Kamuy-huci (カムイフチ,Kamui Fuchi) is theAinukamuy (goddess) of thehearth. Her full name isApemerukoyan-mat Unamerukoyan-mat (Rising Fire Sparks Woman/ Rising Cinder Sparks Woman), and she is also known asIresu Kamuy (People Teacher). She is among the most importantkamuy of Ainu mythology, serving as keeper of the gateway between the world of humans and the world ofkamuy.
Kamuy-huci is a woman who lives in the hearth. Her position is so important that she never leaves her home. Accordingly, the hearth fire must never be extinguished completely.[1]
She wears six layers of kimono tied with a sash, and another six layers of kimono on top that are left to flutter freely.[2]
There are a few myths of Kamuy-huci's origins. In the most common, she descends from the heavens, accompanied byKanna Kamuy, thekamuy of thunder and lightning. In another version, she was born from the fire-producing drill and is the sister ofHasinaw-uk-kamuy, the goddess of the hunt. A third holds that she is the daughter of an elm tree by the prime originatorKanda-koro-kamuy.[1]
Kamuy-huci instructed Ainu women in the making ofkut (sacred girdles). For this gift, she earned the nameIresu Kamuy (People's Teacher).
She is one of the most powerfulkamuy in Ainu mythology. In one myth, her husband is seduced byWakka-us-kamuy, the deity of fresh water. Kamuy-huci, insulted, challenges her rival to a duel of sorcery, from which she emerges victorious with relative ease.[1] Her chastened husband returns home.
Kamuy-huci is a guardian of the home, and also the judge of domestic affairs. Those who pollute a hearth or fail to maintain proper domestic relationships are said to incur her punishment. To aid her in these duties, since she does not leave the hearth, she employs a number of otherkamuy, including Mintakoro-kamuy, the guardian of a home's premises, and Rukoro-kamuy, thekamuy of the privy.
In addition to being the center of the Ainu household, the hearth was considered a gateway by means of which humans andkamuy could communicate. It is also the abode of the dead; the Ainu word forancestor translates asthose who dwell in the hearth.Transmigration is a tenet of Ainu mythology, so it was doubly important for the hearth to be kept pure, because the souls of the departed who lived there would be assigned to new bodies in time.
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| Japanese creation myth | ||
| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
| Human age | ||
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| Mythological weapons | ||
| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
| Legendary creatures | ||
| Other | ||