Song of the Ainu Gods

In Search of the Gods: Song of the Ainu Gods

As we humbly stay vigilant on our path of acquiring more knowledge concerning the Divine World, we notice that the groups of Gods change depending on where we are looking. Though most indigenous cultures have very similar spiritual traditions, structures, and ceremonies, many honor different deities. Many adopt certain deities due to the lifestyle that their environment demands; they worship local deities or those who can assist them in surviving the often rugged circumstances.

The Ainu culture is often referred to as the indigenous people of Japan. Ainu means human in the indigenous language. The Ainu once covered the territory known today as Japan but were pushed by more aggressive tribes to the Hokkaido and the southern part of the Saghalien Island. The predominant belief concerning their origin is that they originated from the Jomon culture, which grew out of a population who lived in the area around 10,000 BC when Japan was connected to Korea.

The Ainu had a very similar spiritual system to many indigenous groups around the world. They were polytheistic with a deep reverence for their ancestors. The Ainu word for God is Kamui, which is very similar to the Japanese word for God which is Kami, however, the Ainu and Japanese languages are very separate and different languages. These Kamui have a world of their own, however, they often disguise or present themselves as an object within man's physical world in order to protect the Earth or to supply food and animals to the Ainu people by sacrificing their bodies. The moment these "animals" were shot, the Kamui would leave the body and sit on the carcass "between the ears". Considering this, the Ainu acknowledged a divine or invisible aspect in everything in the physical world. 

The Ainu, like the Kemetic culture, had Divine animals (animals that are considered Divine to the frequency of Kamui manifestation in them). The bear was held especially sacred to the Ainu. Every year brown bear cubs were caught and kept in villages. When a cub reached young adulthood, a ceremony was held to send its spirit back to its ancestors. By providing an elaborate ceremony and honoring the bear it was hoped that it would speak well of humans to the other bear spirits. If this happened, many bears would venture into the lands of the Ainu for a plentiful hunt. The head of the bear was often placed on an altar outside of the shaman/chief's house, who would perform whatever ceremonies were necessary for the village, such as making libations of wine, uttering short prayers, and making offerings to the Kamui.

The Ainu offer willow sticks with wooden shavings attached to them called Inaw. The willow tree is considered sacred by the Ainu because when the Kamui created humans they did so with soil for the flesh, chickweed for the hair, and willow branch for the spine. It is for this reason that a man haunches as he grows. The Inaw are used on every and all occasions of ritual performance. Ainu uses them to decorate the house and the object they are to worship, together with other offerings. Certain Kamui also dwell within the Inaw. The world of the Kamui and these wooden symbols are the central subjects in their legends and folklore known as the Yukara.

Yukara in the Ainu language means the singing voice - a cry or singing of animals, insects, birds, etc., who are considered Kamui themselves. It is derived from the verb "yukar" which means to imitate as well as the word "yuk kar" which means to imitate the animal captured. Yukara always includes a dance performed by the shaman imitating the revered animal, and it is the dance that is the central activity. The Yukara in its original sense involves this whole performance. Songs did not exist by themselves within Ainu culture outside of this spiritual context. Only recently have they been established singularly as a form of literature.

There were three types of Yukara. There is the God's Yukara, the Human Yukara, and the Uwepeker, or old tales. The God's Yukara is separated into two categories: the Kamui Yukara (epics in which natural beings such as animals, plants, solid materials, and natural phenomena tell about their experiences or doings) and the Oyna (epics in which personified Gods tell of their experiences). These human Gods are usually in a position to govern human societies with absolute authority. 

This Yukara is an account of a Kamui disguised as an owl and his experiences within the world of humans: It was translated by Kiyoko Miura. 

Fall, silver tricklings, fall 

..Fall, golden tricklings, fall....

So singing I flew 

Along a stream

As flying over the hamlet, I looked 

And there I saw the people

Those who had once been poor were now rich, 

Those who had once been rich were now poor.

At the seashore, the children were playing 

With their little toy bows and with little toy arrows.

Fall, silver tricklings, fall...

Fall, golden tricklings, fall...

So singing I went

Gliding over the children.

Running below my eyes,

The children said each and all:

Beautiful little bird!

Divine little bird!

Come, now, come quickly!

Whoever would shoot that little bird

Whoever would fetch that divine bird first

Will be our hero!

And be our leader in the true sense!

The children of those-once-poor-but-now-rich

Notched their little golden arrows

Upon their little golden bows, and 

Off they shot!

But, I let those golden arrows 

Go beneath my body 

And above my body.

Then, There was a boy 

Among those children,

Who had an ordinary little arrow

And an ordinary little bow.

I looked at him.

From the cloth he wore

He appeared to have come from a poor family, 

But-- From the looks in his eyes

He appeared to be descended from an illustrious family.

So he stood out among all other boys

Like a bird of virtue!

And, he too

Notched his little arrow

Upon his little bow.

