A Personality Analysis of the Ami and Its Three Subgroups by Rorschach Test

The Rorschach technique has been applied in the field of cultural anthropological research. Comparative studies of personality structure among several tribal groups of aborigines and urban people have been carried out by the Rorschach technique in Formosa(2,3,15). The purpose of the present work with the Rorschach test is to study the personality traits of Ami in contrast with the other aborigines in Formosa, and to compare the characteristics among three subgroups of the Ami which are located in Chieh-an (吉安). Kung-jung (共榮) and Kuang-fu (光復) . These three subgroups belong to the Nan-shih Ami which is one of the five subtribal Ami groups. The total population of the Ami is 37,961 based on the census made in 1956(4). They live in the Taitung Rift Valley which runs in approximately a north-south direction for 150 kilometres along the eastern coast of Formosa. They are divided into five groups(5), each group occupying its particular district and having its own dialect, by which its own particular cultural setting is made up.