Akamuy (Ainu:カムィ;Japanese:カムイ,romanized: kamui) is a spiritual or divine being inAinu mythology, a term denoting a supernatural entity composed of or possessing spiritual energy.
The Ainu people have many myths about thekamuy, passed down through oral traditions and rituals. The stories of thekamuy were portrayed in chants and performances, which were often performed during sacred rituals.
In concept,kamuy are similar to theJapanesekami but this translation misses some of the nuances of the term[1] (the missionaryJohn Batchelor assumed that the Japanese term was of Ainu origin).[2] The usage of the term is very extensive and contextual among the Ainu, and can refer to something regarded as especially positive as well as something regarded as especially strong.[2]Kamuy can refer to spiritual beings, including animals, plants, the weather, and even human tools.[3]Guardian angels are called Ituren-Kamui.[4]Kamuy are numerous; some are delineated and named, such asKamuy Fuchi, the hearth goddess, while others are not.Kamuy often have very specific associations, for instance, there is akamuy of theundertow.[1] Batchelor compares the word with the Greek termdaimon.[2]
Personified deities of Ainu mythology often have the termkamuy applied as part of their names.
The Ainu legend goes that at the beginning of the world, there was only water and earth mixed together in a sludge. Nothing existed except for the thunder demons in the clouds and the first self created kamuy.[5] The first kamuy then sent down a bird spirit,moshiri-kor-kamuy, to make the worldhabitable.[6] The waterwagtail bird saw the swampy state of the earth and flew over the waters, and pounded down the earth with its feet and tail. After much work, areas of dry land appeared, seeming to float above the waters that surrounded them. Thus, the Ainu refer to the world asmoshiri, meaning "floating earth". The wagtail is also a revered bird due to this legend.[5]
Once the earth was formed, the first kamuy, otherwise known askanto-kor-kamuy, the heavenly spirit, sent otherkamuy to the earth. Of thesekamuy wasape-kamuy (see alsokamuy huchi, ape huchi), the fire spirit.Ape-kamuy was the most important spirit, ruling overnusa-kor-kamuy (ceremonial altar spirit),ram-nusa-kor-kamuy (low ceremonial altar spirit),hasinaw-kor-kamuy (hunting spirit), andwakka-us-kamuy (water spirit). As the most importantkamuy, ape-kamuy's permission/assistance is needed for prayers and ceremonies.[6] She is the connection between humans and the other spirits and deities, and gives the prayers of the people to the proper spirits.[7]
The Ainu had no writing system of their own, and much of Ainu mythology was passed down asoral history in the form ofkamuyyukar (deity epics), long verses traditionally recounted by singers at a gathering. Thekamuy yukar was seen as a significant form of communication between thekamuy and the humans, along with prayers and rituals.[7] Eachkamuy yukar recounts a deity's or hero's adventures, usually in the first person, and some of them are of great length, containing as many as 7,000 verses.[8] In general, however, they are considered to be shorter in length in comparison to other types of oral genres in the Ainu culture.[9] Someyukar contradict each other, assigning the same events to different deities or heroes; this is primarily a result of the Ainu culture's organization into small, relatively isolated groups.[10] Records of these poems began to be kept only in the late 19th century, by Western missionaries and Japaneseethnographers; however, the Ainu tradition of memorizing theyukar preserved many.
Thoughkamuy yukar is considered to be one of the oldest genres of Ainu oral performance, anthropologistEmiko Ohnuki-Tierney supposed that there are more than 20 types of genres.[3] Originally, it seemskamuy yukar was performed solely for religious purposes by the women who took on the role ofshamans. The shamans became possessed and recanted the chants, possibly explaining whykamuy yukar is performed with a first-person narrative.[3] As time passed,kamuy yukar became less of a sacred ritual, serving as entertainment and as a way to pass down traditions and cultural stories. Today, thekamuy yukar is no longer performed in the Horobetsu tradition. The only hints of the traditional chants are in written records, including those ofYukie Chiri (1903-1922), a Horobetsu Ainu woman who wrote fragments of traditional chants that her grandmother performed. She compiled the historical chants from her auntImekanu in a book titledAinu shin'yoshu.[3]
The Ainu haverituals in which they "send back" thekamuy to the heavens with gifts.[6] There are various rituals of this type, including theiomante, the bear ceremony. The rituals center around the idea of releasing thekamuy from their disguises, theirhayopke, that they have put on to visit the human world in order to receive gifts from the humans. Thekamuy in theirhayopke choose the hunter that will hunt them, giving them the flesh of the animal in turn. Once thehayopke is broken, thekamuy are free to return to their world with the gifts from the humans.[7]
Theiomante (also spellediyomante) is a ritual in which the people "send-off" the guest, the bear spirit, back to its home in the heavens.[7] A bear is raised by the ritual master's wife from a cub. When it is time for the ritual, the men create prayer sticks(inau) for thealtar(nusa-san), ceremonial arrows, liquor, and gifts for the spirit in order to prepare for the ritual.Prayers are then offered toape-kamuy, and dances, songs, andyukar are performed.[11]
The main part of the ritual is performed the next day, taking place at a ritual space by the altar outside. Prayers are offered to variouskamuy, and then the bear is taken out of its cage with a rope around its neck. There is dancing and singing around the bear, and the bear is given food and a prayer. The men shoot the ceremonial decorated arrows at the bear, and the ritual master shoots the fatal arrow as the women cry for the bear. The bear is strangled with sticks and then taken to the altar where the people give gifts to the dead bear and pray to thekamuy again. The bear is dismembered, and the head brought inside. There is a feast with the bear's boiled flesh, with performances ofyukar, dances, and songs.[11]
On the third and final day of the ritual, the bear's head is skinned and decorated withinau and gifts. It is then put on a y-shaped stick and turned to face the mountains in the east. This part of the ritual is to send the bear off to the mountains. After another feast, the skull is turned back towards the village to symbolize thekamuy's return to its world.[11]
In Ainu mythology, thekamuy are believed to return home after the ritual and find their houses filled with gifts from the humans. More gifts mean more prestige and wealth in thekamuy's society, and thekamuy will gather his friends and tell them of the generosity of the humans, making the otherkamuy wish to go to the human world themselves. In this way, the humans express their gratitude for thekamuy, and thekamuy will continue to bring them prosperity.[11]
Kamuy can be found in proper names, especially place names in Hokkaido, such as Kamuikotan (神居古潭, literally "Village of Kamuy") orCape Kamui (神威岬,Kamui-misaki). Kamui (神威) is also a male proper name, and the spelling is the same as the wordshin'i that means "divine power".[12]
Astar located in the northernconstellation ofCorona Borealis (The Northern Crown) is named after it. SeeHD 145457.
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| Japanese creation myth | ||
| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
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| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
| Legendary creatures | ||
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