As he drew his bow,

The children of those-once-poor-but-now-rich

Said scornfully:

"How funny!

Such a cub of a wretched tribe!

Even our golden arrows

Can't reach That bird–

That holy bird!

It'll be a wonder 

If that bird–

That holy bird–

Would ever take

This ordinary wooden arrow–

This arrow of rotten wood–

That this son of a wretched

Would dare to shoot!"

Abusing thus,

The children gathered around the boy

Giving him kicks and cuffs

But- The poor boy did not hesitate and 

Drew his bow at me.

Watching him, thus,

I felt sympathy toward him.

"Fall, silver tricklings, fall...

Fall, golden tricklings, fall..."

So singing I went slowly

Gliding over in a big circle

In the sky.

The boy stood

On one foot drawn far back

And on the other stepped forward.

And, biting his lower lip, 

He drew his bow at me.

Then -- Off he shot his arrow!

The tiny arrow glittered in the air

As it flew toward me;

And, as I saw it nearing me, 

Soon I held out my hands 

And took that little arrow.

And, while I was descending 

round and round,

The wind whistled by my ears.

Then- The children all ran toward me, 

Striving with one another, 

And leaving sand storm behind.

As soon as I fell to the ground, 

The poor boy reached And grabbed me before anyone.

So, the boys of those once-poor-but-now-rich

Who arrived late called him 

With a score of bad names, 

And pushed and beat this poor boy calling

With ten and a score of cursing names:

"Abominable cub!

Son of the wretched!

How dare you would take the lead 

In what we were doing!"

But, the poor boy

Covered me again and again, 

Held me under his stomach,

And escaped from the crowd of those boys

Taking as long as an age.

Then, after such hubbub 

His footsteps on a run 

Sounded light and rhythmic.

The boys of those-once-poor-but-now-rich

Threw stones and chips of wood

After him, but he ran

Without the least attention to them,

 Leaving sand storm behind,

Until he at last arrived at a little house.

Then, the boy took me in

From the window of the honour room of the house,

And he began and told the story 

Of what had happened.

From the house appeared 

An old man and his wife

Shading their eyes with their hands.

They seemed, the man and his wife,

To bear an air of dignity, 

In spite of their poor attire.

As they looked at me,

They were so astonished,

They doubled their bodies from the waists.

The old man then tightened his belt And bowed at me:

"Owl, our God! 

Our heavy God! 

In spite of our poverty, 

You have come to our house. 

We thank our God a thousand times! 

We had once counted ourselves among the rich,

But now we are poor and worthless as you see.

So, God of the village!

Heavy God! 

We have no right to beg you to stay At our house...; but, 

As it is already after sunset, 

We should offer our heavy God 

The place to rest 

And we shall perform a ceremony tomorrow 

To send our Heavy God to where He belongs

At least with the sacred wooden symbols."

Thus saying, the old man 

Bowed twenty times 

And bowed thirty times. 

The wife of the old man 

Spread a "flower" mattress 

Over the 

Dancing in this small house; 

And, the sound I made as I danced 

Was so beautiful as a rustle of gold. 

When I flapped my wings, 

There was about me A mount of precious jewelry, 

The God's treasures falling from heaven, 

Making sound so beautiful as rustles of gold.

In a quick moment 

I filled this tiny house 

With those shining jewelries, 

The God's treasures.

"Fall, silver tricklings, fall 

Fall, golden tricklings, fall..."

While I sang, I made this tiny house 

Into a large house, 

A golden house, 

In a quick moment. 

In the house,

I built a magnificent altar and 

Quickly wove a magnificent silk robe

And decorated the house entirely.

I decorated the now great house, 

Far grander than any house of other rich people.

As I finished this job,

I sat between the ears of my body,

just as I had been placed. 

Then, to the family of this house 

I sent dream to their sleep 

And let them know that I saw 

And took sympathy of them, 

For the family-once-rich-but-now-poor, 

By an ill fortune, 

Have been despised and ill-treated 

By those-once-poor-but-now-rich; 

And that I therefore came down 

To stay at their house,

Although I was not a small god,

And thus to make them wealthy again.

In a short while

The night's black news began to thin away:

And the people of the family awoke and got up.

Rubbing their eyes still, They looked about and

instantly

They fell down on their buttocks.

The old woman

Cried in a loud voice,

The old man

Dropped big drops of tears.

But, quickly

He got up and came

Where I was, and bowed

Scores of times, Hundreds of times;

And spoke the meantime:

I thought it was 

But a dream I saw in sleep!

How could we imagine

To see all this in our real life!

In spite of our poverty, 

In spite of our wretched life by the ill-fortune, 

You have come to our humble cot.

That only gave us honour

Beyond our words of gratitude.

But, above this all,

Our God,

Our Heavy God, 

You took sympathy upon us

For being misfortuned, 

And bestowed a favour of us

With the heaviest of all 

The heavy gifts from Heaven!"

Saying thus in tears, 

The old man bowed deeply and worshipped me.

