Origins of the papal tiara Origins of the papal tiara The origins of the Papal Tiara remain somewhat nebulous and clouded in mystery. The word "tiara" itself occurs in the classical annals to denote a Persian headdress, particularly that of the "great king." A "camelaucum" which was similar in shape to papal tiaras, was part of court dress in Byzantium. Given that other rituals associated with the Papal Coronation, notably the use of the sedia gestatoria, were copied from Byzantine and eastern imperial ceremonial, it is likely that the tiara is also of Byzantine origin. A form of papal crown is first mentioned in the
Religion in Taiwan broader "Chinese religion". It is hard to make such distinction because various Taoist deities are worshipped alongside deities which originated in Buddhism, for instance Guanyin, in many temples across the country. Prior to the 17th century the island of Taiwan was inhabited by the Taiwanese aborigines of Austronesian stock, and there were small settlements of Chinese and Japanese maritime traders and pirates. Taiwanese aborigines traditionally practised an animistic ethnic religion. When the island fell under Dutch rule in 1624, Protestantism was spread to the Taiwanese aborigines. Two years later, with the transition to Spanish rule, the Catholic Church was introduced