An Anthropology of Animism & Shamanism, 2 – "Ainu Worldview"

Chapters of Part 2

#

Cap.

PP.

2.2

Concept of the universe

37-43

2.3

View of the Other World

44-9

2.4

Complementary cosmology

50-3

2.5

Soul & kamui

54-8

2.6

Symbolism of kamui

58-64

2.7

Kamui & gendre

65-73

2.8

Kamui & human beings

73-8

2.9

View of animals

78-83

2.2 – p. 37 creation of world and of humanity

Kindaic^i 1925:216-7

Batchelor 1901:3-5, 32-8

"before ..., only the top of Mt. Yotei appeared above the vast ocean: Kotan-kar Kamui [‘World-creating Deity’] ..., together with his sister, ... made the earth by filling up the ocean with clouds, and ...

"the world was initially a great slushy quagmire, ... the water-wagtail ... created the earth. {cf. Louisiana myths of drying-out by bird of originally muddy world}

the first man out of wood by ... Master of Heaven, Kanto-kar Kamui".

... the Creator formed the body of the first man, fabricating his hair out of chickweed and his spine from a stick of willow."

2.2 -- p. 38 origination of various deities from first igniting of fire

Chiri 1953:168-73

"from the failed attempt to make fire using two poplar sticks" "emerged" :

Pakor Kamui (‘Smallpox Deity’)

Mos^ir-sinnaisam (‘World-ghost’)

Kenas^ Unarpe (‘Evil Bird’ [female])

"By rubbing two sticks of an elm tree together fire (i.e. Fire Goddess, Ape Huchi) was generated,"

"from the black cinders of elm trees which remained after the fire" :

Has^inauuk Kanmui (Hunting-and-Fishing Goddess)

Nusa-kor Kamui (Sacred Offerings’ Guardian)

Kim-un Kamui (Bear God)

2.2 -- p. 42 journey by souls of the dead

"travelers to the other world enter a cave and are led down a long narrow path to Pokna-moshir".

Chiri & Yamada 1956:2

some, however, are "sent back to Kanna-moshir transformed as a frog, a pit viper, a lizard, or ... bird".

Chiri & Yamada 1956:6

2.3 – p. 45 the 4 worlds & their inhabitants

Chiri 1953/54:27-28

world

its denizens

Kanto

deities

Kanna-mos^ir (‘Upper-country’)

living mortals

Pokna-mos^ir [‘Lower (p. 41)-country’]

dead mortals

Teine-pokna-mos^ir (‘Damp’-lower-country’)

(uninhabited?)

2.3 – pp. 45-46 souls of the dead

p. 45

some of the dead "turn into frogs or ghosts, wandering about this world after death".

Chiri 1954:686

p. 46

"The world after death for the Ainu is called Pokna-moshir and is in the west where the sun sets. That is why a dead person is buried with his head toward the east so that he can stand up and go straight to the west".

Fujimoto 1971:182-3

2.3 – p. 47 the world for souls of the dead

"the husband has to burn the house when his wife died in order to send it with her to the world after death".

Batchelor 1901:131-2

"Territorial iwor, below such-and-such un-kur iwor, the netherworld (pokna-moshiri) of so-and-so un-kur iwor is believed to exist."

Izumi 1952:213-29

2.3 – p. 48 differences between the world of the dead and the world of the living

#

p. 48 Ainu (Chiri & Yamada 1956:2-12)

pp. 48-49 other East Asian

(1)

"As a person ... after death becomes an invisible ghost when he visits this world, a person in this world becomes something like a ghost, invisible to people in the world after death, when he visits there."

[p. 49 Ainu : "the dead are taken as ghosts by the living and vice versa."]

(2)

"A person in this world can listen to a person in the world after death".

[p. 49 "the dead appear in dreams to talk to the living".]

(3)

"As dogs in this world can see ghosts from the world after death, only dogs in the world after death can perceive human beings in {from?} this world and bark."

p. 49 [Teleut] "The ghost is believed to usually be invisible to human beings except for shamans, but dogs are believed to notice the ghost, barking at it."

(4)

"there is a reversal of day and night between this world and the world after death. ... . ... several house in the world after death is equivalent to tens of days in this world."

p. 48 "The Olcha ... believe that when it is night in the world after death it is daytime on the earth and summer on the earth is winter in the world after death."

(5)

"In the world after death, the dead walk upside down as flies on the ceiling do."

{the Asura-s are believed to live upside-down; the Jaina arahan-s to hung upside down}

(6)

"Those who have eaten food in the world after death can never return to this world."

p. 49 [Japanese] "yomotsu-hegui (eating food cooked on the stove in the netherworld)"

p. 49 terms for ‘ghost’ : Sah^a /yo:r/, Teleut /u:zu:t/

2.3 -- pp. 47-49 various other non-Ainu East Asian beliefs about the world for souls of the dead

p.

tribe

belief

47

Sah^a-Yakut

To a living person visiting the souls in the "world after death", that world will appear to resemble the world of the living, except that "the people, their tents, their animals and trees, are smaller."

48

Olc^a

"When there is a good catch of fish and successful hunts of bears in the world after death, there is a poor catch and hunts on the earth."

