I was watching this video, and notice the Old Ryukyuan word for the sun, tidaN. The Pangcah Amis word for the sun, cidal, immediately jumped out at me.
I googled a little and found this paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparative-development-of-OR-teda-sun-sedo-boatman-and-sendoo-boatman-in-the-Sino_tbl2_351810336
The author claims that a number of words related to celestial bodies in Old Ryukyuan, attested in texts such as Omoro Sōshi and Konkōkenshū, are Austronesian in origin.
| OR | Pangcah | PAN | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sun, sky, heaven, deity | tidaN | cidal | *siNaʀ | tadengal in Pancah means day break |
| sun shine, ray, beam | sino | mi-cidal | *siNaʀ | |
| heaven | kawa | kawas | *kawaS | |
| moon | ora | folad | *bulaN |
I’ve seen claims that Taiwanese Aboriginals reached Ryukyuan islands first perhaps even before the speakers of Japaonic languages did. Prior to seeing this evidence I was pretty unconvinced. Now I feel like it’s not as far fetched a claim anymore.