the linguists, as you say, proved that all the Austronesian languages spoken in the Pacific area by few hundreds millions speakers, are originating in the languages still spoken today by the Taiwanese aborigines - these Formosan languages showing the most archaic form of this family of languages. Then, more recently, the link was scientifically proven, through the DNA testings, mostly by the way of comparisons between Taiwanese aborigines DNA and New Zealand Maori DNA.

Migueldiaz,the first graphic you display seems to me outdated or at least uncomplete, while the second one is exact, and well showing the Austronesian migration path.

To Nonoy : you wrote What is the earliest record on the existence of the open scabbard and hollow hilt in Formosa? It is mentioned in Formosa oral tradition before recorded history? Knowing this may provide a clue as to how old or ancient this weapon has been existence (or how recent it is)? What we know is that there is no record concerning the Taiwan aborigines before the 16th cent. And that, later, not much is known about them, their existence, their culture. Most of their traditional territories – almost the center half of the island - was mentioned as ‘unknown’ (unchartered) till the end of the 19th, when the Japanese colonized the island. The Japanese ethnologists (the police and army following them) were the first to enter deep into the tribal lands of these feared headhunters. In the years from 1895 (Japanese arrival) to the 30s, the last rebellious tribes were tamed, the most remote villages had been displaced closer to the center of colonial power, industries had been developed among aborigines to integrate them. There were Japanese hospitals, schools… accessible to nearly every aboriginal villages. That’s when they began to make their own metal blade. Till that time it was only obtained through barter or taken through fights. Most of the blades were reused, transformed. Some were made up from Japanese army swords. After the 20s-30s, Aborigines were making their own blades. The Japanese ethnologists left studies showing that, when they arrived in the island, the open scabbards and hollow hilts were commonly used. The eldest Pingpu knives (end of 19th cent.), (Pingpu are the sinicized aborigines) that we still have today, show the same characteristics. For earlier testimony, there is not much.

To all : I have learned of a project of navigating this year on a traditional Polynesian pirogue from Tahiti to Taiwan and Shanghai, all along the migration path of the first Austronesian people (the other way around). Towards the end of this trip, the pirogue will stop in the Philippines and in Taiwan, then in Shanghai, arriving there when the Universal Expo is ending. A friend of mine could be associated with this project. I will give more detailed infos about it later. This adventure could give a whole new international exposure to the Austronesian culture,the extraordinary navigation skills of these poeples and their origin in Taiwan and Asia.