Ritual Deification Okinawa

JapanReview,2008,20:275339
BecomingKami?DiscourseonPostmortem
RitualDeicationintheRyukyus
EvgenyS.Baxsuiiv
RussianInstituteforCulturalResearch,Moscow,RussianFederation
ControversyovertheoriginofJapanesekamiwhethertheybeganasna-
turedeitiesorasancestorshascontinuedinreligiousandculturalstudies
bothinJapanandintheWestforoverahundredyears.HereIcontend
that research data on the death rites, ancestor worship, and concept of
deitiesfoundintheRyukyusshouldbegivenmoreconsiderationinthe
debate. Tis essay deals with the recent (mainly twentieth-century) dis-
courseonpostmortemritualdeicationintheRyukyus,wherethenewly
deadareelevatedtothestatusofancestorsanddeities.Italsoreexamines
investigations into the nature of these ancestral deities. After reviewing
dierent views expressed in this discourse, I conclude that the standard
theoryaboutdeicationofthedeadintheRyukyusisinvalid.Tattheory
proposesthattheancestralspiritswhohavepassedthroughthenalthirty-
third-yearmemorialceremonylosetheirpersonalitiesandbecomedeied,
andeventuallytheycometobeworshipedattheutaki-typeshrinesinthe
communalagrarianritualsforthewholevillageorisland.Iarguethatthe
ancestorsdeiedatthelastmemorialservicewithinthehouseholdances-
torworshipparadigmandthedeitiesofthevillageshrineworship(deities
whoareoftencalledancestordeities)representtwodierentconcepts.
AnoldformoftheRyukyuanancestorcultismorelikelytoberepresented
by such festivals as shinugu, unjami/ungami, arasachi, shibasashi, dunga,
tuurumi, hamaori, umiri, and uyaan/uyagan or by other traditional rites
thatrevealtheindigenousritualelevationofthedeadspirittothestatus
ofancestraldeity.
Keywords: R\ux\us, Oxixawa, xaxi, oiaru iiruais, roxns, oounii
nuiiai, sixxorsu, noo\, soui, axcisroi woisuii, xoiruai\ ran-
iirs, iosrxoirix oiiiicariox, axcisriai oiiriis, oruii woiio,
uraxisuiixis,visirixcoiiriis
275
276 EvgenyS.Baxsuiiv
ControversyovertheoriginofJapanesekamiwhethertheybeganasnaturedeitiesor
asancestorshascontinuedinreligiousandculturalstudiesbothinJapanandintheWest
foroverahundredyears.TsudaSkichiheldthesameopinionasW.G.Astonexpressedin
hisShinto:TeWayoftheGods,publishedin1905:theoriginofkamiworshipcanbetraced
to nature worship (Hori and Ooms 1970, p. 6). Te classic hypothesis in favor of ances-
tor worship was formulated by Yanagita Kunio (Yanagita 1970). Recently, however, many
scholarsseemnottosupportthisview.TakeshiMatsumae,infact,believesthatthereismuch
evidencetothecontrary(Matsumae1993,pp.33638).AsfortheRyukyuancontext,Iha
FuyuusedtowriteaboutamixedconceptofdivinityintheRyukyus
1
ancestralgodsand
thosegodsoftheelementscommingledwitheachother;healsoarguedthattheancestral
godsoftheShroyalfamilybecamethecommongodsofalltheislands(Kamata1974,p.
59).ResearchersofJapaneseancestorworshippointoutthatwhenitcomestoidentication
ofancestralspiritswithkami,wetouchuponaproblemofanextremelycomplexnature
(Berentsen1985,p.95).
IbelievethatthediscussionontheoriginofJapanesekamiandtheirnaturewouldbe
enhancedifscholarsmoreroutinelytookintoaccounttheresearchdataondeathrites,ances-
torworship,andtheconceptofdeitiesintheRyukyus.YanagitahimselfinhisessayAbout
OurAncestorssupposedthatmoredeniteexamplescanbefoundonvarioussouthern
islandswithcertainsmalldierenceswhich...wouldbeprotabletocompare(Yanagita
1988,p.119).
A number of important considerations about death rites, ancestor worship, and the
concept of deities in the Ryukyus have appeared in Western-language publications (Beil-
levaire1998;Burd1952;Guerreiro1995;Hagunauer1954[1977];Kaneko1964;Kokubu
1963;Kreiner1968,2004;Lebra1966;Mabuchi1976a,1976b,1980;Newell1980;Nogu-
chi1966;Ota1987;Ouwehand1985;Pearson1969;Rokkum1998;Tanaka1974,1977).
2
A comprehensive treatment, however, has yet to be done. Although this article makes no
claimtoprovidesuchacomprehensivetreatment,itwillattemptasummaryofthesevaluable
contributionstotheliterature,manyofwhicharescatteredinperiodicals,outdatededitions
withalimitedcirculation,orunpublisheddoctoraltheses.
Two formativeessays published roughly one hundred yearsago provided the starting
pointformodernanalysesofthedeathritual:RobertHertzsAContributiontotheStudyof
theCollectiveRepresentationofDeath(1907)andArnoldvanGennepsTeRitesofPas-
sage(1909)(vanGennep1960;Hertz1960).Hertzdrewmuchofhismaterial(e.g.,double
burialsoftheDayakofBorneo)fromIndonesia,wheredeathritualshavemuchincommon
withotherareasofSoutheastandEastAsia,includingtheRyukyusandJapan.
3
Researchondoubleburialsandsecondarydisposalofthedeadclearlydemonstratesthe
complexities of death rituals. Tis research has continued to be pursued in modern cross-
culturalstudiesintheWest(Rosenblattetal.1976;Schroeder2001),althoughtheRyukyu-
ancontextisrarelytreatedinthem.
4
TelatestresearchonRyukyuandeathrites,ancestor
worship,andtheconceptofdeitiesislargelyunfamiliartonon-Japanese-speakingaudience
because it has been conducted mainly by Japanese and local Okinawan scholars (Akamine
1989, 1991, 1996a, 1996b; Sai 2004; Heshiki 1995; Higa 1999; Nakama 1989; Naka-
ma and Ebara 1983; Okinawa ken Chiikishi Kygikai 1989; Sakai 1987; Uematsu 1986,
1988,1993).TewritinginJapaneseofthesescholars,nottomentionthecontributionby
277 BecomingKami?
Fig1.MapoftheRyukyuanculturearea(NanseiIslands).
Kat Masaharu to the multi-volume Okinawa daihyakka jiten (Encyclopedia of Okinawa,
publishedin1983),constitutesthemainbodyofthemostimportantnewpublicationson
thetopic.TisessayaimstohelpllthescholarlylacunabetweenthosewhoreadJapanese
witheaseandthosewhodonot.
InarecentJapanese-languagepublication(Baksheev2006a)aswellasapaperinEng-
lish (Baksheev 2006c), I have focused on the liminal period between life and death in the
ritualprocessofdeicationofthedeadintheRyukyus.Tosestudiestookthestandpoint
of van Genneps and Hertzs theories on a tripartite structure of death rituals: separation
(disintegration)liminality(transition)incorporation(synthesis).Tisessaydealswiththe
recentdiscourseonthepostmortemritualdeicationintheRyukyus(primarilyinthetwen-
tieth-century),wherethenewlydeadareelevatedtothestatusofancestorsanddeities.Ialso
examinethenatureoftheseancestraldeities.
5
TeRyukyuanDeathRiteswithinaRegionalContext
Bothsingle(ichijis),ornal,anddouble(nijs),ormultiple,disposal
(burial)methodswerepracticedintheRyukyus.Tesingle(nal)disposalmethodincluded
theabandonmentofthecorpseinadesolateplace,inthejungle,onacli,inacave(so-called
fs,lit.windburial),orinatomb.Suchpracticesweresaidtohavebeenmotivated
byanextremefearofthedead(Kaneko1964,p.25).
Early Ryukyuan sources such as omoro (Ok. umuru/umui)
6
songs are com-
pletelysilentaboutdeathandthedisposalofthedeadandancestors.ShipwreckedKoreans
whospentsixteenmonthsof14771478invariousislandsoftheRyukyusreportedthatthe
nativesdisposedoftheirdeadinadesolatearea(specicallyinnaturalcaves)designatedfor
this specic purpose near, but not in, the village. Tey also reported that the bodies were
individuallyplacedinwoodenconsoronboards,orwerewrappedinstrawmats,depend-
ingupontheregionalcustom.Inaddition,ratherthanbeingburiedtheywereinsteadleftto
rot.TeKoreansdonottellushowthepeopletreatedthebonesaftertheeshdisintegrated,
orwhatthenativesthoughtaboutthedead(cf.Kaneko1964,p.28;Tanaka1974,p.33).
Terefore,weareunabletosayforsurewhichdisposalmethod,single(nal)ordouble(mul-
tiple),wasobservedbytheKoreans.
Single(nal)anddouble(multiple)disposalmethodsintheRyukyus
7
andtheirorigin
andrelationtothetwo-tombsystem(rybosei)ofJapanproperhavebeendiscussed
by many scholars, among them Kokubu Naochi, Kaneko Erika, SakuraiTakutar, Harada
Toshiaki,MogamiTakayoshi,YamaoriTetsuo,andShintaniTakanori(Kaneko1964,pp.25,
2829;Mogami1980;Shintani1991,p.263;Suzuki2000;Sai2004,pp.2731;Sakurai
1972;Yamaori2004),buttheconclusiontheyreachdoesnotconstituteevidence.Someof
themconsiderboththeRyukyusandJapanproperasrecipientsofrepeatedculturalinuence
fromthecoastalareasofSouthChina(Kaneko1964,p.29).Othersdenyanydirectrelation-
shipbetweenthemultipledisposalmethod(includingthebone-washing[senkotsu]
ritual)intheRyukyusandthetwo-tombsystemofJapanproper(Shintani1991,p.263).
Exposureofthedeadbodyastherstphaseofthemultiple(double)disposalmethod,
andthedepositionofthecleanedbonesafterthebone-washingritualasconstitutingthe
secondphase,werewidelydistributedinmanyregionsextendingfromEastAsiatoSoutheast
Asia, including the Nansei Islands (see LeBar 19711975; Sai 2004; Baksheev 2005). Ac-
cordingtoFujiiMasao,thebasicideaofthisdoubledisposalmethodwasthatthecleansing
of bones had the meaning of promoting of the dead to ancestors (ancestral spirit); thus
depositionofthecleanedboneswasthelastmortuaryritual.Later,bothChineseritesbased
onBuddhismandConfucianismandJapaneseriteswereimported.Tesenumerousstreams
inuencedtheoriginaldisposalmethodontheNanseiIslands.Asaresult,theperiodofdei-
cationofthedeadtheirconversionintoancestorsgraduallyextended.Telocalvariations
inthedisposalofthedeadasseenindierentregionsoftheRyukyusisduetothedierences
inhowtheseinuenceswereadapted.Atrst,theceremonyoftheforty-ninthdaywasestab-
lished.Later,ChineseritesbasedonConfucianmemorialservicesheldonthehundredthday
andtherstandthirdanniversariesofdeathwereadopted.InthesixteenthcenturyJapanese
ritualmemorialservicesheldontheseventh,thirteenth,seventeenth,twenty-fthandthirty-
thirdanniversariesofdeathwereadoptedandadjustedaccordingtotheconstructionofthe
tombs which developed around that time. As a result, a conception emerged that saw the
interiorofatombasaplaceforpurifyingthespiritofthedeadaswellahomeforanancestor
spirit;therewas,thatis,acertainsymbolismofthespace(Fujii1989,p.320).
TepresentformofancestorworshipintheRyukyusissupposedtohavebeentrans-
mittedfromChinatogetherwithBuddhismduringthefourteenthcentury.Itwasnotuntil
279 BecomingKami?
the seventeenth century, however, that ancestor worship became prevalent throughout the
Ryukyus(OkinawanGovernment1992).
RyukyuanTombs,TheirInteriorStructure,andPostmortemStatusoftheDead
Asaplaceofworshipofthedeadandancestralspirits,thefamilyorkingrouptombis
equallyasimportantastheancestralhouseholdaltar.Severalvarietiesoftherstphaseofthe
multiple(double)disposalprocedureareknownintheRyukyus:(1)placementofthecon
inthejunglewherethedangerofdesecrationbyanimalsmayhaveresultedintheerection
of(2)awoodenorreedhut,(3)astoneorwoodenfence,(4)acairn,(5)astonechamber
aroundthecon,or(6)itstransferintoanaturalorarticialcaveclosedobyastone,a
woodendoor,orawallofcoralstones(Kaneko1964,p.26).
AccordingtoNakamaGish,originallythereweretwoseparateplacesofburialinthe
Ryukyus:aprimaryburialsiteforthenaturaldisappearanceofthesoftpartsofthebody(Ok.
shiruhirashi/shiruhirashimee)
8
andapermanentburialforthedisposalofthecleansedbones
(Jp. nkotsuba ; Ok. tooshii ).
9
Later these two stages merged into one tomb
eithercreatingasingledemarcatedspace,ortwochambersplacedsidebyside
10
(cf.Heshiki
1995,p.58;Higa1999,p.214).TemajorityofOkinawantombshostbothprimaryand
permanent burials, but in some localities they are performed in dierent tombs (village
tombsofKunigashira-son,andmunchuuclantombsofItoman)(Uematsu1988,p.164).
Burialcomplexesconsistingofseveralprimarytombsandonepermanenttombcanbeseen
even today. Originally primary tombs and permanent tombs belonged to dierent burial
methodsandweretermeddierently.
11
TerearethreegeneralcategoriesoftombsintheRyukyus,dierentiatedbyformand
structure:theturtle-back(Ok.kaaminakuubaka;Jp.kame[no]kbaka)forthekin
groupinterment,thegable(Ok.faafuubaka,Jp.hafubaka)forhouseholduse,and
the cave (Ok. tuuru or gamabaka; Jp. yokoana
or dketsubaka ) type which is an area
tunneled into a hillside (gs. 4-7). Concerning the
ownership and usage of tombs at least four kinds
are distinguished: (1) family tombs (kazokubaka
); (2) clan tombs (Ok. munchuubaka, Jp.
Fig2.StandardinteriorstructureofaRyukyuanturtle-back
typetomb,withasingledemarcatedchamberforbothprimary
andpermanentburials.(AdaptedfromNakamaandEbara1983,
p.157.)
Legend:1.Telowestplatformneartheentranceofthetomb,a
depositoryfortheconforthenaturaldisappearanceofthesoft
partsofthebody(Ok.shiruhirashi).
2-5,7-8.Severalhigherledges,onwhichthebone-jarswiththe
cleansedbonesareplaced.
6.Tehighestplatformattherearofthetombwithapit(Ok.
gushoo,thefuturelife),ageneralossuary.
9.Outletgroovefortheuidsfromthebody.
monchbaka ); (3) common tombs (Ok. muyeebaka, Jp. moaibaka ); and
(4).villagetombs(murabaka)(NakamaandEbara1983,p.132)(gs.8-11).Mun-
chuutombsareusedbyakingroup;commontombsareusedbyseveralfamilies;andvil-
lagetombsareusedbythepeopleofoneorseveralhamlets(Kato2004,p.20).
Tebasicinteriorstructureoftombswasthesamethroughoutallsociety,fromaristocrat
tocommoner.TestandardinteriorstructureofaRyukyuantomb(withasingledemarcated
chamberbothforprimaryandpermanentburials)isdesignedinsuchawaythattheposition
of the physical remains should correspond to the changes in the postmortem status of the
dead(gs.2,12).Telowestplatformneartheentranceofthetombisdesignedasadeposi-
toryforthecon;severalhigherledgesreceivethebone-jars;andthehighestplatformatthe
rearofthetombwithapit(Ok.gushoo,Jp.gosh;afterlife,thefuturelife)
12
servesas
ageneralossuary(Uematsu1986,p.90;Kaneko1964,p.25;Newell1980,p.30;Ouwehand
1985,p.181).AccordingtoFujii,thesymbolismofthespacewithinthetombisseenin
thedevelopmentoftheritualswhichservetodemarcatetheprocessofthedeceasedpersons
losingofpersonality,from(a)depositionoftheconintheshiruhirashiplacethrough(b)
senkotsuritualandreassemblingofthecleansedbonesintoabone-jarplacedontheshelffor
thelayingofremainstorest(nkotsudana;Ok.tooshii)to(c)joiningtheanonymous
hostofancestraldeitieswhohavealreadyreceivedthethirty-third-yearservice(Fujii1989,
p.320).