 

Samoyed

"the sun to rise in the west and set in the east in the world after death. They also believe river flow upstream."

2.4 – p. 50 Oina

"Oina Kamui, the hero in oina, conquers a giant devil at the edge of the Human World, teaches human beings how to live a human life, and returns to the country of deities in heaven, his father’s country."

2.5 – pp. 54-55 souls & their redincarnation

p.

soul

54

"The soul ... is generally called ramat or ramachi (literally, heart) in the Ainu language ... . The Ainu said that if a small insect such as a fly, a butterfly, or a bee flies over a sleeping man, it is actually his soul in disguise. ... . Those who have committed suicide, or have been murdered, or who have died in great agony are said to avoid the Underworld and to wander restlessly as wandering ghosts (tukap)".

 

"Munro (1963:17, 21) states that most elderly Ainu believed that generation was due to the return of a soul from the Underworld (Pokna-moshir) under proper auspices, and also that a few exceptionally good and gifted individuals were granted rebirth (two beliefs that are somewhat contradictory). Kubodera (1956:7-8) ... says that a person may return to this world after three deaths in the Underworld."

55

"Some kamui-upashkuma (a kind of legend concerning the origins of all nature) clearly relate that after a tool or utensil is worn out or broken, if it is placed beside the altar outside (nusa-san) ..., then its ramachi may go back to the Divine World (Chiri 1973b:430). {the Eskimo likewise believe that tools have souls} In funeral rituals, furthermore, the deceased were buried along with the broken utensils that he had used, ... in order that they could use these things in the other world."

2.5 – p. 55 embodiments of deities (cf. Chiri 1973a:325-38)

deity

deity’s embodiment

Tokap-c^up K. (‘Day-shining D.’)

sun

Kim-un K. (‘Mountain-inhabiting D.’)

bear

Wose K. (‘Howling D.’)

wolf

S^urku K. (‘Aconite D.’)

aconite

Wakka-us^ K. (‘Water-residing D.’)

wireworm

Ape Huc^i (‘Fire Grandmother’)

fire

Onne C^ip K. (‘Old Ship D.’)

ship

2.5 – pp. 56-57 functions of animal-deities

p. 56

"each Bear God willingly visits the Human World by himself." {that each bear in controlled by a separate Bear-god is likewise a Siberian belief}

p. 57

"Isepo-tono (the Hare God) informs humans of the coming of a natural disaster such as a tidal wave." (Kubodera 1977:166-168)

2.5 – pp. 57-58 master-servant relationship among deities

p. 57

"The raccoon-dog (mo-yuk) is considered a servant of Kim-un Kamui".

p. 58

"In the Shizunai region, Kim-un Kamui, who live in the middle of a mountain, are said to be servants of Nupuri-kor Kamui, who resides at the top of the mountain".

 

"the lexeme ampa is a special form of verb kor (to have) and is used when the object is plural. ... . ...these two lexemes are used to disntinguish the relative status of two deities. For example, each tree is generally considered an embodiment of Shir-kor Kamui (literally, Earth Possessing Deity), while their head deity is named Shir-ampa Kamui ... (Kubodera, 1977:683; Kindaichi, 1925:274)."

2.6 – pp. 58-59 principle of deities’ names

p.

names

 

58

Has^inau-uk Kamui : "Hashinau is a kind of inau shaved especially for this deity ... which is ... the Goddess of Hunting and Fishing."

Kina-s^ut-un Kamui : "kina meaning grass and herb, ... shut meaning the foot of a mountain or hill, the particle un used to indicate locality".

59

"Hashinau-uk Kamui is manifested in the jay, and

Kina-shut-un Kamui means the blue green snake itself."

 

"verb form indicating the deity’s role, such as

-kor (to possess or to master),

-kar (to create) and

-uk (to receive)."

2.6 – p. 60, Table 2.1 specific deities, their embodiment and gendre

name

meaning

embodiment

gendre

Atuy-kor K.

Sea-governing D.

killer-whale

m.

C^ep-kor K.

Fish-governing D.

(unknown)

m.

C^ise-kor H.

House-governing D.

Japanese lilac

m.

Kanto-kor K.

Sky-governing deity

(unknown)

indef.

Kotan-kar K.

Village-creating D.

(unknown)

m.

Kotan-kor K.

Village-governing D.

Blakiston’s fish-owl

m.

Nupri-kor K.

Mountain-governing D.

bear

m.

Nusa-kor K.

Altar-governing D.

snake

m.

S^ir-ampa

Earths-governing D.

huge tree

indef.

S^ir-kor K.

Earth-governing D.

tree

f.

Yuk-kor-k.

Deer-governing D.

(unknown)

m.

p. 61 "Hashinau-uk Kamui ... as the jay, is said to chatter over a herd of deer (Sarashina & Sarashina, 1976:637)."

2.6 -- p. 63, Table 2.3 specific deities, their embodiment and gendre

name

meaning

embodiment

gendre

Aw-un-rasampe

Postmortem-inhabiting-monster

brown kawk-owl

unkn.

Ami-tanne K.

