Flying Fish Festival

The seasonal cycle

The yearly calendar follows three distinct phases with names rooted in the Ivatan language. The first phase, Rayon, marks the active flying fish season. It is followed by Teyteyka, which brings the fishing cycle to a close during the summer or autumn months. The final period, Amiyan, covers the remainder of the year when no flying fish visit the surrounding waters. Migratory shoals travel past Orchid Island between January and June. Village elders establish the exact starting dates for their respective tribes rather than following a lunar calendar.

Rituals and night fishing

Observances commence when the sosowon variety of flying fish nears the coast. Fishermen launch boats at night, utilizing lights to attract the schools over the water. Later in the spring, a second species known as papatawan arrives. Throughout these months, community life revolves around dedicated ceremonies. Villagers gather to bless their watercraft, offer prayers for a plentiful harvest, and hold opening night rites for the first catch. These practices reflect the Tao belief that the fish represent sacred sustenance bestowed upon them.

Customs and preparation rules

Strict social norms govern behavior and speech during the festival. Tao fishermen eat the raw eyes of a fish immediately upon catching it to prevent the school from escaping. When preparing meals, cooks must keep each fish whole without cutting away the tail or pectoral fins. Catches also require formal ceremonies of gratitude before anyone may eat them. Inverted drying of fish renders it permanently inedible under local rules. Catch sharing occurs strictly within one's own tribe, with dried fish often eaten alongside taro and sweet potatoes.

How Flying Fish Festival is kept

Tribal elders establish the opening dates for each village. Fishermen conduct ceremonies to bless their watercraft and ask for abundant catches before launching nighttime expeditions that use light to lure incoming shoals. Rites of thanksgiving take place after every catch, during which fishermen consume raw fish eyes. Back on land, catches are kept whole for cooking or dried upright for later meals. Throughout the season, villagers watch their words and conduct, exchanging their catch solely with fellow tribe members while observing ancestral dietary taboos.

When and where

The observance begins around February or March when migratory shoals appear, continuing through October. Rather than following a lunar calendar, senior members in each village decide their own specific start dates.

The tradition is kept on Orchid Island, situated off the southeastern coast of Taiwan in Taitung County, where the indigenous Tao community lives.

What Flying Fish Festival means

For the Tao community, the flying fish are sacred gifts from the divine world. The rituals and behavioural restrictions reinforce social unity, ancestral legends, and careful stewardship of the marine environment, ensuring balance between human needs and ocean life.

On the table

• Flying fish
• Dried fish
• Taro
• Sweet potatoes

Questions people ask about Flying Fish Festival

See also

Mid-Autumn FestivalAn annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesLosarThe Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsUgadiA South Indian New Year feast celebrating life with sweet, sour, and bitter tastesMehreganAn Iranian autumn festival honoring Mithra, friendship, and the harvest

Good reading and sources

• Flying fish festival (Taiwan) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.