Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradition of the Ainu

by Donald L. Phillipi, Gary Snyder (Foreword by)

Overview

As an especially beautiful and pure example of the archaic epic styles that were once current among the hunting and fishing peoples of northern Asia, the Ainu epic folklore is of immense literary value. This collection and English translation by Donald Philippi contains thirty-three representative selections from a number of epic genres including mythic epics, culture hero epics, women's epics, and heroic epics. This is the first time, outside of Japan, that the Ainu epic folklore has been treated in a comprehensive manner.

Originally published in 1979.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691637204
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #1466
Pages:	436
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.10(d)

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Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans

The Epic Tradition of the Ainu

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By Donald L. Philippi

Princeton University Press and University of Tokyo Press

Copyright © 1979 University of Tokyo Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-06384-3

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CHAPTER 1

Part I Songs of Gods

Introduction to Part I

The twenty-five selections in this part are songs sung by kamui of various types, and the native term for this genre of the epic folklore is kamui yukar, "god epic."

In the traditional world-view of the Ainu, all species of non-human beings are endowed with supernatural characteristics and are called kamui. The dictionary definition of "god" is no doubt inadequate, but there is no other convenient equivalent for kamui, which is actually a loan word borrowed from the Old Japanese kamï, meaning "god." The kamui are gods in the Paleolithic sense, not in the Western sense. That is, they are non-human beings with supernatural attributes who live in thoroughly anthropomorphic fashion in their own god-worlds, where they are invisible to human eyes, but who also share a common territory with the humans and pay frequent visits to the humans in disguise. Animals are such gods in disguise.

The Ainu are extremely liberal in their use of the word kamui. Besides being used as a noun meaning god in the sense discussed, it can also be used as an adjective meaning "magnificent" or "splendid." In the epics we find "divine embroidered garments" (kamui chikirpe), "divine robes" (kamui kosonte), "divine pendant necklaces" (kamui shitoki), and "divine winds" (kamui mau). The magnificent locks of wavy hair of epic heroes are called "divine hair" (kamui otopi), and highly respected human women are called "divine ladies" (kamui katkemat or kamui moiremat). Strongholds (chashi), old men (chacha), and armor (hayokpe) are deified and called chashi kamui, chacha kamui, and hayokpe kamui. In the epics, a younger brother who is being raised by his older relatives is respectfully called "god whom we are raising, our divine nursling" (a-reshpa kamui a-reshpa pito). In this case, the word pito, also a loan word from Old Japanese (meaning "human being"), is used as a synonym for kamui. The word kamui also means "bear." Thus, yuk chikoikip kamui chikoikip is a common couplet meaning "game animals, both deer and bear." Kamui menoko ("god woman") may mean either "goddess" or "she-bear."

At first glance, it would seem that the Ainu use of the word kamui with its troublesome polysemantism is hopelessly confusing and that no clear distinctions are made, semantically or otherwise, between animals, humans, manmade implements, and gods. All animals, all plants, and even human artifacts are impartially called kamui. The epithet kamui is even applied to highly respected human beings. However, the Ainu obviously are capable of making the necessary distinctions between different orders of being, and they have a series of coherent beliefs about the nature of reality.

In the Ainu world-view, the world is a common territory shared between different species of beings. The humans (ainu) are one of these species and are totally dependent for their survival on the other types of beings with which they share the world. Continued human existence was made possible by rituals and beliefs implying social relationships with the natural world, the kamui. This system has been called, with penetrating insight, "the system of social solidarity between man and nature" by Watanabe.

The human-karma relationship is one of interdependence. The non-human species in nature also depend on the humans for their well-being, and the traditional world-view is based on the fundamental concept that the world is a space shared by interdependent species. Humans and gods are more or less equals, with the humans having a slight advantage over the gods. True, the gods can do some things that ordinary humans cannot. They have supernatural powers, can move from place to place swiftly, can fly through the air, and can change their forms at will. Among the humans, only shamans have such powers. But in certain matters the humans are superior to the gods. The gods fear the humans, depend on them, and are subject to their power. The gods admire the humans and wish very much to visit the human homeland (ainu kotan, ainu moshir). The gods can enhance their prestige in their communities when they are worshiped and are given presents by the humans. In fact, the wealth of the gods consists of the presents they receive from the humans.

