Amis people

Amis

Pangcah Muqami
Total population
200,604 (2014)
Regions with significant populations
Taiwan
Languages
Amis, Mandarin
Religion
Animism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Sakizaya, Taiwanese Aborigines

Taiwanese indigenous peoples
Peoples
Nationally Recognized Amis Atayal Bunun Hla'alua (Saaroa) Kavalan Kanakanavu Paiwan Puyuma Rukai Saisiyat Sakizaya Seediq Tao (Yami) Thao Tsou Truku (Taroko) Locally recognized Makatao Siraya Taivoan Unrecognized Babuza Basay Hoanya (Arikun/Lloa) Ketagalan Luilang Pazeh/Kaxabu Papora Qauqaut Taokas Trobiawan
Related topics
Plains indigenous peoples List of indigenous peoples of Taiwan Indigenous Area (Taiwan)
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The Amis (Amis: Amis, Ami, Pangcah; Paiwan: Muqami), also known as the Pangcah (which means “people” and “kinsmen”), are an indigenous Austronesian ethnic group native to Taiwan. They speak the Amis language (Caciyaw no Pangcah; Minuqamian), an Austronesian language, and are one of the sixteen officially recognized Taiwanese indigenous peoples. The traditional territory of the Amis includes the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains (Huadong Valley), the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains and the Hengchun Peninsula [zh].

In 2014, the Amis numbered 200,604.^[1] This was approximately 37.1% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the largest indigenous group.^[2] The Amis are primarily fishermen due to their coastal location. They traditionally had a matrilineal kinship system, by which inheritance and property pass through the maternal line, and children are considered born to the mother's people.^[3]

Traditional Amis villages were relatively large for Taiwanese indigenous communities, typically holding between 500 and 1,000 people. In today's Taiwan, the Amis also comprise the majority of "urban indigenous people" and have developed many urban communities all around the island. In recent decades, Amis have also married exogamously to the Han as well as other indigenous peoples.^[4]