Orchid Island or “Lanyu” Known locally as "Ponso no Tao" (人之島) or the “Island of the People”, is homeland of one of the nation’s smallest indigenous groups, the "Tao” (達悟族) or the “Yami” (雅美族), the ethnic Austronesian minority who have lived on the island for almost a thousand years, mostly in isolation.

Here some quote by the writer Syaman Rapongan,native of Lanyu:

-About their sacred link with Nature and the Elements :

" 樹是山的孩子，船是海的孫子，大自然的一切生物都有靈魂，你不祝福這些大自然的神祇，你就不是這個島上有生命的一分子…"

“The tree is the child of the mountain, the boat is the grand-son of the sea. All the living things of nature have a spirit, if you do not give thanks to the divinities of nature, you won ‘t be a living member of this island…”

- About their Austronesian Ancestors Navigators :

如此的航海夢的實現，從我們蘭嶼達悟人的觀念說是：mankeskeran，詞意是，肉體和靈魂過境或是入境許多個島嶼。

The realization of such a sailing dream can be explained for Tao people by the idea of mankeskeran, which means that bodies and souls transit or enter many islands.

-And my favorite :

世界地圖是什麼意思，一個島接一個島在洋洲，他們皆有共同的理想，便是漂泊在海上，在自己島的海面，在其他小島的海面，去追逐內心裡難以言表的對於海的情感。也許是從祖先傳下來的話。

What does the “world map” mean? A chain of islands in an oceanic continent. All share the same ideal: drift on its own surface or on other small surfaces along with the current, in quest for the most buried and unspeakable feelings for the sea. These are maybe words passed down from the ancestors.

PS: all photos of Boats and People are taken after asking for permission.