TePrimary(Temporary)Funeral
Te Ryukyuan death rites consist of the primary temporary funeral, which is carried
outsoonafterdeath,andthemortuaryrites,whichincludealongseriesofmemorialservices
aswellasthesecondaryburialofcleanbones.Whensomebodydies,thebodyisusuallydis-
posedofontheverydayofdeathorthedayfollowing(Lebra1966,p.196).Teburialitself
takesplacewhenthetideisebbingtodiminishtheimpactofthedeath.Sincethedeadbody
isseenasasourceofpollution,duringtheprimaryfuneraltheconisplacedinthelowest
positioninthecenterofthetomb.Onetemporarymemorialtablet,sandals,asta,ahatand
strawcloakorumbrella,alantern,andfoodanddrinkareplacedatthetombdoorforthe
deceasedonhislongroadtotheotherworld(Uematsu1993,p.268)(g.13).Infunerals
on Hateruma (Yaeyama islands)
13
the deceased is addressed with the words: So now you
havebecomeanuyapsitu.
14
...Wearesendingyouoverthegreatroad,thewideroad,the
good,theeasyroadofthehereafter(gushoo)toyourgrave(sinjumutu),totheplaceoftheuya
psitu(Ouwehand1985,p.188).Duetoallthesethingstheprimaryfuneralhasanimageof
travel,orvoyagetotheotherworld;thisimagesigniesthetransitional(liminal)statusof
thedeceasedduringthisperiod.
Teprimaryfuneralspurposeistoseparatephysicallythedeadfromtheliving;aseries
ofsecondaryritesfollowingthefuneral(thememorialservicesandthesecondaryburial)have
the purpose of transforming the spirit of the dead person into an individual ancestor and
eventuallyintoadeiedancestor(Ota1987,p.129).OnIkemaisland(Miyakoislands),itis
believedthatthedeadbecomekamiontheverydayofdeath.However,atrstthedeceasedis
notafull-edged,ortruekami(Jp.manokami)achievementofthatstateoccurs
only on the ninetieth daybut rather a divine human (Ok. kamsuto ) (Nakamatsu
1968,p.62).
281 BecomingKami?
Tose who have met unnatural death (ijshi )
15
and children younger than
sevenyearsoldreceivedierenttreatment,dependingonthelocality.Bothmustbeburied
outsideandnotinsidethegravesite(g.14).Itisfearedthattheformerwillbecomeawan-
deringsoul.Whenapersondiesataplaceotherthanhisnativehouse,hissoulisthought
possibly to be lost and thus in danger of becoming a ghost. A young child is not given a
tablet and the memorial service is organized dierently. However, after bone washing is
completed,theurnwiththeirbonesisplacedinthemaingrave(Ouwehand1985,pp.188,
190).Bycontrast,priestesseswerenotonlyaccordedaspecialtomb,butinconsequenceof
thebeliefthattheyascendtoheavenbodyandsoul,werealsoexemptedfromthegeneral
bone-washingritual(Kaneko1964,p.27).
MemorialServices
ResearcherspointoutthatthemortuaryritesinJapanandothersocietiesinAsiain-
volvethereincorporationofaspirit[ofthedeceased]withitsancestrallineageortherebirth
ofaspiritinanotherworld(Bremen1998,p.131).TisisthecaseintheRyukyus,wherea
persondoesnotceasetoexistwhenhediesbutjoinsthehostofdeitiesofcountlesspreceding
generations.Formanyyears,however,thespiritofthedeceasedissomewhereinbetweenthe
worldofthelivingandtheworldofdeities.Fortwoorthreegenerations(usuallyforthirty-
threeyears)thedeceasedwillbeworshiped,consulted,andprayedtoasanindividual(Burd
1952,p.271).
Afterdeaththesoulofthedeceasedpassesthroughseveralstagesuntilitisunitedwith
the other ancestral deities. Ouwehand, following Ooms concept of the Japanese double
domesticlifecycle,describesthememorialservicesintheRyukyusasaseriesofritesdepas-
sage,successivestagesonaritualprocessintendedtosocializetheputugi
16
soul,comparable
tothesocializationprocessembodiedinthelivingwithinthehouseholdcommunity.Tis
processcontinuesuntilthetwenty-fthandthirty-thirdanniversaries(hereagaincomparable
totheagesatwhichoneofthelivingestablishesanewphaseoflife)itreachesitsclimaxand
theputugistatusisconvertedintothatofthekan,
17
thefull-edgedancestor(Ouwehand
1985,p.192).
ElaboratefuneralsandmemorialservicescametotheRyukyusintheformofChinese
ConfucianancestralritualsandBuddhism,alongwiththetraditionofplacingdetermined
periods between the anniversaries of a death. A series of memorial services can last many
years.Firstthereisamourningperiodofforty-ninedaysafterthedeath,consistingofseven
seventh-day ceremonies.
18
Tese seventh-day ceremonies are called nankasai (Jp.
nanokamatsuri);therstofthemiscalledhachinanka(rstnanka),arananka
(newnanka),orpitunanka (nankaofahumanbeing,orseventh-dayceremony
ofahumanbeing)(NakamaandEbara1983,p.88).Terstandtheseventhseventh-day
ceremoniesaremoreelaboratethanothers,andaspecialemphasisisplacedontheseventh
seventh-dayceremony(shichinanka)whichisalsocalledshinjuukunichime(see
g.15).
RitesoftheForty-ninthDay
Amourningperiodoffortyninedaysafterthedeathisaliminalperiod
19
ofuncertainty
anduneasiness:thesoulofthedeceasedhasnotsettleddownyetandisstillwanderingbe-
tweenthetombandthehouse(seeTable1).Fearofthewanderingsoulswillonlysubside
after the forty-ninth day (Ouwehand 1985, p. 188). On Miyako there is also a belief that
whenapersondies,hissoulleavesthebodyandgoestotheundergroundworldcalledniija
(Jp.nirai).Teeshandbonesburiedinagravedecayandbecomepunishinnikushin(the
spiritofthebonesandesh).Evenifthesoulofthedeceasedgoestotheafterworld,for
awhile,itisnotawarethatitsownerhasdied.Tesoulofthedeadwantstoremaininthis
worldtotrytocallonhisfamily,relatives,andfriends.Asthissoulmovesbackandforth
betweentheafterworldandthisworld,
20
othersoulstrytostealtheirwayintothisworld.Te
souloftherecentlydeceasedpersonisinaverydangerousandpollutedstatecalledbusozu.
Suchacontaminatedstatecanlastfromforty-ninetoonehundreddaysafterdeath(Takigu-
chi1984,pp.3778).
Asforthebodyofthedeceased,Iwouldliketodrawattentiontothebeliefaboutthe
naturalseparationoftheputrefyingeshfromboneswithinthetombbeforetheforty-ninth
dayafterdeath.TisbeliefisfoundthroughouttheNanseiislands,butseemsnottobewell
known amongWestern scholars. For example, the people ofYoron island believe that on
theforty-ninthdaytheeshseparatesfrombones,andduringthisperiodtheeshisbeing
putreedandthedeceasedissueringgreatly(Kato1977,p.51).Onthisday,forty-nine
cakesofspecialwhitemochi(shiromochi)
21
areoeredatthetomb;thisisexplainedas
beingbecausethehumanbodyisconstitutedfromforty-ninebones.InKaneshiroofItoman
City(themainislandofOkinawa)theyprepareforty-eightlongmochicakes(bones)and
onebigroundmochicake(askull)(Nakama,Ebara1983,p.89).InHaterumaonthisoc-
casionalargedishwhichholdspunimutsi(Jp.honemochi)symbolizingtheforty-nine
bonesandtheskullisalsooeredinfrontofthehouseholdaltar(Ouwehand1985,p.193).
SeveralsimilarcasesfromdierentlocalitiesoftheRyukyusarecitedbySakai(Sakai1987,
pp.35253).OnTaramaandMinnaislands(Miyakoislands),thefamilyvisitsthegravewith
oeringsontheninthdayafterthedeath,believingthatonthisdaytheeshhasalreadypu-
treedtothestagethataheadseparatesfromthetrunk(Ok.fuguuchi
);thedeceasedneedscareduringthisdicultperiodwhenheisintheprocessofbecoming
trulydead(Uematsu1993,p.263).
During the period before the forty-ninth day the decaying body is considered to be
extremely polluted. Terefore, special care and intensive placation are required during this
period.Forthefamilyofthedeceasedthepollutionissaidtopersist,thereforemembersof
thedeceasedshouseholdvisitthetomb.Inthisintermediatestatethedeceasedhasnotyet
becometrulydeadandisthuscalledanewperson(Ok.imapitu,Jp.imanohito);thatis,
hehasstillnotreachedtheotherworldandremainsonthewaytoit.
Teforty-ninthdaymarksanimportantphaseintheseriesofmemorialservices.
22
In
principle,ontheforty-ninthday(butsometimesonthethird,seventh,twenty-rstorthirty-
fthday),
23
ariteintheRyukyususuallycalledmabuiwakashi(lit.separationofsoul)is
conducted next to the tomb. According to Uematsu, onTarama island, this rite is called
kambitobakaa,separationofthedead(Ok.kambito)fromthe
living(Ok.ikibito)(Uematsu1993,p.247).OnthemainislandofMiyako,this
riteisalsocalledkampitubakaazu,separationofkami[thatis,the
dead,theancestor]fromtheliving(Okamoto1999,p.62).OnIkemaisland,inNoguchis
words, the rite of the parting of the deceased soul from its kin called by the people the
partingofdeitiesandmen(Ok.kan-sutsu-bakyaai;Jp.kamitohitonowakare)isconducted
283 BecomingKami?
onthedayofthedeathoronthethird,fth,oranotherodd-numbereddayafterthedeath,
thesoonerthebetter.Tisdateisselectedbydivination,andthetimingdiersaccordingto
theageofthedeceased(Noguchi1966,p.28;Noguchi1975,p.209).
Teriteofmabuiwakashiiscarriedouttoseparatethedeadspiritfromthelivingsouls
ofthefamilymembers,whoareindangeroffollowingthedeadfamilymember.Itspurpose
istosendthespiritofthedeceased,whichisstilllingeringinthisworld,totheotherworld,
where dead spirits should stay (Akamine 1989, p. 81). Te spirit of the deceased is sum-
monedbyafemaleshamanisticmediumwhotalkstothespirit.OnIkema,amunusunma(or
munusu;Jp.monoshiri,lit.[thosewho]knowthings,i.e.,thosewhopossessknowledge
and divination) performs kankakai (Jp. kamigakari) and is possessed by a spirit of the
dead(Noguchi1975,p.209).OnthemainislandofMiyako,thedeadistoldbythefamily:
Youcannotcomebacktothisworld.Youarenotamemberofmyfamilyanylonger.Do
notcallonme.Gototheworldofthedead(Takiguchi1984,p.38).Onthemainislandof
Okinawa(NagahamaatYomitan),ayutashamanpronouncesamagicspellthatcommands,
Shouldthelivingsoulandthedeadspiritbeseparated,maythedeadspiritnotcomehere
again(Nakama1989,p.243).Tedeceaseduttershisdesiresandfeelingsthroughthesha-
man,andnallyheannounceshisdeparturetotheotherworld(Ota1987,p.131;Kreiner
2003,p.403).InthevillageofKarimataonthemainislandofMiyako,theceremonyonthe
forty-ninthdaywasperformedbyalocalfemaleshaman.Astheauthorheardonmanyocca-
sions,sheisusuallycalledkamkakarya(kangkaariainBurdstranscription)bythepeopleof
Miyako.
24
Inspiteoftheshamanisticauraoftheceremony,itisdesignatedbytheBuddhist
termkaigen(openingthespiritualeyes;attainingenlightenment)(cf.Burd1952,p.
228).Temabuiwakashiceremonyontheforty-ninthdaymarksaturningpoint;thisisthe
dayonwhichthenalseparationofthesouliscelebrated.Alsoontheforty-ninthday,adis-
tributionofthedeceasedsbelongings(katamiwake)amongtherelativesiscarriedout.
Te denite transition to the status of the real dead (putigi, Jp. hotoke, buddha;
uyapsitu;Jp.oyahito,parent-person,humanparent)ismademateriallymanifestonthe
samedaybytheburningofthetemporarymemorialtablet,sandals,andallthefuneralpara-
phernalialeftatthetombdoor(Ouwehand1985,p.194;Uematsu1988,pp.15051).It
meansthatthedeceasedhastraversedalongpathandreachedtheotherworld(Ok.gushoo)
nowbecomingahumanbeingoftheotherworld(Ok.gushoonchuorgushoonumun
) (Uematsu 1988, p. 165). From this point forward the truly dead will live
in the other world until his deication. At this point the deceased does not require meal
oeringseveryday.Fromthispointoeringswillbebroughttothetombonlyonspecialoc-
casions,atannualceremonies(nenki)andforobservancessuchasthejurukunichi,ormiisa
(mii-gusoo),theNewYearsDayoftheDead
25
(sixteenthoftherstmonthofthe
lunarcalendar);theshiimii(Jp.seimei,Ch.qingming)
26
festivalonthemainislandof
Okinawa (between the twenty secondof the second lunar month and the third day of the
thirdlunarmonth);Tanabata,orStarFestival(seventhoftheseventhmonthofthelunar
calendar);andhigan(psingan),thespringandautumnequinoxes.
Finalfuneralceremoniesserveasaculturallimitationonthemourningperiodinmany
societies, investigators have pointed out. Such ceremonies are a public marker of a return
tonormalbehaviorpatternsfortherelativesofthedeceasedaswellasthelargersocialunit.
InKarimataandBoraVillagesonthemainislandofMiyako,thekaigenceremonyonthe
forty-ninthdayendsthemourningperiod(Jp.imiake)andthefamilycanreenter
thesociallifeofthevillagefromwhichtheyhavebeenexcludedthroughoutthisperiod(Burd
1952,p.228;Fujii1989,p.315).IntheRyukyus,mourningisliftedontheforty-ninthday
butmemorialservicesandsecondaryritesarestillcontinued.
TeBone-washingRitualandOtherRitesSeveralYearsafterDeath
Afterthecompletionoftheforty-nine-daymourningperiod,ritesarebasicallylimited
tomemorialservices,whichareusuallyheldontherst,third,seventh,thirteenth,twenty-
rst,twenty-fthandthirty-thirdanniversariesofdeath.Ontheseoccasions,visitsaremade
tothetomb.Teobservancesarebasicallysimilartotheritesheldduringtheforty-ninedays
of mourning(Lebra 1966, p. 199), but memorialserviceson the twenty-rst,twenty-fth
andthirty-thirdanniversariesaredistinguishedfromthepreviousservices(seebelow).
Tree to seven years after death,
27
the secondary burial is carried out. Te so-called
senkotsu(Ok.shinkuchibone-washingritual),
28
whichisrelatedwithsimilarpractices
inmanypartsofEastAsia,SoutheastAsia,andSouthernChina(KoreanPeninsula,Indone-
sia,FukienProvinceofChina,Taiwan)iscarriedout(cf.Sai;Fujii1989,p.319).InJapan
the senkotsu rite is mainly restricted to the Nansei islands, although it is said to have been
widelypracticedpreviouslyintheseashoreregionsofJapanproper.Tisincludesitssouth-
ernboundaryintheYaeyamaislands,andthenorthernboundaryoftheAkusekiandKikai
islands(Tokaraislands),althoughitisnotobservedontheislandsofTanegashimaandYaku
(Shintani1991,p.269;Fujii1989.p.316).
