The flying fish festival (Chinese: 飛魚季 lányŭ fēiyújì) is one of the traditional ceremonies of Taiwanese aboriginal people, the Yami people, also known as the Yami people which live in a tiny island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, it is called Orchid Island. Flying Fish Festival comes from the legends of the Yami people and constituted the social norms of their society for nowadays. During the festival period, the Yami people need to be very careful of their actions and words in order not to violate the norms. In addition to the Yami’s cultural heritage, Flying Fish Festival also implies the respect for the natural environment and sustainable ecological perceptions.
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Festival period
The festival is divided into three seasons, which called Rayon (the flying fish season), Teyteyka (the flying fish season ends, normally happens in summer or autumn) and Amiyan (there is no flying fish). Rayon, teyteka and Amiyan these flying fish seasons as mentioned are ivatan languages as tawainese and ivatan share almost the same culture angt language due to their proximity that they even share and island called yami and orchid island with both ivatan (philippines) and taiwanese natives. The total festival will last around eight to nine months each year. Within the months, there will be various ceremonies happening throughout the season and all of the ceremonies are collectively known as Flying Fish Festival. With Kuroshio (black tide) happening between January to June and it brings a rich amount of migratory fish to Orchid Island, therefore, the festival starts around February or March and it continues till October. The festival includes different parts of ceremonies, such as giving the blessing to the boats, praying for bumper harvest of the year and first-fishing night ceremony. In addition, this is the reason why the Yami treasure the festival as they believe that the fishes are the gift from the god. The dates of festivals are different between each tribe because seniors in each tribe will decide the date rather than following with the lunar calendar.
The Flying Fish Festival season begins when Cheilopogon unicolor fish ('sosowon' in the Yami language) approach the island. The Yami will catch the fish using light to attract them at night. During April and May, there will be another kind of flying fish arrive, which called Cheilopogon spilonotopterus (‘papatawan’ in the Yami language).
Taboo
Some of the Taboo that is restricted during the festival period are associated with the incoming and going of the flying fish. During the period of the Flying Fish Festival, there are things in numerous areas that are prohibited.