The humans also depend on the gods. They are guarded and protected by the good deities, who surround the humans inside and outside the house and who have the responsibility for watching over them and warding off evil from them. The most important deity in this respect is the ancient Fire God dess (katnui huchi) who dwells in the hearth of every Ainu home. She acts as the intermediary between humans and gods and is prayed to first by the humans every time they address prayers to any deities. There are evil deities (wen katnui, nitne kamui) who envy the good fortune and happiness of the humans and of the good deities and seek to harm them both. These evil beings also desire to have for themselves the presents which the humans offer to the good deities. They steal away the souls of the food (the fish and the game), spread diseases, and cause famines. The evil deities can succeed in their wicked schemes only when the vigilance of the good deities is diminished. Exactly like human beings, the good deities are rather absentminded, and their attention can easily wander. Calamities may occur if they are not minding their business of looking after the affairs of the humans. This is why it is so important for the humans to master the techniques of attracting and holding the attention of the good deities and of invoking the aid of extremely powerful deities who can be called on in emergencies to ward off evil influences. Ainu men were specialists in these techniques, and all of their activities were accompanied or preceded by prayers and rituals.

The gods are anthropormorphic through and through. No matter whether they live in the human homeland (the plains, the meadows, the rivers, the seas, the mountains, the forests, or inside the houses of the humans), in the skies, in far-away lands, or in the Underworld, the lives of the gods follow the human pattern closely. When they are at home in their god-worlds, they have human form. Their appearance is human-like, but more majestic than that of ordinary humans. They build themselves houses to live in; they form their own communities; they wear clothing; they pray to the gods; they fight battles; they love their spouses and children; and they like to brew wine and invite their friends and relatives to drinking feasts. They love to dance and sing and to listen to epics. In fact, their tastes, their likes and dislikes, correspond exactly to those of humans. At the same time, their worlds are separate from the world of the humans, and there is a certain strangeness about humans for them. The gods especially dislike the smell of humans, which they seemingly cannot tolerate. They hide themselves from the humans by wrapping themselves in black or white clouds, but if they choose they can reveal themselves to humans in their true form, anthropomorphic but extremely majestic. Or if they wish they can appear in their disguises as animals or plants.

The presents of wine and of inau which the gods receive from the humans are their prized treasures. The inau are elaborately whittled sticks of willow or other wood with beautifully fashioned curled shavings. The Ainu make great numbers of these ritual artifacts, and there are a great many different varieties of them, each variety having its specific purpose and being intended for a certain deity to whom it is especially acceptable. The Ainu attribute supernatural powers to these man-made artifacts, which are regarded as being messengers to gods, intermediaries between humans and gods, and sometimes even as gods themselves. (A god made by human hands appears in selection 9). The gods prize the gifts of inau given to them by the humans in exactly the same way that the Ainu prize their own household treasures, which consist of imported Japanese goods. A god who returns from a visit to the humans laden with many presents of wine and of inau has his prestige greatly enhanced. This dependence of the gods on the humans for presents is strikingly similar to the attitude of the Ainu toward the Japanese.

The gods admire the beauties of the human homeland and long to come and visit it, but many of them seldom have an opportunity to make this visit. When they come on their visits to the humans, the gods do not come only for sightseeing purposes; they come also with business in mind. The key word for this in Ainu is irauketupa, a verb with the following meanings: (1) to make one's livelihood, to practice a profession or business; (2) to go trading, to visit for the purpose of trading, to go on a business trip; (3) to strike a profitable transaction. This verb is applied both to humans going on trading expeditions and to gods who come to visit the land of the humans in the guise of animals. When the gods come to the world of humans, they come because they wish to receive presents of inau and wine. The exchange of presents of inau and wine for animal fur and flesh is thought of as a "business transaction." This god-human transaction is at the very basis of the Ainu religion, which expresses it most spectacularly in the bear ceremony.

