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25-533: Rukai may refer to: Rukai people Rukai language Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Rukai . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rukai&oldid=933099409 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

50-509: A "caspase cascade". This pathway is made up of a series of proteins called initiator and executioner caspases. Initiator caspases help form an apoptosis initiation factor that eventually activates executioner caspases (see figure 3). Executioner caspases go on to "digest" the cell from the inside out. They cleave cytoskeleton filaments and DNA until the cell completely implodes. Deinagkistrodon acutus venom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to extract antivenin that

75-511: A Rukai informant in Wutai, Pingtung , the Rukai themselves did not practise headhunting, meaning they would specifically hunt their enemies' heads. Rather, when an enemy intruded into their living space, they would cut off their enemy's head, and then return to their village, carrying the head with them. This was the law of the land. However, they would not enter the village with the head, but rather take it to

100-464: A special, nearby place where they would perform a solemn prayer. The head belonged to their enemy, but human life was special and needed to be respected. Though, the act of taking a head in defense of your tribe meant you were brave. The idea the Rukai intentionally attacked their enemies to take their heads, and hence that they were headhunters, is an issue the informant felt needs to be addressed. The government relocated several Rukai villages following

125-502: A specimen of a total length of 1.04 metres (3.4 ft) and weighing 600 grams (1.3 lb) having eaten a specimen of Rattus rattus of a total length of 51.5 centimetres (20.3 in) and a weight of 530 grams (1.17 lb). As one of the few oviparous pit vipers, D. acutus can lay up to 24 eggs, which may be retained during initial incubation, an adaptation that shortens post-deposition incubation time. However, it generally only deposits 11 or 12 eggs from June to August. Egg size

150-445: Is 40–56 x 20–31 mm (about 2 × 1 in). Hatchlings are lighter and more vividly patterned than the adults, but this darkens considerably with age. Dangerous animals often have exaggerated reputations and the species D. acutus is no exception. The popular name "hundred pacer" refers to a local belief that, after being bitten, the victim will only be able to walk 100 steps before dying. In some areas, it has even been called

175-437: Is a duty particular to women in Rukai society, and when women are making cloth in a little house, men cannot enter. Cloth is usually dyed red, yellow, brown, dark blue or green with dyes made from herbs or plants. The red colorant is extracted from the root of a specific vine by chopping the roots into pieces and soaking them in water. The yellow colorant usually comes from ginger root juice. The brown colorant comes from

200-473: Is becoming more and more common to use computer scanning programs to design the cut and style of the clothes, and apply the embroidery and other details mechanically, handmade embroidered garments remain the most valued kind of attire among the Rukai. There are four essential manufacturing techniques: The patterns of the Rukai people's traditional dress include the sun, hundred pacer , snake, human head, human figure, string, pig, rhombus, and deer patterns, but

225-417: Is commonly used for research purposes. Researchers have found that this venom contains protease activity, meaning it attacks and degrades intra- and extracellular proteins . If injected into mice , within 2 hours the venom begins a process known as mesangiolysis (the degeneration and death of cells that line the inner layer of the glomerulus and regulate glomerular filtration in the kidney ). Eventually,

250-427: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Language and nationality disambiguation pages Rukai people The Rukai people honored the clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa ) and the hundred pacer ( Deinagkistrodon acutus ), which they believe to be the spirit of their ancestor. The traditional dress of Rukai people has many similarities with that of

275-873: Is found in southern China ( Zhejiang , Fujian , Hunan , Hubei , Guangdong ), Taiwan , northern Vietnam , and possibly Laos . The type locality was not included in the original description. It was later given as "Wusueh [ Wuxue ], Hupeh [ Hubei ] Province, China" by Pratt (1892) and Pope (1935). Listed as "Mountains N. of Kiu Kiang [ Jiujiang ]" in the catalogue of the British Museum of Natural History . The species D. acutus inhabits high, forested mountains up to 1,350 metres (4,430 ft), but has also been found in low coastal regions (100 metres (330 ft)). It prefers lower mountain slopes or rocky hills with small valleys. The diet of D. acutus consists of small mammals such as rats and mice, birds , toads , frogs and lizards. Chinese herpetologist Zhao Ermi reported

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300-409: Is light brown or greyish brown dorsally , with a series of dark brown lateral triangles on each side. The two pointed tops of the two opposite triangles meet each other at the mid-line, forming a series of about 20 light brown, squarish blotches on the back. A row of large black spots extends along each side near the belly. The top and upper sides of the head are uniformly black, with a black streak from

325-514: Is reflected in every facet of their lives, including attire. Generally, only the nobility are permitted to dress up and the commoners dress plainly and simply, although commoners can buy jewels from the nobility, usually bartering with pigs, millet, and pots. The nobility used to buy cotton, silk and woollen from the Han people to make clothes. Like the traditional dress of all other indigenous groups in Taiwan,

350-616: Is successfully used to treat snakebites. Different parts of the snake are also prescribed to help alleviate ailments known as "wind diseases". Because these snakes move so quickly, substances from their bodies are thought to easily treat these fast-moving "wind" syndromes. D. acutus is currently used in patients with arthritis , leprosy , tetanus , boils , and, as previously mentioned, tumors. The same qualities that make snakes flexible, capable of regenerating skin, and able to inflict paralysis could be transferred to human conditions if applied medicinally. The vipers are prepared by cooking