Then– This old man cut trees,

Began to shave them to make into a bunch 

Of beautiful sacred wooden decorations

With which he decorated about me.

The old lady tightened her sash

And, with a help of the little kids, 

Gathered some kindlewood, 

Drew water

And prepared to make

Sake.

In a short while, 

Six casks of Sake

Were placed at the seat of

honour.

Then--

I had a pleasure

Of speaking with the "old granny of fire"

About things in Heaven.

In two days since

The aroma of Sake, 

Which the Gods favour, 

Began to fill the house.

Then-The little boy who had brought me to this house

Was clothed in a ragged kimono on purpose,

And was sent to the village on an errand

Carrying invitation to the feast

Given to all those-once-poor-but-now-rich

As I watched after him, 

The little boy 

Went to each house 

And delivered the message;

Then, those-once-poor-but-now-rich

Laughed hard and said:

"How strange!

How dare would those poor folks invite us!

With what sort of Sake and food

They are going to entertain us!

Let's go and see, 

Then, have a good laugh

Over their doings!"

So, they came 

In a big crowd.

But, when they saw the house/From a good distance,

They were amazed:

Some went back

As they were so embarrassed;

But others still came to the house 

Where they were taken aback.

Then-- As the lady of the house

Came out

And led them in the house

By taking their hands, one by one, 

They all Came in Creeping 

On knees and hands,

Not a single person being able to raise his face!

Then-- The master of the house

Got up And spoke

With the voice so rich and resonant

Like a cuckoo singing, 

And he told them all about 

Such-and-such that had happened:

"Having been so poor, 

We could not visit you folks;

But, the Heavy God 

Took sympathy on us 

And had mercy on us,

Since we had never had vicious thoughts in the past.

Therefore, from this time on, 

I beg you, illustrious ones, 

Do be friends with us 

And visit with us, 

As we are in one 

And belong to one same family."

As the master of the house spoke, 

All those-once-poor-but-now-rich

Apologized

again and again for their wrongs

By rubbing their hands.

And, they swore among themselves 

To become good friends with each other 

From this time on.

I was, then, worshipped by them all.

And, then, They became casual 

And open-hearted

And held a grand feast with Sake.

I, myself, enjoyed a good talk 

With the holy goddess "granny" of fire 

And the god of the household 

And the old goddess protecting the yard 

Of the sacred woods standing;

And watched the men and women

Singing and dancing, 

To my heart's content.

The feast went on/For two days,

For three days.

Looking at everybody

Happy and friendly,

I was relieved

And thus I bade farewell

To the old goddess "granny" of fire, 

To the god of the household,

And to the old goddess of the sacred wood yard.

Then-- I returned to my own home.

Before I reached,

My house had been decorated

With full of beautiful sacred wooden symbols

And with good Sake.

Then-- I sent my messenger for to invite all

The lower gods 

And the higher gods, 

And held a magnificent feast.

And, I told the gods 

My experiences,

Giving detailed accounts 

Of the circumstances 

Of the people in the village

Where I visited,

And of the happenings in consequence.

So, the gods Praised me.

When they were leaving, 

I gave them each

Beautifully decorated sacred wooden symbol

In twos and in threes.

As I look now and then towards the village,

I can see things are now in peace;

People are keeping good friendship;

And the man I made rich is now the village chief.

That little boy Is now A grown-up man 

And has a wife And children,

And is taking care of his father 

And his mother.

Each time he makes Sake, 

He worships me 

With it

And with the sacred wooden symbols, 

Before having the feast of Sake.

I, too,

Sit forever

Behind

These good men and women

To protect them and 

Their village.

--So told the Owl God of his experiences.

Sadly, today Ainu culture - as is the case with many persecuted indigenous cultures - is becoming less and less available through first-hand knowledge and stories from Ainu elders. There are only a handful of Ainu elders remaining who speak the Ainu language, a language which had no written form and nineteen dialects. Today of the nineteen there is one remaining called Tsishima. Another, called Shigera, died out in 1994 with its last speaker. Considering this it is a wonder if the study of Ainu culture today by the same Japanese government that persecuted it is accurate. For instance, as is done in the research of polytheistic Kemet it is said that though the Ainu were polytheistic they believed in one creator God. In the Kemetic culture, this modern influence is a way to conform it to the modern monotheistic view. There is compelling evidence of direct interaction between the Ainu and the Kemmeeoo on a painting on the walls of the tomb of Amenhotep II from the 12th Dynasty. It depicts a group known as the Aamu. Eight men, four women and three children are shown led by the royal scribe, Neferhotep.

He is holding a papyrus roll that announces a total of thirty-seven visitors. These visitors have brought kohl eye paint as a tribute to the Prince. These visitors are described as Asiatics. They were light-complexioned people wearing clothes of bright patterns and colors. This is proof of how the indigenous spiritual systems were interconnected.

May we be inspired by the unity of our ancestors in our search for the Gods.