Te bone-washing ritual is conducted often onTanabata (seventh day of the seventh
monthofthelunarcalendar)whichalsomarksthebeginningofthebonfestival.Beforethe
introductionofTanabataitwascarriedoutduringshinuguandunjami/ungamifestivals
(seventh month of the lunar calendar) and arasachi/arashitsu, shibasashi/shibazashi
, and dunga/donga
29
festivals (eighth month of the lunar calendar) (Sakai 1987, pp.
6465).Duringthesenkotsuritualtheconisopened,thebodyiscleanedofanyremains
ofthesoftparts(sometimesasickleisused),andthebonesarewashedinwateroralocal
distilledliquorcalledawamoriandreassembledinabone-jar(gs.16-18)(withthenameof
thedeceasedwrittenonit)whichisplacedatthersthigherledgewithinthetombandwith
timeiselevatedtothenextledges.Thisis,however,onlyonetypeofthesecondarydisposalof
thebodyrelativelywellknown,perhaps,becausepreviouslyitwasusedbythebureaucrats
of the Shuri court. In an abbreviated variant of this type the cleansed bones are just piled
togetherwithinthetomb.Finally,nobone-washingritualisconducted;whenanotherdeath
occursthebonesofthepreviousdeceasedarepushedtotherearofthetomb(Heshiki1995,
pp.60,504).
30
However,aswaspreviouslymentioned,priestesseswereexemptedfromthe
generalbone-washingritualasitwasbelievedthattheybodilyascendedtoheaven.Askami
persons(Ok.kaminchu)theirbodieswerenotthoughttobeasourceofpollution.
Testateofboneswhentheconisopenedhasadeepmeaning.Testatewhenthe
eshdidnotdecayproperlyorthebodyturnedintoamummyisbelievedtoindicateacurse
(tatari)resultingfromthedeceasedoroneofhisfamilyallegedlydoingsomethingwrong.
Inthiscase,peoplesay,Heisstillinthisworld.Onthecontrary,whenthebodyiscleaned
ofallremainsofthesoftpartsandisturnedintobeautifulwhitebonesitistakenasevi-
dencethatthedeadhasascendedtotheskyasadeityduetohisproperbehaviorduringhis
lifetime(Nakamatsu1968,p.64;Nakama1989,p.236).InsomelocationsoftheMiyako
285 BecomingKami?
islands
31
thecleaningofthebonesisconsiderednecessaryifthespiritistobefreetoenterthe
worldofdeities.Ryukyuantermsforthesenkotsuritualhavethemeaningtoclean,topurify
(churakunasun, Jp. kiyoraka ni suru), to embellish (Jp.
utsukushiku suru ), to lighten, to reduce, to alleviate (karukunasun
, Jp. karuku suru ), to whiten (shirarukunasun ,Jp.
shirokusuru).
During the senkotsu ritual the remains are separated from red esh and blood and
transformedintowhiteboneswhichare,asUematsuAkashiargues,thesymbolofthese-
men(Ok.sani,Jp.sane)inheritedfromthefather.Atthispointthebodyisreduced
tobones,whichsymbolizepatrilineality,andthusthedeceasedispromotedtothestatusof
individualancestor(Uematsu1986,p.81;Uematsu1988,pp.140,146,165).
WecandrawaparalleltothemortuaryritesofIndonesia.Inhisstudyoftheaboriginals
ofIndonesia,RobertHertzarguedthatitisnotuntilthebodyhasdecayedthatitcanpass
outoftheliminalstate.Oncethecorporealbodyhasdecayed,thenalceremonyoccurs.Tis
nalceremonymarkstheadmittanceofthesoulofthedeceasedintothelandofthedeadand
issymbolicallyrepresentedbythetransferofthebonesfromthelocationofinitialstorageto
theplaceofsecondaryandnaldisposal.IntheRyukyus,asNakamatsuargues,thedeadcan
becomefull-edgedkami(kanzennakamitonaru)onlywhentheesh
decayscompletely(Nakamatsu1968,p.64).
RitesoftheTirty-TirdYear
Tirty-threeyearsafterdeath,thebonesofthedeceasedarenallyemptiedintoagen-
eralossuaryinthehighestandinnermostpartofthetombwhereallancestralbonesaremixed
togetherandindividualsarenolongerrecalledbyname.Teremainsinsidethetombpass
throughfourphases:
I. Tewanderingdeadwhohasnotyetreachedtheotherworld.
II. Tedeadwhohasreachedtheotherworld.
III. Te dead who has been stripped of esh and blood and turned into
bones.
IV. Teanonymousdeadwhosebonesaremixedwithotheroldbones(Ue-
matsu1988,p.167).
Tisprocesscorrespondstothetreatmentofmemorialtabletsathouseholdancestralaltars
(seebelow).Tusthedeceasedloseshisindividualidentityandjoiningtheanonymoushost
ofancestraldeities.Afterthethirty-thirdyear,thedeceasedisnolongersingledoutforspecial
ritesbutisaccordedthesametreatmentasotherancestorsofthefamily(Lebra1966,p.199).
Tethirty-third-yearservicedemarcatestheindividualancestor(Ok.uyapitu/uyapsitu;Jp.
oyahito) and deied ancestor or ancestral deity (Ok. gansu/gwansu; Jp. ganso,
foundingancestor)(Ota1987.p.119).OnKudakaisland(Okinawaislands)peoplesay
that the spirit of the dead becomes a kami with the thirty-third-year service (Akamine
1996,p.81).
Memorial services are essentially a series of rites of passage, in which the newly dead
personis,stepbyonerousstep,separatedfromthelivingrelativesandpreparedforthefull
ancestralstatusofkami-hood.Tirty-threeyearsbetweenthedeathandthenalanniversary
serviceisthenatransitional,precariousperiod,duringwhicheverydetailofceremoniesmust
be meticulously attended to in order not to jeopardize this delicate state(Tanaka 1977, p.
47).
Memorial services, including that for the thirteenth year, are distinguished from the
next two services. Starting from the twenty-fth- and thirty-third-year services, the local
people begin to use red colored items for food oerings, instead of white ones. Red items
aresuitableforfestiveoccasions.Tethirty-thirdanniversaryisexplicitlydescribednotasa
mortuaryserviceforthedeadbutasafestivityfordeities(Ouwehand1985,p.193).After
thethirty-thirdanniversary,ancestorsceasetovisittheirnatalhomesduringthebonfestival
Table1.StandardIdealPatternoftheProcessofRitualDeicationofthe
DeceasedintheRyukyusWithintheAncestorWorshipParadigm
32
Ritual
process
Mode
Ondeathbed Biological
deathor
preliminary
burial
Ritesofthe
forty-ninth
day
Secondary
burial
(bone-
washing)or
otherrites
(severalyears
later)
Ritesofthe
thirty-third
year
Body Body
(inthehouse)
Bodily
remnants
(withinthe
tomb)
Naturalsepa-
rationofesh
frombones
(withinthe
tomb)
Individual
bones
(inanurn)
Mixingof
bones
(ingeneral
ossuary)
Memorial
tablet
__ Twotempo-
rarytablets
(athousehold
ancestral
altarandnear
thetomb)
Permanent
tablet
(athousehold
ancestral
altar)
Permanent
tablet
(athousehold
ancestral
altar)
Withouta
tablet
(incense
burner
athousehold
ancestral
altar)
Statusofthe
soul
Riteof
callingthe
soul
Intermediate
state,or
suering
Spiritofthe
dead
Individual
ancestral
spirit
Depersonal-
izedancestral
spirit
Statusofthe
deceased
Separation
fromthe
living
Liminal
period,or
ontheway
Tedeceased
asa
human
Ancestorasa
human
Nonhuman
founding
ancestor,or
deity
Whereabouts
ofthesoul
Departure
Tisworld
Wandering
betweenthe
tombandthe
house
Tomb,or
another
world
Tomb,or
another
world
Heavens
Deication
process Initialprocess(fromthelivingtoancestralspirit)
secondary
process
(deication)
287 BecomingKami?
intheYaeyamas.Butifthethirty-third-yearserviceisnotconducted,thedeadisbelievedto
preservehispersonalityandnottobecomeanancestraldeity.Hedoesnotascendintothesky,
butrathercontinuestolivewithinthetombasahumanbeingoftheotherworld(Ok.
gushoonchu)forever.
There are deviations from this standard pattern. In the old households of Shuri and
Naha,forexample,annualceremonieswerestillperformedafterthethirty-third-yearservice,
whileintheroyalfamilytheceremonieswerealsocontinuedinthebodaijitempleafterthe
thirty-third-yearservice.Incasessuchasthese,thedeaddoesnotlosehisindividualidentity
andjointheanonymoushostofancestors;rather,heisnotforgottenandhedoesnotbecome
adeity(Akamine1996,p.75).
NotionsoftheOtherWorldintheRyukyus
SakaiUsakuarguesthatinoldtimestherewasnotaclearpictureofanafterlifein
theRyukyus.Inotherwords,aconceptofwherethedeadsoulshouldjourneydidnotexist
(Sakai1987,p.296).However,thefolkcosmologyintheRyukyusincludednotionsofthe
other worlds which later developed to become diverse, complex, and even chaotic.This
topicisworthyofspecializedresearch.Inthatthenotionsoftheotherworldsareessential
forunderstandingdeathritesandancestorworship,abriefoverviewofthisissueisprovided
below.HereIfollowthetheoryofKomatsuKazuhiko,whohasreectedextensivelyonthe
conceptofanotherworld(ikai)inJapaneseculture(Komatsu2001).Whileother
world(takai)isbasicallylimitedtotheworldofthedead,anotherworldisnotonly
theworldofthedead,butalsotheworldofdeities,ancestors,demons,andothersuper-
naturalentities.
IntheRyukyustheotherworldisdesignatedasgushoo/gusoo,whileanotherworld
istermednirai-kanai,ornirai.Terearenotionsofatleastfourkindsofotherworlds(and
both other world and another world are implied). Te four are identied by dierent
locations:theoverseasworld,thesubmarineworld,thesubterraneanworld,andthecelestial
world.Forexample,nirai-kanaiisusuallytreatedasanislandintheeasternseas,namely,a
holylandbeyondthesea.Niireekanee,giireekanee(nirai-kanai),isanamefoundinearly
accounts;
33
someresearchers,however,considerthatitisnotapartofcurrentbelief (Lebra
1966,p.221).Inreality,however,manybeliefsandritesconnectedwiththisconcepthave
beenpreserveduntilthepresent,particularlyseenintheritualsofvisitingdeities(raihshin
)orstranger-deities(marebito).Nirai-kanaiisconceivedtobethesource
oflife,fertility,andprosperity,aswellastheplaceoforiginoftheRyukyuanpeopleapara-
dise,abrightandrichlandfarintheeastorsoutheast.Teseedsofriceandothercrops,re,
andlifeitselfarethoughttobegiftstopeoplebestowedbythegodofthisparadise,niree
nuufunushi(lit.TeGreatMasterofNirai).Butinsomeofthelegends,theotherworld
beyond the sea is spoken of as dark and dreadful; from there the deities of sickness and
pestilencecome,bringingdeathandsueringtothepeople(Kreiner1968,pp.1089).
It Mikiharu distinguishes two complexes related to the notion of nirai-kanai: one
centersontheideaofanirai-paradisebeyondtheseaandcarriedbythenoro-priestessesin
theirharvestfestivalonthevillagelevel;theotherisbasedonthecustomofabandoningthe
deadatacertaintaboo-place,whereapathleadstogushoo,adarkrealmunderneaththeearth.
Terelivethepersonalsoulsofthedead,whocanbecalledonbytheyuta-shamansandare
worshipedwithinthefamilyoutoffearoftheirvengeance(Kreiner1968,p.109).
Te same word (nirai, nirai-kanai) and its variants are employed to denote the bot-
tomoftheseaandearthinMiyako(niija/nijja/niizzya/nilla/nirra/nirrya,nizura,niraisuku)
andYaeyama(niira/niiru/niiro,niirasuku),whileitscognatesimplytheoverseasholyland
inOkinawa(niree-kanee,niraya/niruya,miruya/jiruya)andAmami(neriya/niruya/niraya),ir-
respectiveofwhetherornotitislocatedatthebottomofthesea.Ontheonehand,then,
nirai-kanaiisdepictedasthebottomofthesea,aholylandbeyondthehorizon(ideallyin
thedirectionofthesunrise)orthesky,andontheotherhand,itisseenintheformofthe
bottomoftheearthacaveorhillsclosetothevillage.AsMabuchiargues,inreconstructing
Ryukyuancosmology,thereisverylittlethathastodowiththeideaofthethehorizontal
line versus the vertical one, but far more with an oblique or arched line along which the
importantguresofthecommunityritualsguressuchasthevisitingdeitiesandthedei-
edancestorsmoveandshiftthelocationoftheirheadquarters.Intheritualcontextof
theRyukyus,itisnotthattheskyisconnectedwiththetopofamountainorahill,even
though the sky is only the passage through which the overseas deities visit the mundane
world.Accordingtothesituation,suchdeitiesmightcomeandgobyeitherairorsea,orat
leastpartially,byawayunderthesea,eventhoughtheirhomelandisofoneandthesame
place(Mabuchi1980,pp.5,7).
Atthesametime,however,thebottomoftheearthisconceivedgenerallyastheplace
wherethesoulsofthedeadgo,atleastforsomedurationoftime(Mabuchi1980,p.7).Te
viewsonthisissueofthreefamousJapanesescholarsweresummarizedbySakaiUsaku.Tus,
OriguchiShinobuconjecturedthatcavesweretheentranceforthedeadsouls,whichwould
travelbyanunderwaterpathtotheotherworld(higan),nallyreachingnirai,theIslandof
theDeadsomewheredistantinthesea.Yanagitausedtobelievethatthedeadsoulsgodeep
undertheearth;healsoplacednirai-paradiseonthehorizonwhereheavenandseameet.In
TanigawaKenichisopinion,thedeadsoulsgotothesubterraneanworldcalledniija,orni-
zura,butthroughthebottomoftheearththeyreachtheotherworld(meifu),namely,
thesea(Sakai1987,p.287).
34
HerethepositionsofOriguchiandTanigawaarequiteclose,
whileOriguchiconcurswithYanagitaintheopinionthattheworldoftheafterlifeisnotsub-
terranean.Sakaipointsoutthatallthreetheoriesappealtonotionsofthesubterraneanworld
(niija,ornizura)whicharepopularonMiyako.SakaihimselfisdoubtfulwhetherRyukyuan
nenokuni(neera)issubterraneanandquotesaritualsongfromKarimataVillageaboutdei-
tieswhoaredescendingfromnenoshima(dial.nisuma),consequentlyneeraseemsto
belocatedinthesky(Sakai1987,p.287).Hearguesthatniraiandtheworldofthedead(Jp.
gosh)belongtodierentcosmologicalconcepts(Sakai1987,p.341).
IntheMiyakoislands,thereisnonotionofanirai-paradisebeyondthesea.There,in
Ueno,Urabu,andIkema,beliefsintheseakamicalledryuugu/ruuguuarepopular.
Thesebeliefsarenotasoldastheniraiconcept.InRyukyuanbeliefs,ruugu(orduugu,drag-
onpalace;Jp.rygu)istheresidenceoftheseakami,butinChinaandJapanitrefers
toadragonpalacelocatedonthebottomofthesea(Lebra1966,p.222).Yanagitaadvanced
theviewthatRyukyuanbeliefsinniraiaresimilartotheJapanesedragonpalacenotion.
TecelestialworldintheRyukyusisrepresentedbysuchnotionsastin(Jp.ten;the
sky,heaven)andobotsu-kagura.OnIkema,thecelestialword(tin,orui
)isanabodeofdeities.Obotsu-kaguraseemstobearatherobscureterm.Asaplacelocated
289 BecomingKami?
somewhereinheaven,obotsu-kaguraisthoughttobealongsidenirai-kanailocatedbeyond
orundertheoceanapermanentresidenceofthedeitiesworshipedatutaki (sacred
placesor,byextension,shrinesatsuchplaces).Teideaofaheavenlyparadise(obotsu-kagu-
ra)intheskyisfoundonAmami,whereitisbelievedthatgodsvisittheearthbydescending
alonghighpoles,trees,orrocksonmountains,toutakishrines.EveryAmamivillagehasits
obotsu-holygrove(obotsu-kamiyama),asanctuaryonamountainfromwhere
thepathofthegods(kamimichi)leadstotheplacesofworshipatthevillagecenter.