At home in their own country, the gods have clothing racks where they hang up their different costumes. When they come to visit the human homeland, they always come in their disguises. If they do not intend to trade, they will put on a worthless old coat, but they will put on their best costumes if they want to make a transaction. These costumes are called hayokpe, which may mean "armor" as well as "disguise" or "costume." The hayokpe is a disguise which is material and perceptible to the humans and which is put on by the god because it is desirable and economically useful to the humans. For example, the god of the mountains {kimun kamui), the representative of the mountain game, comes wearing a bear costume (selection 9). The god of the sea (repun kamui), the ruler of the food animals in the ocean, comes in the guise of a killer whale (selection 6). Another important deity, the guardian spirit of the land (kotan-kor-kamui) comes disguised as an owl (selection 12). Pestilence deities (pa-kor-kamui) come in the form of flocks of little birds (selection 26) when they come for their gruesome type of irauketupa.

The hayokpe worn by a god friendly to the humans is a present brought with him to leave with his human friends. It is not the human hunter who chooses and kills a bear or a deer. It is a god masquerading as an animal who chooses the hunter, voluntarily allows the hunter to kill what appears to be an animal, and gives the hunter the animal disguise as a present. The grateful hunter in exchange presents the god with inau or with the curled shavings which are equally potent. The presents given by the humans to the gods make up the wealth of the gods, and the presents left by the gods among the humans enable the latter to survive and to carry on their economic activities. When the god of the mountains comes on a visit, he will leave behind his warm bear's fur, his tasty meat, his marrow and blood, and his internal organs. The humans can make clothing of the fur or use it for trading; they will reverently and joyfully consume the flesh, the marrow, the blood, and the organs; and they will dry the gall, which is a valuable trade commodity used for medicinal purposes.

When a god's hayokpe is broken, the god's spirit is released. By slaying the "animal," the humans set free the spirit of the god trapped inside the disguise and enable him to return to his own world. The bear ceremony illustrates this most clearly. After the humans have killed the bear, they lay the bear's head in state and make offerings of food, wine, and inau to the god. An elaborate feast is held, and the spirit of the god remains for several days as an honored guest among the feasting humans. The god is seated in the place of honor at the head of the fireplace (the ror), just under the sacred window [rorunpuyar). During the god's sojourn, the divine visitor delights in watching the humans feasting and dancing and in hearing their songs and epics. Simultaneously, another non-human convocation is going on; the god is being entertained by the gods who dwell inside the human house, especially by the Fire Goddess. For the Ainu, feasting and drinking are important cultic acts by which solidarity with the supernaturals is reaffirmed and strengthened.

After the feast is over, the divine visitor is sent home (arpare, omante, hopunire) to his own world. This is what is known as "ritual dismissal." The bear ceremony is called iyomante, "sending-off," that is, a farewell ceremony for a departing guest. After his send-off, the god returns home laden with many gifts from the humans. Upon his arrival, he finds his house filled with gifts from the humans. The gifts have been delivered mysteriously in his absence. The more of these presents a deity receives, the more renowned will he be in the society of the gods, just as an Ainu will have more social prestige the greater the amount of trade goods he manages to accumulate.

After returning to his native land, the god will gather together his friends and relatives from near and far and will hold a magnificent feast, using the gifts of wine and food that he has received as presents from the humans. He will speak admiringly of the wonders of the land of the humans. He will tell the gods how well he was treated by the humans and will distribute one or two of the human inau to each guest. The gods will all praise him and wish to go to visit the human homeland for themselves. The continuing round of visiting and exchanging of presents must be maintained in order for the humans to enjoy prosperity.

