Central Bank of China
PRESS RELEASE Release Date: November 17, 2004





THE ISSUEANCE OF THE TAIWAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CULTURAL SERIES COIN SET - BUNUN


The Central Bank of China will issue the 7th coin set of the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Cultural Series - BUNUN on November 23, 2004. A total of 101,000 sets will be issued. The Bank of Taiwan and the Central Trust of China are appointed as the delegates of the Central Bank of China to deal with the sale of the coin sets. Each set, including six different coins in circulation and a commemorative copper medal, costs NT$350. Each person may purchase up to two sets of coins at one time.



The Bunun people view themselves as the guardians of the Central Mountains and are divided into six groups. The various groups settle at an elevation of between one-thousand and two-thousand meters above sea level and are distributed over many areas, primarily in Nantou County, Taitung county, Kaohsiung county, and Hualien county. The Bunun have traditionally sustained themselves by hunting and the cultivation of millet. The Bunun people are blessed with beautiful voices. Virtuoso music is performed with the five-stringed lute, the musical bow, the Jew's harp and the pestle. The Bunun women demonstrate their proficiency in weaving with intricate designs of rhombs inspired by the patterns on the skin of the hundred-pace snakes.



We are grateful to the Council of Indigenous Peoples, Executive Yuan, for examining the symbols and literature used in the preparation for the Coin Set.