Ateachfestivalkamiareinvitedfromheavenortheobotsu-kamiyamaandworshipedbythe
noropriestesses(Kreiner1968,p.112).
WhereDotheDeadLive?WhereDotheAncestorsGo?
Ryukyuan beliefs concerning the whereabouts of the dead and deied ancestors are
diverseandcontradictory.IntheRyukyus,thesoulofahuman
35
isusuallytermedmabui/
maburi,orsometimestamasu(Miyako)ortamashii(Iriomote).Tesoulofthedeceasedis
usuallycalledshinimabui,whilethesoulofthelivingistermedichimabui.Some
Ryukyuansbelievethathumanshaveonesoul,otherssaythateachindividualhasadierent
numberofsouls,rangingfromonetonine(Takiguchi1984,p.64)orevenasmanyasten
(Uematsu1988,p.140).IntheAmamiislandsapersonisthoughttohavesevensouls(ma-
bui)(Kreiner2004,p.402).Itisbelievedthatthelossofthemostimportantsoul,whichis
attachedtotheforehead,mayresultindeath(Takiguchi1984,p.64).
TeancientChineseconceptthatthedeadarereturningtotheirplaceoforiginisstill
foundintheRyukyus.OnHaterumatwotemporarytabletsbearthelegend:Soultabletof
XYwhohasreturnedtotheorigin(kiganXYrei-i)(Ouwehand1985,p.186).
As already mentioned, it was believed that before the memorial service on the forty-
ninthday,thesoulofthedeceasedhadnotyetsettleddown,butwasstillwanderingbetween
thetomb(asitsnewhome,oranentrancetotheotherworld)andthehouseofthebereaved
(seeTable1).OnMiyako,thereisalsoabeliefthatwhenapersondies,hissoulleavesthe
bodyandgoestotheundergroundworldcalledniija(Jp.nirai).Evenifthedeadsoulgoesto
theafterworld,foracertainperioditisnotawarethatitsownerhasdied.Peopleagreethat
therecentlydeceasedsoultriestoremaininthisworldaslongaspossible.Tisstatelastsfor
forty-nineorsometimes100daysafteronesdeath(Takiguchi1984,pp.3778).OnMiyako
thereisalsoanotherbeliefthatwhenapersondieshissoulleavesthebodyandgoestothe
Uparuzu(Jp.nushi)utaki(g.19)andAdanniutakiatthenorthernislandofIkema
(Baksheev2006b,pp.42526,441).
Afterthememorialserviceontheforty-ninthdaythedeceasedisbelievedtoreachthe
otherworld,therebybecomingahumanbeingoftheotherworld(Ok.gushoonchu
).Nowheislivingasahumanbeingbothinthetombandintheotherworld.Atthe
bonfestivalheisinvitedfromhistombontherstdayandisseenotoitagainonthelast;
atthesiimii(Jp.seimei)festivalheispresentedwithamemorialfeastathistombby
thefamily.
In the Ryukyus, the idea that the dead spirit (Jp. shiry) is residing (yadoru
)inthetombisverystrong;thenotionofagravesoul(Ok.hakamabui)supportsthis
(Akamine1989,p.428).Teotherworldwherethedeadspiritsgoisusuallycalledgushoo
(Jp.gosh;afterlife),arelativelynewwordofBuddhistderivation.Insomelocalities
the tomb is also called gushoo; a pit at the highest platform at the rear of the tomb which
serves as a general ossuary for ancestral spirits is also called gushoo. Te ancestral tomb is
referredtointhesamewayasthestemfamilymutu(lit.origin[house];Jp.moto),an
olderword.OnMiyakothetombisalsotermedaplaceofancestors(Ok.uyadokoro)
(Sakai1987,p.453).
Asforthewhereaboutsofthedeiedancestorsafterthenalmemorialceremony(usu-
ally, the thirty-third anniversary), some Ryukyuans believe that the dead soul remains in
theancestraltombforever(Lebra1966,pp.25-26),buttheoverwhelmingmajorityofthe
reportsfromdierentregionsoftheRyukyusclearlystatethatthedeiedancestorsascend
intothesky.OnHaterumaisland,afterthethirty-threeyearsofmemorialservicesthegradual
ripeningprocessbringsthesoultoapointatwhichitcanacceptpermanentseparationand
willthenascendtoHeavenandbecomeadeity.Tislastservicehasthemeaningofpushing
(dial.usagi/usagirin;Jp.oshiageru)thesoulupintothesky.Teprayersinvitethesoultorise
alongthetallstakeserectedoutsidethehouseinfrontofnibanzaintotheheavens:Ascend
now,please,totheheavens,risetothewhiteclouds,themoistclouds,andbepleasedtobe-
comeakami(Ouwehand1985,p.194).
OnAmami,thebeliefthatthedeadsoulnallyascendsintotheskyisveryvivid.On
thethirty-thirdanniversaryofdeathpeoplepraytothedead,sayingAscendtothesky!(tin
ni noborinshoore ). At the gravesite, a tall wooden pole about three
metersinheightiserectedinamannerthatpermitsclimbing.Itisbelievedthatthesoulwill
climbupthepoletothesky(Sakai1987,pp.27778).OnTokunoshimaisland(Amami
islands), the people erect a tall wooden pole and burn rice straw in the house-yard on the
thirty-thirdanniversary,sothatthesoulofthedeadwillbeabletoascendtotheskyupthe
poleandwiththesmoke.Asimilarbeliefandcustomseemstobeprevalentrathersporadi-
callyinbothAmamiandOkinawa(Mabuchi1980,p.8).OnYoronisland(Amamiislands),
thethirty-thirdanniversaryceremonyistreatedasakamimatsuri(festivityfordeities)and
iscalledtennubui(Jp.tennobori),thetimewhenthekamiisliftedtotheskies
(kamiotenniageru)(Kato1977,p.53).OnTaramaislandthenalmemorialceremonyat
thethirty-thirdanniversaryiscalledkami-ushiyagi(Jp.oshiageru),whentheritualoflifting
kami(thedead)intotheskyisperformed(Uematsu1993,p.245).Newellreportsthatthe
nalmemorialceremonyonTaramaislandtakesplaceonthethirteenthanniversary(rather
thanthethirty-third),whenthedeadisworshipedasadeity(godinNewellsterms);this
istermedubudatte,theraisingofthedeadpersontogodhood.Amongtheoeringsonthis
occasionthereistempuratwistedintodierentyingobjects(e.g.,ebigatta,intheformofa
pairofwings)(Newell1980,p.36).
OnIkemaisland,thereisabeliefamongtheislandersthatafterdeaththeywilllivein
theBeyond,whichisconsideredtobelocatedinHeaven.Whenapersondies,hissoulis
believedtoascendtoHeaventhroughtheHeaven-ascendingwayinthenortherndeserted
settlement(ii-zuma-nu-tin-kai-nyuui-ntsu);theareasurroundingthisplaceisregardedwith
fear(Noguchi1966,p.34;Noguchi1973,210;Iraha2004,pp.4546).Anotherthirty-third
anniversarycustomisobservedonTokunoshima,wheretheleavesofacertaintreeareburned
inthebeliefthatthesoulofthedeadwillascendtotheskyalongwiththesmoketojointhe
ancestorsintheworldofneira(nirai),locatedfarbeyondthesea(insomecases,makinga
journeyalongthelineofaparabola).Tehamaoriritual(seebelow)alsorevealsthatthose
291 Becoming Kami?
ancestors who died more than thirty-three years ago are supposed to live in the neira (nirai)
(Yoshida 1998, pp. 169, 179).
It is not only the nal memorial ceremony that has symbolic meaning, but the very
rst death ritual in the Ryukyus also does as it symbolizes the ascent into the sky. A white
gusoojin (lit. robe of the afterlife), a dress for the deceased which is very important for the
funerary ritual, and is also called deitys feather robe, kambanigin (Jp. kami no hagoromo
) or tubi ish which means, according to Nakama, feather robe to ascend the sky
(Jp. ten ni tonde iku hagoromo ) (Nakama 1989, p. 232) is worn. On
Tarama island a short white kimono called celestial feather robe (dial. kanbiragun
) is put on the deceased (Uematsu 1993, p. 244). In Sawada and Sarahama Villages on
Irabu island (Miyako) this dress was called kampani or celestial wings, kamis wings
(Nevsky 2005, vol. I, p. 347), and in Hirara city (on the main island of Miyako) it is termed
kambani (deitys dress; Jp. kami ish ) (Hirara-shi Shi Hensan Iinkai
1987, p. 378). Te same type of short white kimono also called kampani are still today
donned by the tsukasa priestesses all over the Miyako islands during sacred rituals devoted to
deities at the community utaki shrines (g. 20).
36
Priestesses were believed to ascend [after
death] to heaven body and soul (Kaneko 1964, p. 27). On Kudaka island people say that the
spirit of the dead ascends into the sky after senkotsu (Akamine 1996, p. 81).
Tere are, it should be noted, several practices that are at odds with the sky ascending
concept. In Amami there are rituals of sending the dead after the nal memorial ceremony
on the thirty-third anniversary to the sea to the neera. On Tokunoshima, the ritual of hamaori
(descending on the beach) which is performed on three days after the bon festival to pray
for a good harvest for the ancestors who died more than thirty-three years ago is called the
festival of the ancestral bones (dial. uyan kosi matsuri). It is also known that in the coastal
regions both of Okinawa and Japan proper, on the last day of the bon festival the dead souls
and ancestors are seen o to the sea as well as down the river. Sakai supposes here the vague
memory of the old pre-buddhist rites of sending the ancestors to the sea which later merged
with the bon festival. However, the rite of sending the dead souls to the nirai paradise lo-
cated in the sea seems to have been restricted to outstanding personalities such as noro priest-
esses and heroes (Sakai 1987, p. 245; Akamine 1996, p. 88).
To sum up, we can make three broad observations regarding these practices in the
Ryukyus: (1) the souls of the departed are invited to the house from the graveyard during
the bon festival; (2) the souls of the dead, in principle, are expected to ascend to the sky to
become the deied ancestors; and (3) the deied ancestors visit the living from the overseas
holy land, not from the sky.
Rites with Mortuary Tablets
In household ancestor worship, the center of religious activities is the ancestral altar
with memorial ancestral tablets. Tese tablets
37
(Ok. ihee/iihee, ifee/iifee, ipai, toutoumee, shin-
ju ganashi; Jp. ihai ) (gs. 21-23) are held to have been introduced to the Ryukyus from
China in the fteenth century by the royal family of the Ryukyuan kingdom.
38
In the seven-
teenth century, rites with mortuary tablets became popular with the aristocracy, and from the
second half of the seventeenth century through the ninteenth century, they gradually spread
among the common people (Kiyama 1989, pp. 144, 149150; Heshiki 1995, pp. 200203;
Akamine 1996, p. 75). Memorial tablets of three types are still in usage in the Ryukyus,
namelyOkinawantype(Ok.uchinaaiihee),Japanesetype(lit.Yamatoancestral
tablets, Ok. yamatu iihee ), and Chinese type (lit. Tang ancestral tablets, Ok.
tooiihee).Itisthoughtthatinevenearliertimeshouseholdancestorritesmadeuse
ofincense(Ok.suukoo,Jp.senk)burnersratherthanmortuarytablets(Sakai1987,p.
554;Akamine1996,p.75).TesamesituationcanbeobservedpresentlyatItoman(onthe
mainislandofOkinawa)(HigaMasao,personalcommunication).
IntheRyukyusthehouseholdancestralaltar(gs.24-25)isoftencalledbuchidan(Jp.
butsudan),butalsokamtana(Jp.kamidana)ashelffordeitiessuchasonMi-
yako,orgushindan andguriijin(Jp.goreizen)inShuriandHaha(Heshiki
1995,p.143;Yanagita1988,p.119),orsometimestukuonKurohama(Yaeyama).Today,
theconstructionofthehouseholdancestralaltarissimilartotheJapanesebutsudan.Tean-
cestralaltarisasortofalcove
39
withslidingdoorsaboutonemeterfromtheoor.Itconsists
ofthreeshelves:thetopshelfholdsthememorialtablets,withaowervaseoneachside;the
middleshelfholdsacenserandtwocups;andthelowestshelfisreservedforoeringsoffood
andgifts.Onfestivals,suchasthebonfestival,andonotherceremonialdaysoftheyear,the
ancestralshrineisdecoratedwithowers,food,anddrinks.Ontheseoccasionsallmembers
of the family gather together, burn incense, and oer prayers to the ancestral spirits. Te
oldestwomaninthefamily,thewifeorhusbandsmother,isinchargeofallreligiousactivi-
tiesrelatedtotheancestralshrine.Itisherdutytowatchthelunarcalendarandannounce
upcomingreligiousrituals,preparetheceremonialfoodandplaceitontheancestralshrine,
andonminorreligiousoccasionstoprayforthewelfareofthefamily(OkinawanGovern-
ment1992).
Soonafterthedeathtwotemporarymemorialtabletsofwhite(unpainted)wood
40
aremade,uponbothofwhichthenameofthedeceasediswritten.Oneofthesetabletsis
placed at the tomb; another is installed separately on the west (left) side of the household
ancestralaltarinthelowestposition.TisisphaseIaphaseofaliminalcreature,thede-
parted.Duringtheforty-ninedaymourningperiodoeringsofprayer,foodanddrinkare
servedthreetimesdailyatthehouseholdaltar.Ontheforty-ninthdaythetabletatthetomb
isburned;atthehouseholdaltarthetemporarywhitetabletisremoved,andthepermanent
woodenredtablet
41
isinstalledwiththeotherancestraltablets.TisisphaseIIthephaseof
havingbecomeanindividualancestor.
YanagitawrotethatonthemainislandofOkinawa...thethirty-thirdyearmarksthe
limit,afterwhichtheybelievethesoulbecomesO-Kami....Goreizenisanancestralaltar
whichwecallbutsudan,butinoldhomesthereisadditionalaltarforO-Kamiaboveit,and
atthisceremonythecharactersontheihaiontheGoreizenarescrapedoanditisinstalled
inthealtarfortheO-Kami(Yanagita1970,p.119).Indeed,ideallyonthethirty-thirdyear
thenameofthedeceasediserasedfromthepermanentmemorialtabletatthehouseholdaltar
(thetabletcouldbethentransferredtothealtarfordeities)orthetabletitselfisburned(the
dead possibly joining the anonymous tablet) and replaced with an incense burner. At this
stagethedeceasedisnolongercalledbyhisnameandhehimselfiserasedfromthememory
ofdescendants.TisisphaseIIIthephaseofbecomingadepersonalizedancestraldeity.
OnTaramaisland,afterthenalmemorialceremonyonthethirty-thirdanniversary,
thedeadisworshipedasadeitycalledubudatteganasi(ubutateganasu),where-ganasi/-ganasu
isalsotheoldRyukyuanhonoricbothforthedeadwithmemorialtablets(sinju
42
ganasi,
293 BecomingKami?
toutoganasu,uyagamuganasu)andforthekamiofutakishrines.Fromthispointtheirper-
sonality,genderanddescentareannihilatedandtheycontinueonasananonymous(lit.in-
vinciblefukashi)existencesymbolizedbyincense.Teynolongerrequirefoodof-
feringsandareonlyoeredincenseandwaterduringworship.Inaddition,theyarenolonger
invitedtotheirnatalhomeatthebonfestival(Uematsu1993,pp.25051).Newellreports
avariantofthisonTaramaisland,whereafterthenalmemorialceremony(inactualityon
thethirteenthanniversary)thememorialtabletisdestroyedbyburning.Atthisceremonythe
deadisworshipedasagodwherehejoinstheanonymoustablettotheeast(right)sideof
householdaltarwhichrepresentsallkam(Jp.kami)(Newell1980,p.36).
