The Rukai (Chinese: 魯凱族; pinyin: Lǔkǎi zú; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lú-khái-cho̍k) are one of Taiwan's aboriginal peoples. They speak the Rukai language and live in the mountains of southern Taiwan. As of the year 2000, the Rukai numbered 12,084 — making up 3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population and, as such, the fifth-largest indigenous group. The Rukai were also called Tsarisen, which means "people living in the mountain".
The Rukai People honor the Clouded Leopard and the hundred pacer, which they believe to be the spirit of their ancestor.
Famous quotes containing the word people:
“The people needed to be rehoused, but I feel disgusted and depressed when I see how they have done it. It did not suit the planners to think how they might deal with the community, or the individuals that made up the community. All they could think was, “Sweep it away!” The bureaucrats put their heads together, and if anyone had told them, “A community is people,” they would not have known what they were on about.”
—May Hobbs (b. 1938)