Aug.
2003, Xene #35
Prayers at Poroto Kotan: A night
with the Ainu
By Vanessa Fortyn
 
An inaw is burnt in offering to the
fire god. |
I remember hearing an Australian aborigine remarking
upon the sad irony that white Australians study European
and Asian languages at school, and boast that they
can say hello and goodbye in many different languages,
but most of them can't think of a single aboriginal
word and its meaning.
This kind of story is not restricted to Australia.
Throughout the world, indigenous and minority languages
and cultures are threatened with extinction. It is
estimated that in the next hundred years, fifty to
ninety percent of the worlds languages will disappear.
The situation is serious. For centuries, indigenous
peoples have been forced to reject their traditions,
native tongues and customs, and assimilate with a
dominant culture and language. Assimilation has never
been easy. In most countries where colonization has
taken place, indigenous people face social difficulties
and discrimination. After generations of seeing their
culture and heritage undermined, oppressed and dislocated,
native peoples have often been left in identity limbo,
torn between two cultures. Indigenous groups in many
countries recently have become more vocal, raising
issues of political rights, land rights and environmental
protection while trying to save their cultures and
languages. By drawing attention to themselves and
their unique traditions, indigenous people aim to
foster pride in younger generations and ultimately
preserve their ancestral legacies.
The Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan. They
lived in different tribal groups in northern Tohoku,
Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The word
ainu means human, and they were hunters, gatherers
and seafarers. There are a number of different theories
about the age of Ainu culture; however, it is generally
agreed it reached its height in the 13th and 14th
centuries. The Ainu traded goods with the Japanese,
but as the Japanese expanded northwards from the 1400s,
they came more and more into conflict with the Ainu.
In Hokkaido, three major battles were fought, in 1457,
1669 and 1789. Each time the Ainu were defeated. In
1789, after the Battle of Kunashiri - Menashi, they
fell completely under Japanese control. During the
Meiji era (1868 - 1912) the Ainu were forced to assimilate
into Japanese culture and were forbidden to follow
their traditions and customs. They were also made
to abandon their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and turn
to agriculture under the auspices of the 1899 Hokkaido
Aborigine Protection Act. The Act classified the Ainu
as former aborigines, legally differentiating them
from ethnic Japanese. This act was not repealed until
1997. Over the years, forced assimilation and intermarriage
have weakened ties to traditions, while discrimination
or the threat of it has led many Ainu descendents
to deny their ancestry. It is only recently that laws
have been enacted toward preserving Ainu culture.
Although you may not know it, opportunities to learn
more about Ainu culture are within easy reach of Sapporo.
Just out of Shiraoi, on the shore of lake Poroto (big
lake), is an Ainu historical village, Poroto Kotan
(village by a big lake). Guarding the entrance is
a sixteen-meter-tall statue of kotan kor kur (the
head of the village). Opened in 1984, the site has
a number of reconstructed Ainu buildings, including
the fascinating Ainu Museum. The museum curator Miyuki
Muraki is one of those responsible for managing the
largest collection of Ainu artifacts in Japan.
I have come to the village to experience the native
culture of Hokkaido firsthand. I am fortunate enough
to be shown around the museum by Ms. Muraki before
being, ushered towards the village's highlight. Every
night from 8.45 to 9.30 p.m. until August 28, the
historical village is putting on Poroto Kotan no Yoru,
an evening performance of traditional Ainu song, dance
and prayer. The performance offers visitors a glimpse
of another aspect of Japan, and an insight into an
interesting, rich and spiritual culture. It is held
in a replica of a cise, a traditional Ainu home made
of grass. The cise consists of one long room with
a hearth in the center, around which Ainu families
conducted many of their rituals and domestic activities.
Ainu make inaws (sacred paryers sticks)
The Saroruncikap Rimse dance
The Emusi Rimse dance
|
Xene staffers and other visitors have the pleasure
of attending the presentation, and are welcomed into
the cise by Ainu performers dressed in elaborately
embroidered ruunpe (robes). A fire burns brightly
in the hearth, and satcep (smoked, dried salmon) hangs
from the rafters. The evening is hosted by Ikuo Yamamaru,
who takes the role of ekasi (Ainu elder). His great-grandfather,
Sankekur Yamamaru, who was also ekasi, may be seen
in a photograph in the museum. (The photo shows a
venerable, white-bearded Mr. Yamamaru wearing a ceremonial
headdress and clutching a sword.) Ikuo Yamamaru's
soft-spoken voice fills the cise as he explains each
Ainu activity. He starts by demonstrating how the
Ainu prayed. Seated around the fire, he and the other
performers complete a number of ritual prayer motions
with quiet deliberation. One man makes an inaw (a
sacred prayer stick) by taking a pointed stick, peeling
off the bark, and running a sharp knife down it to
produce a cluster of curled shavings at the blunt
end. Later they burn the inaw and give an offering
of sake to the god of fire. The Ainu believe that
kamuy (gods) are found in everything in the natural
world, from the sun, moon, water and fire to animals,
plants, and even human tools and implements. Spirits
leave the world of the gods and take physical form
to work in the world of the Ainu. The Ainu pray to
the gods on many occasions and for many reasons, such
as to show appreciation, to ask for something, or
to inform the gods about the human world. Rituals
are performed and offerings are made for when the
gods return to the spirit world. A special ceremony,
iomante, is held when gods have completed their work
in the world and their spirit is sent back to the
world of the gods. (More on this later.)