Te practice of removing memorial tablets from the household ancestral altar on the
thirty-thirdanniversaryofthedeathisnotonlyfoundintheRyukyus,butalsoinmainland
Japan.Tispracticeisbasedonthetheorythatthesoulofthedeadundergoesdeicationat
thisanniversary(cf.Smith1968,p.96).IntheRyukyus,thistheoryseemstobemoredeeply
rootedinthefolkreligionofthemainislandofOkinawathaninthesouthernRyukyuislands
suchasMiyakoandYaeyama.OntheMiyakoislands,removalofthememorialtabletseems
tobelessclearlyassociatedwiththedeicationthanontheYaeyamas,whichforcenturies
hasbeensubjecttoanOkinawa-izationencouragedbytheRyukyuankingdom(Mabuchi
1976a,p.109).BothonMiyakomainisland(TomoriVillage)anditsadjacentislands(Irabu
island,IrabuVillage),memorialtabletsmaybeleftinthefamilyaltarlongafterthethirty-
thirdanniversaryafterdeath(authorsobservation)(g.26).EvenonKudakaisland,
43
which
isveryclosetothemainislandofOkinawaandwasasiteofanationalworshipthatplayeda
specialroleinthestatecults,tabletsarestillfoundinthebutsudanafterthethirty-thirdan-
niversaryandancestralspiritsareworshipedthereasbefore(Akamine1996,p.83).
Deviationssuchasthese,however,donotnegatethestandardpatternthatdevelopedin
theRyukyusunderChineseBuddhistinuence.Ideally,riteswithobjectsformemorializing
thesoulofthedeadaredividedintothreephases,markedbyuseoftemporarytablets,perma-
nenttablets,andnotablets.Tismorphologicaldivisionreectsthesubstantialsignicance
ofthechangingstatusofthesoul.Tedierentstagesofstatusare:(I)thespiritofthedead
(Jp.shiry)whichhasnotbecomeyettherealdead,(II)theindividualancestralspirit
(kogonososenrei),and(III)thedepersonalizedancestralspirit(botsukoseika
shitasorei)(Uematsu1988,pp.15051).Teprincipaldierencebe-
tweenphaseII(recentancestorsshiryspiritofthedead,oyahitoparent-human,etc.)
and phase III (remote ancestorsganso founding ancestor, oyagami parent-deity, kami
deity)isconsideredbysomescholarstobethattheritesfortheindividualancestorbelong
tothecultofthedeadofthefamilyorkingroup,whiletheritesforthefoundingancestorare
communalagrarianritualsforthewholevillageorisland.
Most investigators agree that the notion of ancestors in the Ryukyus can be divided
broadlyintotwotypes,recentancestors(shiryspiritofthedead;Ok.futuki/putugi,
Jp. hotoke the deceased, the newly dead; Ok. uyapsitu/uyapisu, Jp. oyahito parent-hu-
man;sorei ancestorspirits,etc.)andremoteancestors(Ok.gansu/gwansu,Jp.ganso,
founding ancestor; Ok. uyaan, Jp. oyagami , parent-deity; shinrei, kami spirits;
kami,deity;etc.).Tedistinctionbetweenthesetwokindsofancestorsisdirectlyreected
inthedistributionofthealtarsforthemandintheplanofthehouse.Inthestandardpat-
tern, as seen on the main island of Okinawa and Ishigaki, the altar for deities and deied
ancestors(remoteancestors)isplacedinthemostimportantrstroom(ichibanza)onthe
east(right)side
44
ofthehouse,whilethealtarforthesoulsofthedead(recentancestors)
isconstructedinthesecondroom(nibanza)onthewest(left)sideofthehouse(Mabuchi
1980,p.2;Yoshida1998,p.179).
Intheseniorfamilies(Jp.ske),thekamidanashelffordeitiesiscalledzaatu-
ku,orzaa,tuku,kamiutanaornchanutana(gs.27-29).Intheold
householdsofShuriandNaha,thedeitiesthatareenshrinedtherearecalledukaminuumee
.Iftheyareancestraldeities(Jp.soshin),theyarecallednchanfaafujior
kamiugwansu(Heshiki1995,p.143).O-kaminotana,remarkedupon
byYanagita(Yanagita1970,p.119),isakamidanafortheworshipofakamiofamunchuu
patrisibinthemainfamily(honke)ofthepatriclan(munchuu);akamidana
of this sort is not found in ordinary houses (Akamine 1996, p. 75). Utana (altar of the
[munchuu]descentgroupancestorsinanorthernOkinawanvillage)isfoundonlyinthe
mutuuji(seniorhouseofthedescentgroup)householdandislocatedinthenorth-eastern
cornerofrstroom(ichibanza).Itcontainsacollectivetablet(Ok.ifee)ofallancestorsof
thedescentgroup(Tanaka1977,p.50,Fig.3).
Intheheadfamiliesofthepatriclan,theancestraldeitiesareenshrinedinthekamidana,
butotherdeities,includingthoseofBuddhistorigin,areworshiped,aswell.Inthepeasant
patriclans,agodofre(Jp.hinokami)isenshrinedinthelowerpartofthekami-
dana,whileintheoldaristocraticpatriclansofShuriandNahaespeciallytherearemanycases
whereKannonisworshipedasaguardianBuddha(shugobutsu)oftheclan
45
(Heshiki1995,p.143).
On Hateruma, the altar for deities or deied ancestors in the upper right corner of
theichibanzaiscalledbuzashiki
46
,zaatuku(zaaortuku)(Ouwehand1985,p.32).In
variousregionsofthemainislandofOkinawa,deiedancestorsareworshipedinthealtar
(tuku)locatedontheichibanzaandwhichisbasicallyusedfortheworshipofthedeities.
Tedeiedancestorsaredividedintoatleastthreecategories:thefoundingancestorofthe
munchuu,thefollowingancestorsandancestorswholivedonthatterritory(Uematsu1988,
p.151).Parallelwiththealtarsintherstandsecondroomsofahousehold,thealtarinthe
villageshrineorofsomeotherculticgroupissituatedinthenorthcentralpartofthebuilding
whichusuallyfacesthesouth(Mabuchi1968,p.123).
Tebasicpatternofthememorialtabletdistributionwithinthehouseholdhassome
localvariations.OnthedistantislandsoftheYaeyamassometimesthenicheofatokonoma
(Ok.tuku,zaatuku)intheichibanzaisdividedintotwoparts:deitiesanddeiedancestorsare
enshrinedintherightpartofit,whilethealtarforthesoulsofthedead(butsudan)isplacedin
theleftpart(Uematsu1988,p.154).OnIrabuisland(Miyako)thebutsudan-typealtarwith
memorialtabletsforthesoulsofthedeadisoftencalledkamtana/kantana(Jp.kamidana),
but is located in the nibanza (authors observation). On the Miyako islands the houses do
notusuallyincludeanaltarintheichibanza.Boththesoulsofthedeadandthedeied
ancestorsareworshipedonthekantanaaltarinthenibanza(g.30).Ritualapparatuses
forcelebratingvariousdetiesarekeptontheright,i.e.,theeastsideofthealtaroronthe
upperright.Tisisinawayreminiscentofthealtarintheichibanzaonothertheislandsof
theRyukyus(Mabuchi1968,p.125).NewellandUematsubothreportthatontheisland
ofTarama, butsudan-type altars for ancestral tablets (Jp. senzodana) are also called
295 BecomingKami?
kamtanaandarelocatedinthenibanza,whereatleasttwoincenseholdersareplacedbelow
thetablets.Tecentral(left)incenseholdertothewestisforthenamed(recent)ances-
tors.Terightincenseholdercalledubutatetotheeastisallocatedtothegodsingeneral
includingunidentiable(remote)ancestorswhohavealreadyreceivedthenalmemorial
ceremonyandwhonolongerhaveanindependenttablet.Tewholememorialritualprocess
canberegardedasashifttotheeast,thedirectionofgodsingeneral(Newell1980,pp.34,
36;Uematsu1988,pp.151).Telocationofthealtarsforthedead(recentancestors)and
deiedancestors(remoteancestorsandkami)clearlyrevealsthenotionsoftheirseparation
andthesuperiorplaceaccordedtothelatter.Tanakamayberightclaimingthatfutuki(recent
ancestors)andthekamiofthehousehold(deiedancestors)aremutuallyexclusive(Tanaka
1977,p.52).
According to Ouwehand, on Hateruma the intercourse between the living and the
deadisextremelyintenseduringtherstthirty-threeyearsafterdeath.Tedeadarevery
much alive in the nibanza; communication with the dead and dialog with them occurs in
thisparlor.Tisisentirelyconsistentwiththerelativelyprofanecharacterofthenibanzaand
contrastssharplywiththepiousdidenceshownintheichibanza,wheretheprayersand
wishes accompanying oerings made to the uyaan (Jp. oyagami lit. parent-deities;
ancestor spirits,
47
or ancestor-deities
48
) in front of the buzashiki shelf (the altar for dei-
tiesordeiedancestors)takestheformofamonologue.Tus,thealtarforthesoulsofthe
dead(recentancestors)andthealtarfordeitiesordeiedancestors(remoteancestors)are
strictlyseparatedbothspatiallyandconceptually.However,itisnotcertainthatthiswas
alwaysthecaseinthepast.Itisquitepossiblethattheseparationbetweenthenibanzaand
theichibanzawasoncelesssharporevendidnotexistatall.Teexceptiontotherulewas
whentheuyapsituandbuzashikioccurredsidebyside,withthetabletsforthedeadarranged
such that the one belonging to the longest-deceased individual, who was therefore closest
tothetransitiontotheancestorstate,stoodattheeastendandthusclosesttothebuzashiki
(Ouwehand1985,pp.3334).
OnHateruma,afterthethirty-third-yearceremony,onlyasmallincenseburnerstands
ontheeastsideoftheuyapsitualtarwhich,asarathermoderncustom,isintendedtopre-
serve the memory of all of the former uyapsitu (meeuyapsitu; Jp. mae oyahito, former
parent-human)ofthecollectiveancestorsofthehouse(Ok.uyabuzi).Teywillbecom-
memoratedonjurukunichiduringfestivegatheringsatthegraves,andathomeduringthe
bon festival. From putugi (the dead) they have now been transformed into kan (Jp. kami),
but this does not mean that they will eventually be accorded the status of uyaan (par-
ent-deity),deitiesoftheutakishrines(Ouwehand1985,p.194).InOuwehandsopinion,
ancestorsdeiedatthenalthirty-third-yearceremonywithintheframeworkofhousehold
ancestorworshipandancestor-deities(Ok.uyaan)ofthevillageshrineworshipconstitute
twodierentcontinuums.
AncestorWorshipandSocialOrganization
Ryukyuan,specicallyOkinawansocietyissegmentedintoextendedfamiliesorganized
onapatrilinealprincipleforworshipofcommonancestors.Telargestaggregateofhouse-
holdsrecognizingacommonbloodtieandsharingacommonrituallifeisthepatrisibtermed
munchuu,ormunchu(Jp.monch)inthecaseofcommoners,ujiorujimunchuinthe
caseoftheupperclasses.Themunchuu
49
systemisparticularlyprevalentonthemainislandof
Okinawa.Teunderlyingprincipleofthefamilysystemhereistomaintainthefamilysconti-
nuitythroughanunbrokensuccessionofthepatrilineallinesothatlatergenerationswillexist
toperformritesfortheancestors(Lebra1966,p.223).Amunchuu,orichimon,isapatrilin-
eage,patrilinealgroup,orpatriclan,anagamouspatrisib
50
whichisanancestorcultgroup
parexcellence.Suchamunchuugroupservesasaunitfortheperformanceofritualssincethe
ancestorworshipmaintainsacommonburialground.
51
Tus,munchuuisconcernedmainly
withtheancestorcult,whileothercultactivitiesareconductedbythevillageasawhole,with
utakishrinesasthefocusofsuchactivities(Mabuchi1980,p.12).
Rituals with the memorial tablets placed on the household ancestral altar before the
thirty-thirdanniversaryarefoundinordinaryhouseholds.Ontheotherhand,onthemain
island of Okinawa at the so-called mutu-ya (house of the stem family; lit. origin
house),
52
withinvariouslevelsofthepatrikingroup(munchuu),aspecicaltarisinstalledfor
theapicalancestorsofamunchuussegment.Teseapicalancestorsrepresenttheremote
ancestors.Tistypeofaltarisplacedontherightside(totheeast)ofthefamilyaltarwith
memorialtabletsforthesoulsofthedead.Atthehighestlevelofthemunchuu,aspecialhall
isoftenbuiltinthesoutheasternpartofthehouseyardtoworshipthedeiedfounderofthe
munchuugroup.
53
Teancestorcultoperatesatvariouslevelsofthesepatrikingroupsunder
theleadershipofapriestesscalledukudiwhoisoftenashamanessaswell(Mabuchi1976a,
p.107).Teukudi,orukudii(munchuupriestesses)beartheresponsibilityofprayingfor
thewelfareofthewholegroupandcontrollingritualmattersofthemunchuu.Teyareori-
entedinthisfunctionprimarilytowardsthekamiandremoteancestorswhohaveattained
kamistatus(Lebra1966,p.164).Ritualsfortheancestralgodsofthevillagesorhamletsare
performedbyaclassoflocalpriestessescallednigami(Jp.negami,lit.rootdeity)
54
(Kamata
1974,p.59).
According to Higa Masaos eld research in the southern part of Okinawas main is-
land,theFuka-ataimunchuuofTamagusukuVillageisdividedintosevensub-groupscalled
chuchoodee , each of them is a unity around a stem family called naka-mutu. Te
chuchoodeeisagroupcenteringonapatrilinealdescentcalledshiji,orsani.Inoldtimesthere
wereseveralgravesownedbyeachofthechuchoodeesub-groups,butlatertheywereunied
intoamunchuubaka,asinglegraveforthecommonuseoftheFuka-ataimunchuu,bythe
rulingpowerofacertainnaka-mutustemfamilycalledtooshimutuwhichplaysaleadingpart
intheactuallifeofthemunchuu.Further,oneofthenaka-mutustemfamiliesoftheFuka-
ataimunchuucalledkami-mutuorstemfamilyofthedeity,whichhasaconnectionwith
the foundation of theTamagusuku Village, is a center of ritual ceremonies for the distant
ancestorofthemunchuuaswellasthecultpracticesofthewholevillage.Tiskami-mutuhas
areligiousfunctionconcerningthedistantancestors,whilethetooshimutustemfamilyplays
alargeroleineverydaylife.Ineachnaka-mututhereisalsoanaltarenshriningthespiritof
theancestors,withcensersdevotedtotheancestorsgrave(calledajishii)ofeachvillage.Tese
censers are worshiped by a priest called kudingwa, who is selected from chuchoodee on the
basisofnaka-mutu(SuzukiandMuratake1971,p.357).
IncontrastwithOkinawamainisland,inthesouthernRyukyus
55
(MiyakoandYaeya-
ma)severalcultgroupscomposingavillageorhamletareindependentofeachotherinthe
performanceoftheirvariousrituals.Eachcultgrouphasitsstemfamily(mutu-yaa,mutu)
297 BecomingKami?
ofwhichtheimplicationisthesameasonthemainislandofOkinawa.Butinthesouthern
Ryukyusthemutu-yaisnotaspecializedplacetoperformtheritualsfortheremoteances-
tors. In fact, the cult group has usually very little to do with ancestor worship. Te cult
groupmembersareoftenskepticalaboutwhethertheyareofcommonancestry.Tus,the
cult group of the southern Ryukyus displays a dissimilarity with the patrikin group (mun-
chuu)foundonthemainislandofOkinawainwhichancestorworshipiswellsystematized
(Mabuchi1976a,pp.106,108).
FolkreligiononIkemaisland
56
canbecharacterizedbyalackofconnectionwiththe
Buddhisttemples,therebyresultingintherapidlossofidentityfortheindividualdeadspirit
(andalossofpromotiontoananonymousancestraldeity),andanextremelyvagueidea
aboutunilinealancestorworship,ascomparedwiththatofJapanproper.Teburialsystem
onIkemaisbasedontheco-existenceoflinealbloodandlateralmarriagerelationships,which
donotexcludebutrathercomplementeachother(Noguchi1966,p.34).