Claws-long D.

harvestman

f.

C^ip-ta-c^ikap K.

Boat-digging-bird D.

black woodpecker

m.

Kenas^-unarpe

Swamp-aunt

Scops owl

f.

Kunne-rek K.

Dark-hooting S.

Ural owl

m.

Reye-p K.

Crawling-one D.

hound

m.

Tanne K.

Long D.

snake

m.

Ya-oske-p K.

Net-weaving-one D.

spider

f.

       

C^i-kisai-ni K.

We-rubbing-tree D.

elm

f.

Haru K.

Food D.

millet

f.

Imos^ K.

Awakening D.

mugwort

m.

Sokor K.

Waterfall D.

waterfall

m.

Un-ko-tuk K.

Us-toward-attaching D.

pine resin

f.

2.7 – pp. 66-67 descriptive names of specific deities

p.

name

embodiment

66

Wak-kaus^ K. kot Tures^i (‘Water D.’s Sister’)

kingfisher

 

Sokor K. kot Tures^i (‘Waterfall D.’s Sister’)

water-ouzel

67

K.-hure (D.-red)

kene (black alder)

 

K.-kunne (D.-black)

c^ikupeni (Maackia)

 

K.-retar (D.-white)

s^u-s^u (willow)

 

Itakku-rui (‘Fluent-speech’)

punkaw (lilac tree)

2.7 -- p. 66 deities embodied as useful living beings

"The heartleaf lily, whose bulb is one of the major food[s], is considered a goddess, Turep Kamui".

"The mugwort, which is commonly used for food and medicine and is believed to possess magical powers against evil ... (Chiri, 1953:3), is an embodiment of a male deity called Imosh Kamui (literally, Awakening Deity) (Kubodera, 1977:540)." {Imox (Imos^) is the Maya Beetle-god; and the Kemian Scarab-Beetle-god woke the people by pushing the sun upward to the horizon every dawn.}

"The carrion crow, which is said to guide Ainu men when traveling by ship in stormy weather, is considered an incarnation of the female deity Kararak Kamui." {cf. god Yatagarasu (crow) as guide (KS^, p. 31)}

KS^ = Genchi Katō and Hikoshirō Hoshino (transl.s) : Kogoshui : Gleanings from Ancient Stories. Tokyo, 1926. http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kgsh/kgsh4.htm

2.8 – pp. 74-75 hunters’ prey as deities donating their bodies to humans

p.

prey

74

"Nupuri-kor Kamui, Master of the Mountain (the Bear God), lives in the realm of the deities ... with his family in the form of a human being ... . And he sometimes ... pays a visit from the Divine World to the Human World, bringing a bear hide and meat as a gift (that is, taking the form of a bear)." "Thus the Ainu believe that in their own world Kamui-moshir, kamui live in the form of human beings and that they get dressed in their specific costumes when they visit the Human World. Plants and animals in this world are regarded as the temporary forms of kamui when they visit the Human World."

75

"kamui, in Kamui-moshir, live in the form of human beings, and appear as deified kamui only when they visit Ainu-moshir (the Human World).

... human beings are human beings only in Ainu-moshir, and ... visiting Kamui-moshir, they are transformed into kamui."

pp. 76-77 myth of how fish and deer became sent by Master of Fish and Master of Deer, respectively, as food for humans

p.

Ainu

{Japanese}

76

"famine strikes the Human World"

{there was potential famine, due to withdrawal by Sun-goddess}

 

"the fish .../

with decayed wood/

beaten on the head"

{"When men caught fish,

They beat fish heads with rotten wood." (Y"2SDOG")}

{"she took club-moss" (Nihongi 44); "heavenly clubmoss of the Heavenly Mount Kagu as a sash" (Kojiki, p. 64[57])}

{" scarf made of club moss around her shoulders" (KS^, p. 21)}

77

"the Goddess of Hunting and Fishing dances, entertaining the deities ... and making them laugh."

{"the eight hundred myriad Deities all laugh" (Kojiki, p. 65[58])}

 

The fish and deer of our world originated from the scales and hair dropping from the mouths of Master of Fish and Master of Deer, respectively, when they laughed.

"She gathered all of the fish in the ocean, lakes, and streams together and asked them to swear loyalty to the rule of the heavenly descendants." (Kojiki 142 – "AUM")

Y"2SDOG" = Kiyoko Miura (transl.) : Yukara. "2nd Song Danced by the Owl God" http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/ainu/yukara.htm

Kojiki = The Kojiki, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, 1919. http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj023.htm

"AUM" = http://www.uwec.edu/philrel/shimbutsudo/uzume.html

2.9 – pp. 78-79 categories of animals

p. 78 category

p. 79 included in this category

c^ep (‘fish’)

salamandres & cetaceans

c^ikap (‘bird’)

bats

kikir (‘worm’)

frogs, lizards, snakes

sey (‘shell’)

barnacles & sea-urchins

BIBLIOTHECA SHAMANISTICA, Vol. 8 = Takako Yamada : An Anthropology of Animism & Shamanism. Akade`miai Kiado`, Budapest, 1999. [authoress, a woman]