After the prayer, a woman plays the mukkuri, a traditional
Ainu instrument shaped like a tiny oar with string
tied through the wide end. By pulling the string the
woman is able to make a humming sound that she amplifies
by putting the mukkuri close to her mouth, moving
her lips to vary the musical cadence. The sound resembles
that made by a Jew's harp, an instrument that also
uses the mouth as a resonator, commonly played in
folk or bush music. You can purchase this simple instrument
at the Ainu museum. (Also see the Xene Presents page.)
Following
the mukkuri performance, we listen to some Ainu singing.
First, three women sing Upopo - a song that involves
repeating and harmonizing rounds of short choruses.
The women sit kneeling around a large round lacquered
lid, which they beat methodically with their hands
while their melody rings through the cise. Upopo is
traditionally performed as an upbeat prelude to different
dances, and the audience is encouraged to join in
by clapping to the beat. After the Upopo, a woman
sings a lilting Ainu lullaby to a baby strapped to
her back. Pacing the room and patting the baby behind
her, she sings and makes soothing sounds. In Ainu
culture, until babies were two or three years old
and had gained the strength of a toddler, they were
given derogatory temporary names, which served to
ward off evil spirits and ill health. What evil spirit
would want to claim the life of a child called si-on
(rotten turd) or poy-si (little turd)? When a child
was given his or her real name, it was often chosen
on the basis of the child's habits or behavior. Alternatively,
a child was named after an event or a hope for the
future.
Succeeding the lullaby is a series of Ainu dances.
Three women present Saroruncikap Rimse, the dance
of the crane. Rimse refers to a song and dance combination,
while saroruncikap breaks down as sar (swamp) or (that
place), un (exists there), cikap (bird). The women
draw their outer robes over their heads, with their
arms bent, holding the lower corners of the robes
with their hands to form wings. They chant, clap and
flap their arms in a startling but lively performance.
It is then the men's turn to dance, and they begin
Emusi Rimse, a sword dance, the purpose of which is
to intimidate evil spirits. It is an aggressive, vigorous
dance that involves the men stamping their feet, shouting
belligerently, and crossing swords. Impressive stuff.
To finish off the ritual dances, the performers form
a circle and begin to sing and dance the iomante,
the ceremony for sending back the spirit of a slaughtered
bear to the world of the gods. The bear is a very
important god who provides the Ainu with meat and
fur. In return, when a bear is killed, the Ainu must
send its spirit back in a festive atmosphere with
much singing and dancing. In the intimate atmosphere
of the cise, the heartfelt singing and rhythmic dancing
of the iomante invoke centuries of Ainu spiritualism
and interconnection with nature. It is a moving way
to end the evening.
As
a final treat for the audience, one of the dried salmon
is taken down from the rafters and sliced with a kind
of guillotine. This traditional Ainu winter food is
offered to the god of fire, and then to us. It is
delicious, rather like beef jerky. We begin to move
outside, where fires mark the pathway through the
village. I happily accept more salmon and a cup of
steaming mountain herb tea, which hits the spot on
that cold night in Shiraoi. It has been a memorable
night, and I leave Potoro Kotan with a greater respect
and understanding of the Ainu. I also feel eager to
spread the word about this intriguing culture, which
I hope will live on.
To get to Poroto Kotan, take the free bus from one
of several hotels in Noboribetsu at 8 p.m. Or take
a JR train from JR Sapporo Station to Shiraoi. You
can also take an express train (tokkyu) from Sapporo
to Tomakomai, and change for the local to Shiraoi.
Potoro Kotan is a ten-minute walk from the station.
There is no return train to Sapporo after the performance
ends, but there are ryokan and campgrounds in Shiraoi,
and the area has some pleasant nature walks.
For more on the Ainu museum at Poroto Kotan, access
http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html
or the Smithsonian's wonderful interactive website
at
http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/ainu/l
For a glimpse at the Makkuri, try World Instruments
at
http://www.asza.com/ijmukkuri.shtml
Ainu Events
Sometime between Jan. and March
Inkar-us-pe Ainu Culture Festival:
011-862-1841 (Sapporo-shi Seikatsu-kan). Place: Sapporo
Feb. 15 (scheduled)
Si-sir-mu-ka Ainu Festival:
01457-2-2221 (Biratori-cho). Place: Biratori
May
Kotan nomi (Spring Village Festival):
0144-82-3914 (Ainu Museum). Place: Shiraoi
Mid. Aug.
Sinnurappa (Ritual mass of ancestors):
0144-82-3914 (Ainu Museum). Place: Shiraoi
Aug. 20
Cip-sanke (Ritual ceremony of boating downstream):
01457-2-2221 (Biratori-cho). Place: Biratori
Beginning of Sept.
Asir-Cep-nomi (Ritual ceremony to welcome new salmon):
011-862-1841 (Sapporo-shi Seikatsu-kan). Place: Sapporo
Sept.
Pet kamuynomi (Ritual ceremony to welcome new salmon):
0144-82-3914 (Ainu Museum). Place: Shiraoi
Oct.
Kotan nomi (Fall Village Festival):
0144-82-3914 (Ainu Museum). Place: Shiraoi
Marimo Festival:
0154-67-2727 (Akan Ainu Kotan). Place: Akan
