Duona Tribe

The Duona Village is located at the terminal of Kaohsiung County Highway No. 132. It is the most remote indigenous community in Maolin District. In the Japanese colonial era, the village was referred to as "tunzi", a direct transliteration from Japanese, but the tribal members called themselves Kunadavan.


The Duona Village, consisting of several smaller tribal groups, is said to be one of the well-preserved indigenous Lukai communities in Maolin. There is a broad and flat tableland surrounded by mountains in the back of the Tribe, where Duona people cultivated black rice, a local specialty. Every July, the Duona people will hold the Black Rice Festival (Tabesengane) to thank their gods and pray for a good harvest next year. They will also hold another festival celebrating good harvests in November, called Tapakadrawane. Besides the festivals, the Duona Village is also known for its special custom that involves men sending women they admire millet bound by red, green, and yellow wool before major celebrations. The more millet bundles a woman has, the more popular she is in the tribe.


Visitors are recommended to spend an hour here. They can either explore around on their own or hire tour guides. While they are encouraged to look at slate stone houses, the house of the tribal chief, and the platform of headhunting on the tribal ground, they should refrain from action that might disturb the Duona people.