The 33 year-old woman, Shayun Foudu, had the shape of a large "V" tattooed on her face during the weekend in a tourist resort in Taroko National Park in Hualien county.

"Facial tattooing is an old cultural tradition of the Atayal tribe. I feel very proud to be able to have a tattoo on my face," Shayun Foudu told reporters.

Japanese colonial rulers had banned the traditional custom until 95 years ago, but Taiwan's current government does not outlaw the practice. The custom of tattooing faces is believed to date back about 1,400 years and was practiced by several of Taiwan's aboriginal tribes.

Foudu said that traditionally, Atayal females would have their faces tattooed after their first menstruation. When a young Atayal man was marrying his young bride, the man would have his face tattooed too as a propitious sign of the couple's wishes to have a long-lasting marriage, she added.

Foudu, a native from the Fuhsing rural township in Taoyuan County, northern Taiwan, said now she and her Atayal husband are facially tattooed and they are proud to "finally have done something" to help preserve an Atayal tradition.

A tattoo artist used modern tattoo techniques to put the permanently ingrained pigments on Foudu's face. The process took two hours. In old days, tattooing was done with needles, with ashes applied to wounds, in a painful process.

Facial tattooing had also been a tradition for other indigenous groups, including the Amis, but Atayal tattoos are well-known, partly because it was widely practiced in the tribe and the tattoos covered practically the entire face.

Experts have been cited in Taiwanese media saying that the practice was used for several purposes including as a way for Atayal ancestors to identify and protect later generations. Tattoos also served as marks of honor, for example for men who were skilled in headhunting, while in women they represented chastity.

The tradition is rapidly disappearing, however. Some Atayals, are trying to record the history of face tattooing before the older generation dies.

Foudu said she hopes her and her husband's tatoos will be met with an enlightened attitude from society. The couple said they hope more tribes with this custom can "bravely" revive the tradition.

Foudu added she would approve if her three children want to have their faces tattooed when they grow older.

The Atayal tribe is one of 13 indigenous tribes recognized in Taiwan. Atayals have the biggest areas of habitation in Taiwan among all the island's indigenous groups, with their offsprings scattered from the eastern county of Hualien to the northern county of Taoyuan and central county of Nantou.

Taiwan's earliest inhabitants are considered Austronesians -- who share similar ancestral lineage, as well as customs with aborigines in the South Pacific, Hawaii and New Zealand.