The World of Gods

This section introduces the reader to the world of the gods as they describe it in their own terms. This world occupies the extreme edge of the spectrum of god-human communication, one in which there is little or no human involvement. Some of the gods lead rather dull lives, having no excitement except attending drinking feasts, and others involve themselves in exciting adventures. The humans appear here only peripherally as suppliers of wine and inau. But even here, in their own god-worlds, the gods for the most part live in the human manner, and their interpersonal relationships are recognizably of the human type.

This section contains five selections, all from the two most important reciters from the Saru region of Hidaka: Hiraga Etenoa and Hirame Karepia.

1. Song of Kararat (Carrion Crow) Goddess

This kamuiyukar was recorded in writing on October 28, 1932, by Kubodera from the reciter Hiraga Etenoa. It was sung to the burden Hetkuna o. Kubodera mentions that it might also be sung with the burden Hetuina. The literal meanings of both the burdens are unclear.

A crow goddess amuses herself by performing the "dance of the glittering treasures, dance of the glittering metals" (tama kin tapkar, kane kin tapkar). When she does this dance, acorns and chestnuts come dropping down from her hands. News of this dance of hers spreads among the gods, and she begins to be invited to the drinking feasts of the gods.

The Ainu distinguished between two types of crows: the hondo jungle crow (Corvus coronoides), which was disliked and called shipashkur or shi-epashkur ("dung-crow," "dung-eating-crow") and the carrion crow (kararat, Corvus corone), which was regarded as auspicious. Kayano gives a tale in which a human's life is saved by a carrion crow. (Kayano, Uepekere shiltaisei, pp. 63–75).

The text is Kamui Yukar 47 in Kubodera's Ainujojishi: Shin'yo, seiden no kenkya, pp. 218–20.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans by Donald L. Philippi. Copyright © 1979 University of Tokyo Press. Excerpted by permission of Princeton University Press and University of Tokyo Press.
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Table of Contents

• Frontmatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. v
• Foreword, pg. vii
• Preface, pg. xi
• Introduction, pg. 1
• Bibliography, pg. 51
• Introduction to Part I, pg. 59
• 1. Song of Kararat (Carrion Crow) Goddess, pg. 66
• 2. Song of the Fire Goddess, pg. 69
• 3. Song of Wolf Goddess, pg. 75
• 4. Song of Spider Goddess, pg. 78
• 5. Song of Young Killer Whale, pg. 83
• 6. Song of a Killer Whale The, pg. 89
• 7. Song of the Goddess of the Waters, pg. 99
• 8. Song of the Owl God, pg. 108
• 9. Song of a Bear, pg. 115
• 10. Song of the Daughter of the Mountain God, pg. 126
• 11. Song of an Elderly Eagle This, pg. 133
• 12. Song of the Owl God, pg. 137
• 13. Song of the Thunder God, pg. 149
• 14. Song of a Dragon God, pg. 154
• 15. Song of an Evil Bear, pg. 162
• 16. Song of a Huri Bird, pg. 165
• 17. Song of a North Wind Goddess, pg. 168
• 18. Song of a Swordfish, pg. 171
• 19. Song of an Old Boat Goddess, pg. 175
• 20. Song of Aeoina-kamui, pg. 190
• 21. Song of Aeoina-kamui, pg. 195
• 22. Song of Aeoina-kamui (Excerpt), pg. 202
• 23. Song of the Young God Okikurmi (Dream Song), pg. 209
• 24. Song of the Younger Sister of the Owl God, pg. 214
• 25. Song of the Younger Sister of Okikurmi, pg. 230
• Introduction to Part II, pg. 239
• 26. Lullaby, pg. 240
• 27. Song of a Blood-Red Bird (A Woman of Menash), pg. 243
• 28. Song of a Human Woman, pg. 247
• 29. Song of a Human Woman, pg. 254
• 30. Song of the Woman of Shinutapka, pg. 261
• 31. Woman’s Epic: Repunnot-un-kur, pg. 269
• 32. The Woman of Poi-Soya, pg. 300
• 33. The Epic of Kotan Utunnai, pg. 366
• Index, pg. 413