InthesouthernRyukyusthepeoplelackamechanismbywhichtheremoteancestors
ascending along the male line can be systematically worshiped as occurs in the munchuu
organizationonthemainislandofOkinawa.InthesouthernRyukyustheritualsuperiority
accordedtothestemfamilycanbeseenincontrasttothebranchfamiliesinwhosehouses
onlythetabletsfortherelativelyrecentdeadareplacedonthealtar.Teoutcomeisatbest
aquasi-patrilineagethatgoesbackafewgenerations,andthathasaconstantlyuctuating
boundary.Asaresult,inthesouthernRyukyusafterafewgenerationsthedeiedancestors
tendtoberathereasilyforgottenandcometobeassimilatedwithotherdeitiesofnon-human
derivation,asituationdierentfromthatonthemainislandofOkinawa(Mabuchi1976a,
p.108).
Ingeneral,onthemainislandofOkinawathesoulsofthedeadorancestorshavetheir
natalfamilyofdescendantswhomtheyvisitonsuchritualoccasionsasthebonfestival.Te
familybranchesoutwithtimetoproducebranchfamiliesatdierentlevels,whiletheoriginal
familycontinuestoremainasthestemfamilyalongtheprimogenitalmaleline.Tehouse
ofstemfamily(Ok.mutu-yaa)istheplacewhereremoteancestorsareinvitedtocomeat
suchritualoccasionsasbon(Mabuchi1980,p.12).
Mabuchialsodrawsourattentiontothefactthatirrespectiveofwhethertheancestors
aredeiedornot,theancestorcultourishesinvolvinganumberofascendinggenerationsin
thecasewhenthekinshipframeworkisclear-cutandsolid(asitisoftenfoundalongwiththe
unilinealinstitutionorthelike).Teritualhierarchycenteringonthestemfamily(asinthe
northwesternpartofthemainislandofOkinawaandUrukaVillageinsouthernMiyako)is
eectiveinthisregard.Whilethedeiedancestorsareclassiedintotheearlierandthelater
andareparallelwiththedistinctionsbetweenthestemfamilyandthebranchfamilies,the
hierarchicalorderoftheritualrepeatedeveryyearpavesthewayforasystematizedmemory
ofancestorsontheonehand,andalsoservestoreinforcethetiesamongthekinsmenonthe
other.Tisnotthecasewiththebilateralinstitutioninwhichthekinshiprelationsarequite
dispersedanditishardtodevelopanancestorcultinvolvinganumberofascendinggenera-
tions(Mabuchi1980,p.15).
PatternsofPostmortemDeicationintheRyukyus
Te elevation of the mortuary tablet at the household ancestral altar as well as the
shiftingofthebodyremainswithinthetombcorrespondstothechangesinthepostmortem
statusofthedead.AscanbeseeninTable1,inallmodes(body/bones,mortuarytablet,
postmortem status of the dead), the deceased ideally passes through three phases, from
newlydeadtoindividualancestorandnallytodepersonalizedancestraldeity.
TereisacommonbeliefintheRyukyusthatafteracertainperiodofpuricationthe
deadspiritnallybecomesakami(deity)(Akamine1989,p.427).Ifseveralinitialcondi-
tionsaremet,onewilleventuallybecomeakami.Tedeceasedmust(1)havereachedtheage
ofseven;(2)havediedanormaldeath;and(3)haverelativestotakecareofhismemorialtab-
let.AccordingtoTanaka,whocarriedouthereldresearchonthemainislandofOkinawa,
in order for the transformation from the dead to a kami to take place, the deceased must
successfullyundergothefollowingproceduresandceremonies:(1)afullpublicfuneral(Ok.
sooshichi or dabi); (2) a series of public memorial services until the forty-ninth
dayafterthedeath(Ok.nanka-suukoo,lit.theseventhdayincenseburning);(3)
afullpublicmemorialserviceonthesixteenthoftherstmonthoftheyearfollowinghis
death;(4)aseriesofanniversaryservices(Ok.ninki-suukoo)
57
untilthethirty-third
anniversary;and(5)thebonewashingceremony(betweenthethirdandthethirteenthan-
niversary)(Tanaka1977,pp.4546).OndierentRyukyuanislands,however,thepatterns
ofpostmortemdeicationarequitediverse.Tisdiversityseemstoreectthehistoricaland
geographicalformswhichemergedthroughvariousfactorsandwerepreserveduntilrecent
times.HereIwouldliketoproposevepatternsofpostmortemdeicationintheRyukyus.
1)Deicationsoonaftertheprimaryfuneralwithoutotherrites
Tispatternseemstobethemostarchaic.OntheislandofIkemathecircumstanceof
postmortemdeicationdiersslightlyinthatitisperformedsoonafterdeath.Itisthebelief
thatthedeadbecomekamiontheverydayofdeath.Ontheirwaybackhomeaftertheburial
theparticipantspurifythemselveswithsusuki(miscanthus)andsaytothedead:Youhave
becomeakami.So,protectusfromdemons(anatawakamitonarareta,yottekonohitotachi
o akuma kara omamori kudasai
)(Nakamatsu1968,p.72).
PriortotheTaishoeratherewerenomemorialtabletsonIkema;thegraveswerenot
visitedafterthefunerals.Itwasonlyontheninthdayafterdeaththataceremonywascarried
outathome,whichincludedonlycloserelatives.Afterthattherewerenofurtherceremonies
fortheindividualancestor.Sometimeseventhebone-washingritualwasnotperformed.Tis
wasbasedonthebeliefthatanalreadydeiedspiritrequirednofurtherrituals.Tisnotion
ofthedeadasitisfoundonIkemaisconsideredtobethemostprimitiveintheRyukyus
(Nakamatsu1968,pp.6264).Theritereferredtobythepeopleofthisislandasthepart-
ingofdeitiesandmenwasconductedonthedayofthedeath,onthethird,fthoranother
odddayafterthedeath;orinotherwords,thesoonerthebetter.Afterthat,theindividual
soul becomes an unspecied ancestral deity, losing its individuality (Noguchi 1966, p. 28;
Noguchi 1975, p. 209). On the hundredthday a rite called three months deity making
prayer(Ok.mitsutsu-ga-kan-nai-yuui)wasconductedin
thehouseofthedeceased(Noguchi1973,p.210).OnAmamishimathedeadistolddur-
inghisenconingFromnowgototheCelestialIsland(kykaratennoshimaosagashite
ikinasai)(Sakai1987,p.277).
299 BecomingKami?
2)Deicationwhentheappearanceofthedeceasedischanged
Tispatternisrelatedtothebeliefaboutthenaturalseparationofeshfromthebones
on the forty-ninth day after death. Previously on Kudaka, before the introduction of the
thirty-thirdanniversaryservicefromthemainislandofOkinawa,memorialceremonieswere
carriedoutonlyuntiltheforty-ninthday(Akamine1991,p.348).
3)Deicationwhenthebodyisstrippedofanyremainsofthesoftparts
Tispatternisrelatedtothebone-washingritual.Aswasmentionedabove,primary
burialtombsandtombsforthedisposalofthecleansedbonesafterthebone-washingritual
aretermeddierently:theotherworldandancestors(Ok.shinju;Jp.senzo)consequent-
ly.
4)Deicationonthethirty-thirdyearafterdeath
TispatterndevelopedunderBuddhistinuences.Mabuchiwritesthatthetheorycon-
cerningthedeicationofthesoulsofthedeadonthethirty-thirdanniversarywouldhave
been originally too articial for the local people. Te extent to which such a theory has
penetratedintothefolkbeliefswouldvaryaccordingtotheislandorthelocality,resulting
inadiscrepancybetweenthepracticeandbeliefamongthelocalpeople(Mabuchi1976a,p.
109).OnKudaka,memorialtabletsarestillworshipedinthebutsudanafterthethirty-third
anniversarywhiletheancestralspiritsworshipedbeforeandafterthethirty-thirdanniver-
saryarenotseparated(Akamine1991b,p.360;Akamine1996,p.83).
5)Deicationaftersevengenerations
Tispatternisrelatedtothepopularlocalbeliefs.Itwasrecordedbysuchresearchersas
KishabaEijun,OriguchiShinobu,andHigaShuncho(Akamine1996,p.74).Asavariant,
on the island ofTarama, the dead becomes fully identied with the collective gods after
threegenerations(Newell1980,p.35).
TeDead/Deities,WorshipoftheDead/AncestorWorship
Innativeterms,RyukyuansandspecicallyOkinawansdenetheirancestorworship
astheactofugan(Jp.ogamu;honorandhomagegiventoanysupernaturalentityina
culturallyestablishedceremonialprocedure)renderedtothegrandparents(Ok.uyafaafuji
)bytheospring(Ok.kwaamaaga).
58
Ancestorworshipmaythententa-
tivelybedenedasreverenthonorandhomagerenderedtothedeadforebearsbytheliving
ospringaccordingtoculturallyestablishedceremonialprocedures(Tanaka1977,p.44).
Somescholarsmaintainthatwhileitistheoreticallyimportanttodistinguishances-
torworshipfromworshipofthedead,theactualsituationintheRyukyusistoosubtle
topermitdrawingaclearlineofdemarcation.MabuchinotestwotermsintheRyukyuan
dialect:soul(mabui,tamasu)ofboththelivingandthedeadontheonehandanddeities
(kan,orkam)ofbothhumanandnon-humanderivationontheother.Suchaconceptasan-
cestralspirits(sorei)wouldbeterminologicallyclassiedinthecategoryofeitherthesoul
orthedeitiesaccordingtothecontextofthesituation(Mabuchi1976a,p.109).
AccordingtoMasakoTanaka,terminologicallytherearethreekindsofancestor:fu-
tuki,gwansu,andkami.Everypersonuponhisdeathautomaticallybecomesafutuki,which
is used synonymously with sooroo (Jp. shry ; dead soul, spirit of the dead) and
gusoonchu(peopleoftheotherworld).Afutukiwhocansatisfythecertaininitialconditions
will eventuallygraduateinto a kami (Tanaka 1977,p. 45).Tanakaalsodistinguishes three
kinds of kami deities within the boundary of ancestor worship: the kami enshrined in the
householdaltar(Ok.gwansu);thekamiofthedescentgroup(munchuu-gami);andthe
kamiassociatedwiththesacredgroveofthevillage(utakinuu-kami-ganashii)(Tanaka1977,
p.47).Whilethefutukiarethedeadwhoaregoingthroughalltheindividualizedmemorial
servicesinordertoattaintofullancestralstatus,thekamiofthehouseholdareallforebears
of the household from the time of its establishment who have successfully passed through
all these services. Futuki and the kami of the household together make up the household
ancestors(gwansu)(Tanaka1977,p.52).Adistinctivefeatureofthememorialservicesfor
afutukiisthattheceremoniesareperformedforaparticularindividualforebearandhim
alone, while in all other ancestral ceremonies it is the collective ancestors of one kind or
anotherwhoareworshiped.Anotherdistinctivefeaturecommontoalltheseceremoniesis
thattheyareperformedforthebenetoftheparticularancestor,andnotforthebenetof
theworshipers(Tanaka1977,p.46).InTanakasview,ancestorworshipintheRyukyusmay
beclassiedintotwotypes.Terstisaseriesofmemorialservicesperformedforthebenet
of a specic recently deceased person (futuki), who is said to require such ceremonies in
ordertoachievetherealancestralstatusofthekami.Tesecondkindofancestorworshipis
primarilyconcernedwiththefull-edgedancestors(kami)whoseprotectionandguidance
issoughtforthelivingpatrilinealdescendants.Boththepatrilinealrelativesandnon-patri-
lineallyrelatedkinofthedeceasedmustparticipateinthersttypeofceremony,whilethe
secondtypeofceremonyprimarilyconcernspatrilinealdescendants(Tanaka1977,p.48).
It is widely held among researchers that it is dicult to ascertain exactly where the
boundaryliesbetweenworshipofthedeadandancestorworshipinregardtothosewho
arerepresentedbytheancestraltabletsonthefamilyaltar.Itissaidthatthedeicationofthe
deceasedcommencesonthetwenty-fthanniversaryofthedeath.Partoftheceremonyon
thisoccasionincludesanoeringofred-coloredfoodthedeceasedarenotcompletelydei-
ed,however,untilthethirty-thirdanniversary.Itshouldbenotedherethatthedeication
doesnotconstituteadenitivedemarcationlinebetweenancestorsandthedead:those
representedbythememorialtabletsmaybeconsideredsimplyasthedeadorasancestors
according to the situation (Mabuchi 1976a, p. 110). As previously observed, ancestors are
heldtolosetheirpersonalidentityonthethirty-thirdanniversaryofdeath,afterwhichthey
arenolongerregularlyworshipedatthefamilyaltar.Tisisnottosay,however,thateach
ancestralgurethereuponsuddenlydisappearsfromthememoryoftheliving.Itisbelieved
possible for the people to communicate with individual ancestors through the agency of a
local shaman. Ancestral spirits are destined to eventually be forgotten, although they are
usuallyrememberedforafewgenerations.Incidentsofcrisisordisaster,however,areoften
attributedtothedeedsofthevengefulancestor,atwhichtimeattemptsatappeasementare
made.SuchascenarioismorelikelytobefoundintheSouthernRyukyuswhereonesali-
ationinthecult-groupisoftenascribedtotheinterferenceofcertainancestors,irrespective
ofwhethertheirtabletsarestillplacedonthefamilyaltaroralreadyremoved.Insuchcase
peoplearenotoverlyconcernedwhethersuchancestorsaredeiedornot(Mabuchi1976a,
301 BecomingKami?
p.111).
Although it is now deeply rooted throughout local Ryukyuan cultures, the concept
ofthedeadlosingtheirpersonalidentityatthethirty-thirdanniversaryseemstohavebeen
introducedtotheislandsfromelsewhere,andisnotofgreatantiquitythere.Adimlycon-
ceiveddistinctionbetweenthedeadwhoremainvividinmemoryandthosewhodiedlong
ago, Mabuchi says, seems still to be prevalent among the Ryukyuans. In such a case, the
thirty-third anniversary is akin to a businesslike procedure in which a primarily gradual
andrelativedistinctionisdisposedof.Atthebonfestivalperhapsitisnaturalthatnoclear
distinction is drawn between the souls of the dead and the deied ancestors. On the
otherhand,Mabuchipostulatesavaguelydeneddistinctionbetweentheearlierandlater
deiedancestors(Mabuchi1980,p.15).
Someobservershaveremarkedthatnoteverydeceasedindividualwhohassuccessfully
undergoneallmemorialservicesbecomesakami.OntheislandofKurohama,commoners
areunabletobecomekami.Tekamistatusisattainedonlybythecreatorsofutakishrines,
i.e., the founding ancestors of the head family (ske no kaiso ). Tey are wor-
shipedatdivinetombs(shinbolit.deitiesgraves)andatspecialdeitiesmemorial
tablets(kaminoihai).OnYonaguni(Yaeyamaislands),thedeadwhoreceived
thelastthirty-thirdanniversaryservicebecomeancestor(Ok.uyapudi),butnotkami.
Ancestorsareseparatedfromdeitiesbypriestesseswhopraytothedeitiesattheutakishrines
(Akamine1996,pp.7576).
DiscourseontheNatureofRyukyuanAncestralDeities
InmainlandJapan,adeadpersonisgenerallybelievedtobecomeahotokeorabud-
dha and eventually (after thirty-three, fty, or one-hundred years) ascend to the status of
kami. Robert Smith writes about evidence of the widespread occurrence of practices that
clearlymarkthetransitionfrombuddhatogod(kami).HecitesNaoeHirojiandMogami
Takayoshi who oer many examples of analogous practices, including a case in which the
tabletitselfwastransferreddirectlyfromtheBuddhistaltartotheshrineofthetutelarydeity
(ujigami ).Insuchacasethesoulorancestralspiritissaidtohavebecomeatutelary
deity(Smith1974,p.96).
