The four-sided ancestral pillar of Jiaping Jinlule

The four-sided ancestral pillar of Jiaping Jinlule, (full name: The four-sided wooden carved ancestral pillar of the Paiwan Jiaping Old Tribe Jinlule leades home (Paiwan language: na Paiwan a Kemasi Kaviyangan na lja Zingerur a Pararulj)), was initially wooden carved side pillars containing the symbolic meaning of ancestral spirits in the chieftain's old house.

Description

In 1932, this pillar was collected and archived by Taihoku Imperial University (the predecessor of the National Taiwan University) into the collections and is now part of the NTU Museum of Anthropology collection. In March 2015, this pillar was designated as a national treasure by the Republic of China's Ministry of Culture.

The ancestral pillar represents Muakai Zingerur, the female ancestor of the founding tribe. In the past, priests would worship ancestor spirit pillars to invite ancestor spirits through ceremony. The ancestral pillar is nearly 170 cm high, made of wood, and carved with four sides. The width of the four sides is 30 to 39 cm. Bas-relief and line carving techniques were used to present a full-body standing figure of a woman, with her hands held together and flat on her chest. The woman has six fingers. Her fingers, wrists, arms, and lower legs were sculpted with multiple circles of parallel carving patterns, which can be inferred to be of noble origin.