Madou District (Chinese: 麻豆區; pinyin: Mádòu Qū; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Môa-tāu-khu) is a district of about 43,071 residents in Tainan, Taiwan. It owes its name to the Siraya language word Moatau or Mattou. Mattau was one of the four core Sirayan villages during much of Taiwan's colonial history and figured heavily in the formation of colonial policy in Dutch Formosa. Currently, it is a well-known town in Tainan for its local culinary specialties and historical sites, and has become more prosperous in recent five years due to the presence of two universities. As an example of the increased attention Madou is receiving, the New Year Countdown Night for 2006 in Tainan was held at Madou Junior High School.[1]
History
Map of Madou (labeled as Matō) and surrounding region (1944)
In the 17th century, Mattau was a village of about two to three thousand; the name was also spelled variously Matau, Mataw, Mattouw, Mathau, Matthau, Mattauw and Mandauw.[2] Mattau was the largest and most powerful of four main aboriginal villages near Taoyuan, and had been the most troublesome for the Dutch, "massacring soldiers, destroying buildings, and uprooting crops".[3] Located about 25 km northeast of the former Dutch base of Fort Zeelandia, the place later grew into a market-town called Moa-tau.
Republic of China
Map of Madou (labeled as Matou (Matō) 麻豆) and surrounding region (1950)
Shaddock is one of the special foods of Madou. It has a various nutrition. Being harvested about the time of mid-autumn, it is usually associated with Mid Autumn Festival. The Madou Farmer's Association even holds a beauty contest relevant to the shaddock every year.
^Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Chapter 3: Pax Hollandica". How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia University Press.
