Ainu Beliefs
A short look at the historical faith and worship of the Ainu people.
The Traditional Ainu Faith
The historic Ainu practiced an animistic and polytheistic faith that recognizes a spiritual power within all things. The full meaning and practices of this faith are preserved by Ainu elders. It recognizes a sacred life force, or ramat, housed within each living being, natural force, and object in the world. Ramat is an extension of a greater god, or a kamuy, who chooses to visit the world of humans in the form of animals, plants, items, diseases, and more. Once a creature dies or an object breaks, that ramat returns to its kamuy. It leaves its body behind, without remorse, as a gift to humankind. So long as people are grateful for this gift and treat it with respect, the kamuy will return again.
The Iyomante Ritual
This belief is most famously seen through the Iyomante, or bear-sending ritual. When Ainu hunters found a mother bear in her den, they took her cubs home to be raised within the village. Women cared for the bears like children, including reportedly nursing them if needed. Once the bears reached maturity, they were ritually killed and eaten. This ceremony was not seen as cruel or frightening for the bear. Instead, the Ainu treated the animal as a revered guest, including offering it food and entertainment. They hoped that the bear would return to the spirit world pleased with its gifts and eager to come back soon.
The Ainu Afterlife
This dynamic between humans and the natural world governed nearly every aspect of historic Ainu life. They also recognized ancestral spirits moving through and influencing the world. Unlike most other beings, humans possess an individual life force that moves on to a similar spiritual life in Kamuy Moshir, the realm of the gods. The prosperity of a family in the afterlife depends on the prayers and offerings left for them by their living descendants. By following these rites, Ainu parents taught their children to look after them in the afterlife in turn. Neglected spirits, meanwhile, may return to the living world to cause misfortune.
Worship in Traditional Ainu Life
The Ainu saw many different kamuy shaping the world around them. A home’s central fire, for example, housed the goddess Kamuy Fuchi, who protected the family and guided souls during birth and death. Repun Kamuy, frequently depicted as an orca, controlled the sea and the fortunes of fishermen. Everything from bears to trees to entire houses expressed a deity in this way. Women could offer libations to the gods but generally did not take part in worship. Men offered gifts to the kamuy and spirits through inau, or carved willow sticks, and prayer. Inau adorned their homes and sacred fences known as nusa, which were also decorated with the skulls of bears. These inau represented living entities in their own right. Additionally, dogs were closely associated with the bear kamuy and thought to act as spiritual messengers.
Modern Religions and Worship in Ainu Culture
Today, Ainu people follow a number of different religions. While many continue to practice their older faith, others have converted to Buddhism, Shinto, and Christianity. In some cases, families observe both the traditional Ainu faith alongside another, a practice known as syncretism.
Further Reading:
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References
Batchelor, John. The Ainu and Their Folk-Lore. Religious Tract Society. 1901.
Munro, Neil Gordon. Ainu Creed and Cult. Routledge. 2013.
Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. Illness and Healing Among the Sakhalin Ainu. Cambridge University Press. 2014.
Siddle, Richard. Race, Resistance, and the Ainu of Japan. Routledge. 2012.
Sjoberg, Katarina. The Return of Ainu: Cultural Mobilization and the Practice of Ethnicity in Japan. Routledge. 2013.
“The Ainu People.” Ainu History and Culture, Ainu Museum, www.ainu-museum.or.jp/en/study/eng01.html.
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