Introduction
Understanding Ainu Spirituality
In the Ainu vision, many animals, phenomena and objects can manifest "kamyy". They visit the human world in a visible envelope and must be welcomed with respect before returning to their domain.
The Ainu communities have been engaged in discussions with Japan and North-East Asia.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- In the Ainu vision, many animals, phenomena and objects can manifest "kamyy".
- The Ainu communities have been engaged in discussions with Japan and North-East Asia.
- The domestic fire, combined with a large female kamuy, transmits prayers.
- ainu spirituality is based on mutual hospitality between humans and "kamuy".
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
The Ainu communities have been engaged in discussions with Japan and North-East Asia.
Historical developments
The expansion of the Japanese state in Hokkaidō in the 19th century led to dispossession, hunting restrictions and linguistic assimilation.
Ritual life and teachings
The domestic fire, combined with a large female kamuy, transmits prayers.
A living and plural tradition
The rites described by former observers should not therefore be separated from this colonial history.
History and development
The Ainu communities had exchanges with Japan and North-East Asia. The expansion of the Japanese state in Hokkaidō in the 19th century led to dispossession, hunting restrictions and linguistic assimilation.
The rites described by former observers should not therefore be separated from this colonial history.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
The domestic fire, combined with a large female kamuy, transmits prayers. Sculpted gift sticks, *inaw*, and drink are presented to the powers.
The bear ceremony, "Iomante", referred the spirit of a bear raised by the community to the world of the "kamuy"; it had dimensions of food, kinship and prestige today sensitive.
Texts, symbols and transmission
The epics *yukar* and songs *upopo* transmit narratives and memory. Embroidered motifs, *inaw*, home and bear are important, without forming a universal symbolic alphabet.
The Ainu language is now in revitalization.
What research can and cannot say
The old vocabulary of "primitive animism" distorts a sophisticated thought of hospitality between species and worlds. Current researchers work more with Ainu institutions and artists.
References