One of the indigenous people in Taiwan, the Saisiyat tribe consists of a northern group and a southern group. The northern Saisiyat people are located in the Wufeng Township Dayi Community of Hsinchu County, and the southern Saisiyat people are distributed across Miaoli County in Donghe Village, Penglai Village, Nanjiang Village in Nanzhuang Township, Jinshui Village in Tai’an Township, and Baishou Village in Shitan Township. The Saisiyat tribe is a typical clan society, where clans are the basic unit of tribal activities and the running of social organizations, which are responsible for holding different rituals in accordance with the needs of daily living and religious activities. As the most important ritual, paSta’ay is hosted by the Titiyon clan, organized by ritual groups in the north and in the south, and attended by all tribal members.

Legend has it that the Saisiyat people and the ta’ay people lived next to each other. The Saisiyat regarded the ta’ay people as benefactors because they taught the Saisiyat people about farming, medicine, song and dance, and ritual knowledge and culture. During harvest festivals, the Saisiyat people would invite the ta’ay to drink and party. However, some ta’ay people took advantage of Saisiyat women, so the Saisiyat schemed to kill the ta’ay people
in anger, and the surviving ta’ay people placed a curse in return. Fearful of the ta’ay’s revenge, the Saisiyat would hold paSta’ay rituals to pay tribute and appease their spirits.

The full moon after the harvest is when the paSta’ay is held, around October 15th of the lunar calendar. The southern Saisiyat group usually starts the ritual at Xiantien Lake in Nanzhuang Township, which is continued by the northern Saisiyat group at Wufeng Township’s Dayi community on the next day. Forbidden by the Japanese colonial government, the traditional annual ritual was changed to a small ceremony biennially and a grand ceremony every decade. At the grand ceremony, the red and white sinadon ritual flag flies at the venue. There are numerous taboos and rules for the preparation of the ritual and the ceremonial process. For example, it is said that the ta’ay people would congregate around the ritual flag to observe the ceremony, thus all outsiders are forbidden to touch the flag, which must be kept upright during the ritual to avoid any calamity. In addition, disputes with other people during the preparatory period are forbidden to avoid displeasing the ta’ay spirits. These constraints are strictly followed by all tribesmen.

The priest of the paSta’ay ritual is served by someone from the Titiyon clan. Usually,the family of the eldest son of the Titiyon clan serves as the priest for the southern ritual group, while the remaining Titiyon clan families take turns serving as the priest of the northern ritual group. A month or two prior to the ritual, clan elders from both northern and southern groups meet to iron out the details, to decide on the date by tying a knot. After the date is set, the whole tribe begins to practice singing the ritual songs forbidden on regular days, led by good singers in the tribe. In addition, silvergrass knots are tied around everyone in the tribe, on every dwelling, tools and various objects for protection. When the ritual starts officially, the first song of summon (Raraol) is sung at the break of day, and glutinous rice is pounded and steamed into rice cakes,which is offered to the ta’ay spirit along with wine and fish. On the following day,ceremonial song and dance begins for three continuous nights and days, including Raraol (summoning spirits), Kisitomal (entertaining spirits), Papatnawasak (expelling spirits), and the Papaosa (sending away spirits) singing and dancing at dawn. There is also a series of ceremonies to remove the silvergrass knots, and breaking the hazel wood frames. During the ritual period, tribesmen must be cautious with their words and deeds, and get along with each other.

According to legend, the paSta’ay ritual song was taught by the two surviving ta’ay people, which includes charges against the Saisiyat people, and reminders and teachings to the tribesmen to be kind to their friends and family, to work hard, be frugal, and be grateful. Each ritual song uses an ending sound of plants for rhymes, with special singing style and sad melodies. The sound made while dancing with the tabaa'sang (hip bells) and the fast or slow movements of the dance steps interweave to create the mystical imagery of the gods and people becoming one in the paSta’ay, and the spirit of teamwork and tribal heritage of the Saisiyat people.

After social changes, the Saisiyat tribe is currently facing the challenge of the loss of language and culture. Perhaps the practice of paSta’ay may bring back tribesmen from afar, to enhance tribal identity. The tribe is also dedicated to recording and passing on the heritage through the preservation of cultural assets.