375-460: The Dioscorea matsudae , and is extracted with the same method used to make the red dye. The dark blue dye comes from the leaf juice of a plant called danadana , and the green colorant comes from the leaf juice of a plant called rasras. Traditionally, the Rukai people's dresses were made entirely by hand, which required the meticulous and lengthy hand work of fine craftsmen. Even though nowadays it

400-1010: The Paiwan people , probably due to the similarity of their geographical distribution and hereditary aristocratic social structure. The traditional dress and textile of the Rukai people also possesses original and distinctive qualities and characteristics. Rukai people's dress include both ceremonial attire and casual wear. Men's ceremonial attire includes headwear with insignia, headscarves, tops, skirts, shawls, and leggings, while women wear garlands, headscarves, earrings, necklaces, lazurite necklaces, bead bracelets, arm rings, long gowns, skirts, girdles, leggings, and shoulder ornaments. In terms of casual wear, men wear leather headgear, headscarves, tops, shoulder straps, girdles, leather raincoats, deer hide coats, deer hide leggings, tobacco bags, and gunpowder bags, while women wear headscarves, long robes, skirts, leggings, gloves, mesh belts, leather raincoats, and cloth bags. Rukai social structure, hereditary aristocracy,

425-684: The "fifty pacer" or, in extreme examples, the "five-step snake." This often causes bite victims to needlessly amputate or burn bitten fingers or limbs, resulting in further complications like the loss of the amputated body part or gangrene . Nevertheless, this species is considered dangerous, and fatalities are not unusual. An antivenom is produced in Taiwan . Brown (1973) mentions a venom yield of up to 214 mg (dried) and LD 50 (toxicity) values of 0.04 mg/kg IV , 4.0 mg/kg IP and 9.2–10.0 mg/kg SC . The venom contains at least four hemorrhagins Acutolysin A , B, C and D. According to

450-672: The US Armed Forces Pest Management Board, the venom is a potent hemotoxin that is strongly hemorrhagic . Bite symptoms include severe local pain and bleeding that may begin almost immediately. This is followed by considerable swelling, blistering, necrosis, and ulceration. Systemic symptoms, which often include heart palpitations , may occur suddenly and relatively soon after the bite. Because of its body size and large hinged fangs which permit effective delivery of large quantities of venom, victims bitten by this snake should be treated accordingly. The venom of this species

475-687: The anterior ones are single. This stout snake, usually between 0.8 and 1.0 metre (2.6 and 3.3 ft) in total length (including tail), reaches a maximum total length of 1.57 metres (5.2 ft) in males and 1.41 metres (4.6 ft) in females. The largest specimen on record measured approximately 1.549 metres (5.08 ft). Common names for D. acutus include sharp-nosed viper , snorkel viper , hundred pacer , Chinese moccasin, Chinese copperhead, five-pacer , hundred-pace snake , long-nosed pit viper , sharp-nosed pit viper , hundred-pace pit viper . The snake has been an object of veneration by indigenous Taiwanese peoples . Deinagkistrodon acutus

500-500: The damage to southern Taiwan from Typhoon Morakot . This mandated move threatened Rukai culture and prompted Rukai groups to begin community-based conservation programs to help local Rukai communities assert sovereignty over traditional lands. Hundred pacer Deinagkistrodon is a monotypic genus created for the pit viper species , Deinagkistrodon acutus , which is endemic to Southeast Asia . No subspecies are currently recognized. Deinagkistrodon acutus

525-496: The eye to the angle of the mouth. D. acutus is yellowish ventrally, spotted with dark brown. The young are much lighter than the adults with essentially the same pattern. The head is large, triangular, with an upturned snout. The body is very stout. The tail is short, ending in a compressed, pointed slightly curved cornified scale. The top of the head is covered with nine large shields. The dorsal scales are strongly and tubercularly keeled. The subcaudals are mostly in pairs, some of

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550-449: The flesh of the headless body, grinding a paste of snake ash and mixing it with honey , drying the snake and compacting it into a powder, or even injecting their venom intravenously . Although these practices are common in Chinese medicine, no current studies have affirmed the effectiveness of these treatments. Whether these "cures" simply have a placebo effect or actually heal the patients

575-407: The kidneys no longer function and the mouse dies. When controlled, the venom has some clinical application. D. acutus snake venom contains a protein called ACTX-6. This protein was shown to induce apoptosis (cell death) in isolated cancer cells through Fas pathway activation. Fas is a protein that becomes a death receptor in the cellular membrane . When activated, Fas turns on what is called

600-522: The sun and the hundred pacer pattern are the most popular ones. The rhombus pattern, which Rukai people regard as the symbol of the hundred pacer, is usually made with satin stitch embroidery. The anise star pattern, signifying holiness, is usually made with cross-stitch embroidery. Two sun patterns, considered a sign of the aristocracy, are normally embroidered on the breast area of the nobles’ dresses. The snake, human head, and human figure patterns are usually made with patch embroidery. According to

625-465: The traditional dress of Rukai people uses cloth made by the squared cloth system. The main tool is the horizontal loom and the traditional material of the Rukai dress is linen, but under the influence of the Han people they have also begun using cotton and wool. Rukai people make linen from flax and use a horizontal loom with a strap to weave the linen into exquisite and beautiful cloth, and then sew pieces of cloth together to make garments. Making cloth

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