IntheRyukyus,thedeadarealsobelievedtobecomeakami(deity),
59
evensome-
timesverysoonafterdeath.OnMiyako,deitiesarecalledkanorkam(Jp.kami).Te
deadorhisspiritisalsocalledkan,kam(kami),kambito/kampituorsungam
(lit.thedeadkami)(Uematsu1986,p.77);kannariniyaan(Jp.kami
ninaru)meanstodie(Hirara-shiShiHensanIinkai1987,p.377).InMiyako,aswellas
intheYaeyamas,whensomebodydies,peopleoftensaykannarioori(Jp.kamininara-
reta)Onehasbecomeadeity.NakamaGishassertsthatthisphraseisaperfectexpres-
sionofRyukyuanviewsondeath(Nakama1989,p.227).Abeliefthatthespiritofthedead
becomeskamiisalsopreservedonKudaka(Akamine1996,p.81).OnKudakathedead
spiritsbeforetheirthirty-thirdanniversaryandancestralspiritsaftertheirthirty-thirdan-
niversaryarenotseparatedinhouseholdbutsudan(Akamine1991,p.360).
William Lebra groups all Ryukyuan kami into ve categories; one of them contains
ancestralspirits(futuki),whoareviewedaskamioflowrank.Tefutukiprovideanimpor-
tantlinkbetweenthelivingdescendantsandthesupernatural(Lebra1966,p.22).Futuki
60
istheOkinawanpronunciationofawordofJapanese-Buddhistorigin,hotoke.Teolder
Okinawantermforancestorsisfafujioruyafafuji,butwhereasthistermimpliesallancestors,
futukispecicallydenotesthoseinthemalelineandtheirwives(Lebra1966,p.24).
AlthoughinMiyakothesametermkamiisusedtorefertobothdeitiesandancestors,
peoplemakeacleardistinctionbetweenthetwo.Ancestorsaremuchlesspowerfulandlower
inrankthandeities.Manyancestorsdonothavethepowertoprotecttheirdescendants,even
whentheywishto.Ancestorsareinictedwithpunishmentfortheirbehaviorduringlife.
Sueringancestorsmustdependontheirdescendants;thedescendantsappeasetheirsouls,
askingthegodstoreleasethemfromsuering.Whentheancestorssoulsareappeased,they
turn into protective ancestors (Takiguchi 1984, p. 37). As was mentioned,Tanaka distin-
guishesasmanyasthreekindsofkamiwithintheboundaryofancestorworship:thekami
enshrinedinthehouseholdaltar;thekamiofthedescentgroup;andthekamiassociatedwith
thesacredgroveofthevillage(Tanaka1980,p.47).
AlmostallresearchersagreethatthedeadaredeiedintheRyukyus;theonlypointof
disputecentersaroundthenatureoftheseancestraldeitiesandtheirrelationtothecommu-
nitydeitiesofutakishrines.Burdstatesthatthebeliefthatthedeceasedbecomekamiante-
datestheintroductionofBuddhism.Nonetheless,ancestorworshipdiersfromotherrituals
atutakivillageshrines.Ancestralkamionlyconcerntheirlivingdescendantsandnotthe
communityasawhole.Temotivationoftheirworshipisthepreservationandmaintenance
ofthewell-beingoftheindividualfamily.Whenapersondieshejoinsagroupofancestral
kami,whoretainastronginterestintheirlivingdescendants.Byhonoringthemonegains
theirhelpinpreservingthecontinuityofthefamily(Burd1954,p.232).
TestandardtheoryaboutdeicationofthedeadisfoundinOkinawadaihyakkajiten.
Indigenous beliefs in the Okinawa and Amami groups of islands center around ancestor
worship(Jp.sosenshai)whichiscomprisedofatwo-layerstructure:(I)ancestral
spirits who have passed through the last memorial service, lost their personality and have
becomedeied;and(II)ancestralspirits(reii)priortotheprocessofdeication.Tis
includesancestralspiritsofthehousehold(kazoku)levelwhohavepassedthroughthe
lastmemorialserviceandatthelevelofkingroup(shinzoku)jointheancestralspirits
ofthepatriclan(ichizoku)suchasthepatrilinealgroup(Ok.munchuu),includingthe
foundingancestor(Okinawadaihyakkajiten1983,vol.2,p.828).
AsharpcritiqueofthetheoryaboutdeicationofthedeadthatisrepresentedinOki-
nawadaihyakkajitenisoeredbyAkamineMasanobu,whoanalyzedtheprocessofritual
deicationofthedeadinarticlesonancestorworship(Akamine1991andAkamine1996).
AkaminecallsthisstandardtheorytheOkinawaneditionoftheconceptoftheancestorwor-
shipofmainlandJapanbyKunioYanagitainhislateyears,andcontinues,ifyoureplace
JapanesedzokuwiththeOkinawanmunchuuandjinjawithutaki,itisreminiscentofKunio
Yanagitas theory about Japanese religion (Akamine 1996, p. 72). He agrees that people
throughouttheRyukyususedtobelievethatthedeadbecomekami(Akamine1996,p.73).
However,citingtheviewofancestorsonKudaka,whichpreservestheoldnativetraditions,
he argues that these are only words and ancestral spirits that should have become kami
still preserve their negative character and are not in fact represented in the kami-oriented
rituals,eitheratthelevelofafamilyandmutu(stemfamily)oratthevillagelevel(Akamine
1996,pp.86,89).HecitesmanyearlierinvestigatorsofRyukyuanreligionwhoassertedthat
303 BecomingKami?
ritesdevotedtoafoundingancestordonotrepresenttheoldRyukyantradition,butrather
developedunderinuenceofChinesecultureinearlymoderntimes(kinsei).Inaddition,
heobservesthatinOmorosshiideasrelatedtoancestorworshipareveryscarce.EvenNa-
kamatsuYashholdsthatalthoughkamiintheRyukyusmeanskamioftheutaki,i.e.,
ancestraldeity (Jp. soreishin ), ancestor worshipitself constitutesa new religion
(Akamine1996,p.94).OriguchiShinobualsowrotethatancestorworshipwhichisvery
stronginthereligiousthoughtoftheRyukyucannotbeseenasafountainheadofRyukyu
Shinto(Akamine1996,p.95).
61
Akamineconcludesthattakingintoconsiderationthefact
thattheadoptionofConfucianismandBuddhismbytheroyalcourtofShuriinuencedthe
ancestorritualsoftheordinarypeople,ancestorworshipintheRyukyusshouldbestudied
fromahistoricalperspective(Akamine1996,p.95).
Ontheotherhand,interpretingOuwehandsdataonHateruma,Akaminearguesthat
ancestor-deities(uyaan)whoareworshipedinthetokonomaare[individual]deiedan-
cestorspirits(shinkashitasorei),butnotcollectivedeiedancestorspirits
(shinka shita sorei no shgtai ) within the paradigm of ancestor
worship.Inotherwords,ancestor-deitiesareancestorswithcharacteristicsofculturalhe-
roes.AppealingtotheviewsofOuwehand,Heshiki,It,Kasaharaandothereldresearch-
ers, Akamine claims that though the nature of the dead spirits change on the thirty-third
anniversaryserviceorbone-washingritual,thisshouldnotbeunderstoodasthedeication
ofthedeadspirits(Akamine1996,p.76).
According to Ouwehand himself, on Hateruma the dead are of course ancestors as
well,buttherespectful-intimaterelationshipbetweenthedeadandtheliving,whichisex-
pressedinthemortuaryservicesandwhichpersistsafterthethirty-thirdanniversaryinrituals
suchasbon,iscompletelydierentinnaturetotherigidlypatterened,stronglyritualized
worshipoftheuyaanasthedivine,thehighones,accordingtotheritualtexts(Ouwehand
1985, p. 160). Worship of the dead (of the uyapsitu) in Hateruma is distinguished from
theworshipofancestor-deitiesconnectedwiththeritualsoftheagriculturalcycle.Inthe
shrinesystem(worshipofuyaan)themainfocusoftheritualsisontheliving,whileinthe
gravesystem(worshipofthedead)thefocusisonthedead.Tereisanotherdistinction
betweenthesetwocategoriesinthattheshrinesystem(worshipofuyaan)isforemostthe
concernofthevillageandtheislandcommunity,whereasthegravesystem(worshipofthe
dead) is primarily a matter for individual houses or groups of related houses (Ouwehand
1985,p.117).
Testructuralpolaritybetweenuyaanworship(withsouthernorientation)onthe
onehand,andthecultofthedead(withnorthandnorthwestorientation)ontheother,
iscentraltothereligioussystemofHaterumaandisimplicitlyexpressedinritualtexts(Ok.
pan)aswell.Nevertheless,intheseritualtextsuyaancanbealsocalledthedivinehotoke,the
highhotoke(kanputugi-n-ganasiuiputugi-n-ganasi)(Ouwehand1985,pp.14243,158),
wherehotokeisacommonappellationforthedeadorancestor.IncertainfamiliesofHa-
teruma,however,thetransitionfromthestateofanancestorwhohadlongagobecomekan
(Jp.kami)totheuyaanstatuscanbetracedonthebasisofthetransitionfromreverenceof
thedeadintheritualssuchasbon(includingthejurukunichiritual)touyaanworshipwithin
thesystemofagriculturalritualsandfestivitiesofthelunarNewYear.Forthelegendaryhero
asancestoroftheGeetufamily,thistransitionmusthaveoccurredverylongago,whereasin
caseoftwosistersPsutaandKabireethetransitionoccurredonlyinthersthalfofthetwen-
tiethcentury.AsimilarcaseconcernsthePeetuancestorinterredwithinthegroundsofthe
Arantushrine.However,thegraveoftheYamadaBupameeisreveredaskamiohakaorthe
honorablegraveofadeity,butshehasnotyetbeengrantedtheuyaanstatus.Tus,aprimary
conditionforanancestorsacquiringtheuyaanstatusseemstobetheancientmemoryofthat
ancestorshavingbeenamythical-legendaryheroorheroine.TepeopleofHaterumaseem
toseetheuyaanasdistantancestorswhocrossedovertotheislandandlivedthere.Tese
predecessorsopeneduptheislandandcontinuetokeepwatchoverit.Teybecamemythi-
cal,legendaryandculturalheroes;theyneednotalwaysbeforebearsofthepresentpopula-
tionbutarealsofoundamongtheonce-powerfulocialdom.Teyare,accordingtoritual
texts,theuyaankeepingprosperityforathousandyears.InOuwehandsopinion,special
attention should be given to the invocation of the uyaan considered to be present within
thegroundsofthevillageshrines,whichoccursinmanyritualtexts.
62
Itistheseuyaanthat
arepresenttherepermanently,andareconsideredbyNakamatsuYashtobeinnerdeities
(kusatikami[cf.theJapaneseidiomkoshioateru,toplacethehandsin
frontof,tosupportattheback];Jp.naibunokami),thatis,deitiesthatprotect
thevillage.Withrespecttothepossibilitythatcertainuyaancouldbevillagetutelarydeities,
Ouwehandmakesreferencetofoundersgravesandthepresenceofhumanboneswithinthe
groundsofthevillageshrines(seebelow)(Ouwehand1985,pp.16162).Kreinerobserved
thesamephenomenonfortheAmamigroup(northenRyukyus)andpointedoutthatthere,
too,themostimportantfunctionofuyaan-likedeitiesthatarepresentinthevillagethrough-
outtheyearisprotectionofthevillageanditspeople.InAmamithevillageancestor-deities
donotappeartobeconceivedofinapersonalmannerbutmoreasthecommonancestors
ofthevillage(Kreiner1968,pp.11416).
AkamineiscriticaloftheOkinawadaihyakkajitenrepresentationoftherelationshipof
ancestorsandcommunitydeities:Onthevillageleveltheancestralspiritsofthepatriclan
(ichizoku)jointheancestralspiritsofacommunity(shima),whicharesymbolizedby
thekamioftheutaki[shrines](Okinawadaihyakkajiten1983,p.828).Heisalsoskeptical
ofNakamatsu,whoclaimedthatancestorsarebecomingthedeitiesofnirai-kanaiandstay
intheutaki.Akaminedrawsfrombothhisowneldresearchandthatofotherresearchers
of Miyako andYaeyama to demonstrate that the kami of the utaki are not only ancestral
spirits,butalsoincludeculturalheroes,occupationaldeities(blacksmiths,etc.),anddeity-
foundersofthevillage(Jp.shimadatekami)(Akamine1996,p.80).Basedonmy
experienceineldworkintheutakishrinesofMiyakoandYaeyama,IagreewithAkamines
criticism.HisdataonKudakaincludesthendingthatamongmutukamiwhoareworshiped
inthemutu(),oroldhousesinvolvedinthereligiousaairs,themajorityarethedeities
ofnirai-kanaiderivationwhichareunrelatedtoancestors.Onlyafewancestraldeitiesare
worshipedinthemutu,andwhentheyareworshiped,inrealitytheyarefoundingancestors
ofthemutuandculturalhero-typeancestors,notananonymoushostofancestralspirits.
AkamineconcludesthatthepassageinOkinawadaihyakkajitenthatdescribestheseancestral
deitiesasindividualancestralspiritswhohavepassedthroughthelastthirty-thirdanniver-
sarymemorialservice[and]areabsorbedatthelevelofthepatriclan(ichizoku)into
thekamidanaofmunchuu(patrilinealgroup)isabsolutelyunapplicabletoKudaka
(Akamine1996,p.88).Hearguesthatancestralspiritswhicharesupposedtobedeied
305 BecomingKami?
ortheiranonymoushostareclearlyseparated,atleastonKudaka,fromtheoldancestral
spirits,mythicalfoundingancestraldeitiesorculturalhero-typeancestraldeities.Deitiesof
theutakishrinesarenotancestraldeitiesofacertainfamilyorlineagegroup,butarevery
specialfemaleancestralspirit-deities(joseinosoreishin).Teabodeofthe
deadisoppositetotheabodeofthekamideities(Akamine1991,p.368).
TereareremarkabledierencesinthetreatmentoftheancestorsintheRyukyusde-
pending on the region.Toichi Mabuchi points out that remote ancestors fall sooner into
oblivion and negligence in the southern Ryukyus (the Miyako and Yaeyama islands) than
inthemainislandofOkinawawheretheseancestorsareworshipedindividuallybythestem
familyonthevariouslevelsofpatrikinorganization,eventhoughtheyhavelosttheirpersonal
identityafterthethirty-thirdanniversary.Becauseaninstitutionalmechanismbywhichto
systematize ancestor worship is lacking, remote ancestors in the southern Ryukyus tend
moreeasilytointerminglewiththedeitiesofthesacredgroveorshrineofthecultgroup
(Mabuchi1976a,p.113).
TeBonFestivalandOtherRitualsRelatedtotheDead,RemoteAncestorsandVisit-
ingDeities
To clarify the nature of ancestral deities, I would like to oer an overview of some
collectiveritualsrelatedtothedead,remoteancestorsandso-calledvisitingdeities.Inthe
Ryukyus several festivals of Buddhist origin held throughout the year are centered on the
soulsofthedeadandancestors:thebonfestival(Ok.bun/bung,shichigachi/hichigwachi
,sooroo/sooron)(g.32);theseimei (Ok.siimii)festival(g.33)onthemain
islandofOkinawa(heldonthesecondmonthofthelunarcalendar)whenfamilymembers
visit the tomb with oerings and pray to their ancestral spirits; the NewYears Day of the
Dead(Ok.jurukunichi;thesixteenthoftherstmonthofthelunarcalendar);andTanabata,
ortheStarFestival(seventhdayoftheseventhmonthofthelunarcalendar).
