The Ainu of northern Japan are the physical and cultural descendants of the Jomon and Emishi peoples. They also adopted many of the ways of the Okhotsk culture from Sakhalin and some of the practices of the Yayoi Japanese culture. Since the 18th century C.E., the Japanese have oppressed the Ainu seeking to appropriate their lands. The Japanese fought to suppress Ainu culture and make the Ainu conform to Japanese customs. Many Ainu routine activities were religiously-oriented such as the special disposal of fish bones. Today there is a movement to restore the unique Ainu culture, language, ceremonies and daily rituals in Japan.
Divine Beings
The Ainu believe in many divine beings “kamuy” who are contrasted with the humans “Ainu.” All things have spirits and the Ainu are surrounded by gods which they pray to and which look after them. Among the Ainu, many natural phenomena are considered divine, having a spirit, such as fire, wind, and water. There are gods of objects like boats and pots, and gods of plants like mushrooms and mugwort. There are gods of mountains and lakes, gods that protect the house, and animal gods like foxes and owls. The bear is the god of the mountains who is like a human in appearance in his own divine land, but then he appears to the Ainu in the guise of the bear in the Ainu land, bringing gifts of meat and fur. Another important deity among the Ainu is the goddess of the hearth (fire) or “Grandmother Hearth” who is a symbol of the Ainu universe. There are also goddesses of the sun and moon, and sea animal and fish deities.
Another category of deities is evil spirits or demons, who are more powerful than humans and cause illness and tragedies. They can be overcome by divination and rituals performed through a shaman.
The Ainu believe that they have spirits which are immortal, and that the good Ainu will rise to the land of the gods in the hereafter. If they have not been good, they will go to a hell, which is described as a volcano. After a time in heaven, the spirits are reborn to earth, and the cycle goes on.
Shamans
In Hokkaido, shamans are femal. Most divinations are performed to cure illness, and guided by the possession of a spirit the shaman provides the prescribed cure of the illness. The shaman works along with male elders of the tribe in prescribing and healing and assisting in making political decisions.
Village chiefs perform most necessary ceremonies, prayers, libations of rice beer and offerings of willow sticks and shavings. One of the chief rites among the Ainu is the Bear Ceremony, as the Bear is a supreme god in their culture.
Bear Ceremony
The bear represents the chief deity, the deity of the mountain, in the disguise of a bear. It is the most important symbol among the Ainu. The Sending of the Bear Ceremony serves to send the soul of the bear-god back to the divine home of the bear with gifts, prayers and invitations to return to the Ainu. The Ainu explain that It is not a sacrifice of the bear, as the bear is god. It is a religious obligation to hold the ceremony to send the bear back to its home through ritual. The bear can can thus be reborn and give the Ainu the valuable gifts of meat and fur once again.
The Bear Ceremony occurs over the span of about two years. A young bear is captured, raised by the Ainu to adulthood, sometimes nursed by Ainu women, and then killed with arrows in the Sending of the Bear Ceremony. Male elders skin and dress the bear, females are not allowed during this activity. The elders then place the prepared bear in front of the altar which is decorated with gifts. The Ainu celebrate this important event with ceremonial feasting, dancing and singing. Holding a Sending of the Bear Ceremony also holds political meaning to the sponsor and for the group.
Sources:
Habu, Junko Ancient Jomon of Japan Cambridge University Press (2004)
Yamaura, Kiyoshi and Ushiro, Hiroshi, "Prehistoric Hokkaido and Ainu Origins" in Fitzhugh, William W., and Dubreil, Chisato O.,eds., Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People University of Washington Press (1999)
Kidder, Jr., J. Edward, "The Earliest Societies in Japan,” The Cambridge History of Japan, volume 1: Ancient Japan Cambridge University Press (1993)
"Ainu." New World Encyclopedia (2 Apr 2008)
Ossenberg, Nancy S. "Isolate Conservatism and Hybridization in the Population History of Japan" in Akazawa, T. and C.M. Aikens, eds. Prehistoric Hunter Gatherers in Japan: New Research Methods University of Tokyo Press (1986)
Who Were the Emishi?
Paula I. Nielson - Paula I. Nielson, Ph.D., holds credentials and interests in anthropology, archaeology, religion, the Middle East and Asia.
