排湾，是台湾少数民族中人口数字居第二的族群，主要分布在屏东县、台东县。依其聚居分布区域的不同将其分为北排湾、中排湾、南排湾、东排湾四个群落。
排湾，意指祖先最早发源的地方。排湾氏族历史传说中认为，人类的诞生分别来自太阳、百步蛇、陶壶三种途径，其一是“太阳说”，相信人类是太阳所生的卵孵化而成的；其二是“壶生说”，认为阳光照射到陶壶，使陶壶破裂生出人类的始祖；其三“百步蛇说”，认为人类是由百步蛇的卵孵化而成的。但无论传说中人的起源是什么，排湾人对百步蛇都是崇敬有加。
排湾人传统上是以狩猎火耕维生，其氏族制度是台湾少数民族最具典型意义的贵族社会。部落的领土属于一个或数个头目，头目则因为向平民征税，而必须承担抚恤孤寡、急难救助的义务。氏族内部实行长嗣继承制度，头目家的长嗣继承世袭头目职位，其余的子女若没有机会与其它头目联姻，三代以后就会变成平民。不过头目不能干涉部落公共事务，而是由平民阶级自治。因此，部落内部是不论阶级高低，由族人们推选年长者或贤达人士组成部落会议，选出干练的人担任行政领袖。头目虽是世代相传的地主，但部落实际的公共事务，则由平民自治推选出来的人进行管理，颇具民主社会的风格。
排湾人依循着岁时季节的变换举行不同的祭典。五年祭，是排湾最负盛名且仪式严谨的祭典，从迎请神灵开始到最后送灵仪式结束，时间长达6个月之久。随着时代改变，目前这种仪式只能在屏东县来义乡、春日乡和台东县达仁乡土板部落中才能见到。
Paiwan
The Paiwan is currently the second largest of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, and is distributed in Pingtung and Taitung counties. Anthropologists divide this tribe into four groups: northern, central, southern and eastern Paiwan.
There are three tribal legends that relate how the tribe began. One says that the first members of the tribe were born from eggs hatched by the sun, another says that they were born from a large ceramic vessel that cracked open when the sun’s rays shone upon it and the third says that they are the descendants of the hundred-pace pit viper, an animal that the tribe holds in reverence still today.
The Paiwan traditionally hunted and carried out cultivation. They possess a strict hierarchy, in which a person’s class is decided by birth. Each village has one or a number of chieftains. The chieftains are the landlords of the village and collect a portion of the crops grown by commoners. Chieftains have the responsibility to support the widows and orphans and to provide assistance in the event of a disaster. The firstborn of the chieftain will inherit the title. If the remaining children do not marry into other chieftain clans after three generations they will be considered commoners. However, the chieftain does not oversee the government of the village. This is handled by the commoners who elect the members of a governing council.