AmonganumberofoldfolkritesinOkinawaandAmamiwhicharedirectedtothe
remoteancestorssomearerelatedonlypartiallytotheBuddhist-typeritualsandothersare
absolutelyunrelatedtoBuddhism.Itisbelievedthattheprototypesofthesefolkriteswere
practicedbeforetheintroductionofBuddhism.Inafewvillagesinthenorthernextremity
oftheMiyakoislands(onIkema),thebonfestivalwasnotheldandthepeoplehadneither
ancestraltabletsnorakamidanauntilthetwentiethcentury.Teydidhave,however,their
ownannualcelebrationritualfortheirancestors(Mabuchi1976a,p.109).Insomelocali-
ties of northwestern Okinawa (main island) the members of the patrilineage or patriclan
visitthehouseoftheirstemfamilyonthetenthdayoftheeighthlunarmonthtomake
anoeringtotheirremoteancestors.Itisalsoaroundthisdatethattheghostsandgoblins
cometoprowlandthepeopletrytoexorcisethem,asituationreminiscentofthebonfestival
(Mabuchi1980,p.12).AtsomestemhousesinUruka,orSunakawaVillage(Miyako)an
extendedformofthebonritualhasbeenperformed.Atnighttheritualwasconductedinthe
samewayasinotherhouseholds,butduringthedaytimeaspecialbonritualfortheremote
ancestors,whichhadbeendeiedlongago,wascarriedout.Totheseremoteancestorsthe
stemhousemembersoeredwinespeciallybrewedofmilletandriceandsangaritualsong
witharhythmicclappingofhands.Suchoeringsandsingingareusuallyforthedeitiesof
thesacredgroveorshrine,notforthedead.Membersofthesamecultgroupattendthese
rituals.Teatmosphereisquitereminiscentoftheritualofakinshipgroupcenteringona
commonancestor(Mabuchi1976b,p.96).
OntheNanseiislands,asinJapan,thesoulsofthedepartedareinvitedintothehouse
fromthegraveyardduringthebonfestivalontheseventhlunarmonth.AccordingtoKreiner,
onAmamiasmallhutmadeofleaveswithoeringsiserectedandtabletsareinstalledinfront
ofthelivingroomofthemainhouse.Laterthesoulsareseenoattheseashore,wherethe
oeringsarethrownintothesea.Intheeighthlunarmonththearasachifestivalmarksthe
beginningofthefolkNewYear;sixdayslaterattheshibasashifestivalthesoulsofthedead
arewelcomedagain.Tistime,burningcoalsareputonthebundlesofgrassandstrawin
betweenthemainentranceintothecompound.Tisissaidtobedonebecausetheances-
torsarecomingfromovertheseaandtheirlegshavegrowncoldandwet(onalaterday
inthesamemonththedungafestivaliscommemorated;herethebone-washingispracticed)
(Kreiner2004,p.403).
YoshidaismoreaccuratewhenhereportsthatthedayofshibasashionAmamiOshima
isadaywhenpeoplereceiveancestorsofold(Ok.koosoganashi/kosuganashi)who
areundoubtedlyancestorswhodiedmorethanthirty-threeyearspreviously.Onthisocca-
siontheancestraltabletsaremovedfromtheirusualplacetoaroomontheeastsideofthe
house,i.e.,inthedirectionofdeitiesanddeiedancestors.Onthisdaystrawandgrassare
burnt so as to make the smoke by which the ancestors are supposed to come down from
thesky.However,theancestorsaresaidinitiallytohavecomefromtheneira,farbeyond
thesea.TeshibasashifestivalisalsoperformedonKikaijima(Amamiislands)ontheeighth
lunarmonth.Tisinvolvesancestorworshipinwhichowersareplacedonthetombstones
whilesusukiisplacedalloverthehouseandtheyardforthepurposeofexpellingevilspirits
(Yoshida1998,p.175).
Te ritual of hamaori (descending on the beach) which is performed once a year
(onthreedaysafterthe bonfestival)onTokunoshimaattractedtheattentionofseveralre-
searchers (Mabuchi 1980;Yoshida 1998). OnTokunoshima, at the bon festival the people
annuallyworshipancestorswhodiedwithinathirty-threeyearperiod.Teritualofhamaori
(descendingonthebeach)isperformedonceayear(threedaysafterbon)forthepurpose
of praying for a good harvest to the ancestors who died more than thirty-three years ago
(Yoshida 1998, p. 16768). Te people of each hamlet come down to the seashore where
therearexedsitesforstonehearths(kama)allocatedrespectivelytovariousgroupsofthose
descendedfromacommonancestor(alongthemaleline),i.e.,groupsofpatrilineallyrelated
families.Peoplepreparethefeastonthestonehearthstowelcometheancestorsandthedei-
tiescomingfromthesea.Tenewlybornchildrenshouldtouchthesandwiththeirbarefeet
sothattheyareintroducedtotheancestorsanddeitieswhowouldblessthem.Amongthe
peopleoftheislandswestcoastmoreemphasisseemstobelaidonthefertilityofcrops,while
thepeopleoftheeastandsouthcoastemphasizetheimplicationoftheancestorcultasan
importantaspectoftheritual.Teysaythattheoverseasdeitiestogetherwiththedeied
ancestorscomefromtheoverseasholylandtocelebratetheprosperityofthecropsandof
theliving.Teytendeventoidentifyoverseasdeitieswiththedeiedancestors.Mabuchi
concludesthatsincetheritualisheldrespectivelybysuchgroupsasthosedescendedfrom
acommonancestoritissuggestedthatanancestorcultisinvolved(Mabuchi1980,p.13).
AccordingtoYoshida,theritualofhamaoriisdirectedtowardstheancestorswhowouldcome
fromneira,orneriya(nirai),theotherworldofabundance,inordertosecureagoodharvest
307 BecomingKami?
forthefollowingyear,andtoexpressgratitudetothegodoftheseaconceivedtobethegod
ofrice,aswellastothegodsofneira.PrayinginfrontofthethreeU-shapedstonehearthsis
directedalsotothegodofre(Ok.inukan)(Yoshida1998,p.168).
MabuchialsocomparestheritualofhamaoriofTokunoshimawiththeshinuguritualof
northernOkinawa.OnIheyaIslandtheritualconcerningtheoverseasdeitiesisheldonthe
seventeenthdayoftheseventhlunarmonth(twodaysafterthenaleofthebonritual).Here
too,thedeiedancestorsareclassiedwiththeoverseasdeitieswhocomefromsomewhere
farinthe east.In this ritual an emphasis is laid on seeing o the deities whohave already
visitedthelivingatthebonfestival,alongwiththesoulsofthedeadwhichcomefromthe
graveyard(Mabuchi1980,p.13).
AsMabuchipointsout,asalaterintroductiontotheRyukyus,thebonfestivalwithits
denitedateofitsperformance(fromthethirteenthtothefteenthdaysoftheseventhlunar
month),wouldhaveinserteditselfamongaseriesofpreexistingrituals,bisectingthelatter
intothepre-bonritualsandpost-bonones.Tebonfestivalcouldnotremainexemptfrom
suchpartialfusionofthedeiedancestorsandthevisitingdeities,althoughthebonfestival
wouldhavebeenprimarilyaritualforthedead.IntheRyukyusthevisitingdeitiesaccompa-
niedbythedeiedancestors,appearapproximatelywithinthetwoweeksbeforeorafterthe
bonfestival,duringthesixthandtheeighththroughthetenthlunarmonthsinYaeyama,and
duringtheeighththroughthetenthlunarmonthsinMiyako(Mabuchi1980,pp.1011,
1617).Inthisseasonancestralspiritsandthedeitiesareinvitedtofeastsheldateitherthe
kinshiporvillagelevel.Variouskindsofkinshipritualsareheldfortheworshipofthesoulsof
thedeadandthedeiedancestors.Ontheotherhand,thevillageismoreconcernedwiththe
thedeitiesortheremotestancestorssuchasthefoundersofthevillage(Mabuchi1968,p.
128).Mabuchisuggeststhatsuchavarianceofdates(sixththroughthetenthlunarmonths)
mightrepresentanovermanipulationofthelunarcalendaramongthelocalintellectuals,
leadingtotheconsiderabledegreeofdeviationfromboththeagrarianandritualcycleinher-
ent to the Ryukyuan culture. For example, some sophisticated elites of Ishigaki insisted
thattheseventhlunarmonth,thetimewhenthebonritualisheld,isthemonthforthedead
andthereforecommunityritualsforthedeitiesoftheutakishrinesshouldnotbeperformed.
However,beingsasthedeiedancestorsandthevisitingdeitiesmakefrequentappearances
duringthismonthandevenonthedaysofthebonritual,althoughindierentformsand
withadierentdegreeofemphasis(Mabuchi1980,pp.1011,1617).
Moreover,Mabuchipostulatesthat(1)thesixth,theseventh,andtheearlyeighthlu-
narmonthsweretheseasonforwelcomingthesoulsofthedeadandthedeitieswhocame
topartakeofthenewlyharvestedrice,and(2)towardtheendofthisseasonafteraseriesof
ritualsrelevanttotheharvest,thefolkNewYearsDaywascelebratedtosecurethefertility
andprosperityforthecomingyear.Tiswasachievedbyappealingtothevisitingdeitiesand
partiallytothedeiedancestors,ratherthantothesoulsofthedeadwhompeoplestillhad
yettoappeasethantoappealto.Tus,thebonfestivalwouldhavebeencharged,asaresult,
withthetaskofcontrollingthetracofsuchbeings,thoughinMabuchisopinion,itwould
havebeenratherunsuccessful(Mabuchi1980,pp.1617).
VisitingDeitiesoftheRyukyus
HereIwouldliketoobservebrieysomeritualsforvisitingdeitiesrelevanttoourstudy.
InmanyvillagesorcommunitiesoftheRyukyus,itisbelievedthatdeitieswouldvisitfrom
nirai-kanaionceayeartogivetheirblessingsandthenreturntotheirworld.Asnirai-kanai
andtheirgodsarebelievedtobetheoriginofallformsoflifeintheRyukyus,throughthe
blessingsofthevisitingdeities,fertility(yuu)isenhanced.OnthemainislandofOkinawa,
deitiesvisitingfromnirai-kanaiareusuallyinvisibleandoftenpossesspriestesseswhenthey
arriveinthisworld.OnMiyakoandotherislands,priestessesperformthebeckoningoffer-
tilityritual(Ok.yuukui)(g.34).Bycontrast,intheYaeyamaandMiyakoislands
itisbelievedthatgodsfromnirai-kanaitakeontangibleformsandarevisible.Tesedeities
areincarnatedbytheyoungcommunitymemberswhowearmasksandcostumesandwho
oftenoperateasasecretmalesociety.
Tersttypeofritualsforvisitingdeitiesincludestheungami,orunjamifestival
(g.35)inthenorthernpartofthemainislandofOkinawaandtheAmamiislands,nafka
ofMiyako(g.36),andnirantaufuyanofKabira(Ishigaki),etc.Attheungamiritual(forex-
ampleattheShioyadistrictofOgimiVillage),whichisperformedsoonafterthebonfestival
(insomeotherlocalitiesonceeverytwoyearsalternativelywiththeshinuguritual),priestesses
welcomethedeitiesoftheseaanddeitiesfromnirai-kanaiandprayforfertilitywhiledeities
descenduponthem.
63
Asecretyaan,oruyagan(Jp.oyagami)ancestraldeitiesritualwas
alsoperformedonMiyako,ontheislandofgami(sixththroughthetenthlunarmonths),
and in Karimata and Shimajiri (tenth through the twelfth lunar months) when priestesses
werepossessedbythespiritsoftheseancestraldeities.
Amongthevisiblevisitingdeitiesorstranger-deitiesoftheRyukyuanculturalsphere,
I would like to mention mayunganashi, akamata-kuromata, angama, miruku, fusamaraa,
oohoho,etc.,oftheYaeyamaislands;paantuoftheMiyakoislands;andthemaledeitiesof
theshinugufestivalinthenorthernpartofOkinawasmainisland.Visiblevisitingdeities
areoftentreatedasaratherhomogenousgroup(Mabuchi,Kreiner).Isupposethattheymay
betentativelydividedintoatleastthreegroups:(1)akamata-kuromata,paantu,fusamaraa,
shinugu;(2)mayunganashi;and(3)angama,miruku,oohoho.
64
Akamata-kuromataseemsto
bethemostprimordialofdeitieswhileangama,miruku,andoohohoarerathernewpersonali-
ties;angamaandmirukuareclearlyofBuddhistderivation.
InShimajiriVillage(Miyako),paantuobservanceisperformedintheninthmonthof
thelunarcalendar.Paantu,meaningghostsorevilgods,areincarnatedbythreeyoung
communitymemberswearingcoatsofleaves,grass,andvines.Teyarecompletelycovered
withsmellymudfromthesacredwell.Donningmaskspreservedatthreeareaswherethe
communitywasbelievedtohaveoriginated(mutu),paantuwanderthroughoutthevillageto
dispelevilspiritsandbringluck.Localpeopletreatpaantulikeimpersonatedancestorsand
deitiesarrivedfromnirai-kanai(g.37).
OnHaterumaisland,theharvestfestivalhascompletelymergedwiththebonfestival.
Te procession of the Miruku
65
(g. 38) fertility deity (originally Miroku bosatsu) is held
togetherwiththebonfestivalonthefourteenthoftheseventhmonthofthelunarcalendar.
Mirukuasvisitingdeityfromtheworldfaracrosstheseawaseasilylinkedwiththeideaof
visitingancestorswholefttheotherworld(Jp.anoyo)temporarilyatthetimeofthe
soorun(dial.fromJp.shry)(thebonfestival).Villagersoerprayersofreposetotheirances-
tors,reciteprayersforarichharvest,andprayforthesafetyofthevillage.
OnYaeyamaislandsangama,oranggamafestivitiesareperformedduringthreenightsof
309 BecomingKami?
thebonfestival.InIshigakiCitytheangama,
66
acostumedgroupofyoungpeoplechanting
dancersandmusiciansisinvitedbyhouseholdsasenvoysfromtheworldofthedead(Jp.
anoyo)toconductaserviceinfrontofahouseholdaltarinthememoryoftheancestors.Tey
areheadedbytwomaskedgures,representingawizened,butmerryoldman(ushumai)and
awoman(unmee),whodancetheirwayfromonehousetothenext,engagingspectatorsin
alivelydialoguecarriedoutinalocaldialect(g.39).Ushumaiandunmeeareconsideredas
remoteancestorsandparentsoffaama,orchildren(recentancestors).
AngamaalsoappearonIriomoteattheshichi(Jp.setsu)festival,whosenamemeans
turnoftheyear,indicatingtheendandbeginningoftheagriculturalcycle(ninththrough
thetenthlunarmonths).Teseshichiangamabelongtotheharvestfestivalanddierfrom
bonangama;wecansupposethatthelatter(ancestraltypeofvisitingdeities)weremodeled
aftertheformer(agriculturaltypevisitingdeities).
Numerousscholarsadvancethetheorythatmaskedvisitingdeitiesclearlyrevealtheir
characterasancestor-deities.Origuchihasparticularlystressedthisaspect(cf.Kreiner1968,
p.108andHeshiki1995,p.15).Somemaskeddeitiesalsoshowcharacteristicsofsoulsofthe
dead(Kreiner1968,p.108).NakamatsuYasharguesthatkamioftheutakiareancestral
deitiesandthattheystayinnirai-kanai(Nakamatsu1968,p.101).Tecosmologicalbasisof
thecommunityreligioncenteringonutakishrinesisofthesamenatureasthatofthemasked
deities (Kreiner 1968, p. 110). On the other hand, some other scholars such as Komatsu
Kazuhikostresstheprincipaldierencebetweenancestorsandvisitingdeities.
GravesandGroves: Utaki ShrinesasAncientGraveyards
It is usual in the Ryukyus that the old ancestral tombs are treated as places of wor-
ship.OntheOkinawanmainislandtheancestralfounderstomb(ajibaka,ajishiibaka,or
ajishii)
67
constitutesoneofthemajorpointsofhomageinmunchuuworship.Tistombis
usually rather small and not is used any more for burial, being frequented only as a ritual
site.Inthecaseofcommonermunchuu,theancestralfounderstombisfoundinthevillage
whereitsseniorlineageresides.Amongtheupperclasses,eachfamilypossessesitsowntomb,
andthereisnocommonburial;however,thetombofthelineagefounderandoftenofthe
rstancestor in Shuri constitute secondary placesof homage after the ajishiibaka(Lebra
1966,p.165).
OnTaramaandMinnathesametypesofgravescollectivetombs(Ok.mueebaka,Jp.
moaibaka ) and stone tombs (Jp. ishizumibaka )are used as (1) places
forthenaturaldisappearanceofthesoftpartsofthebody,(2)placesforthestorageofthe
cleansedbones,and(3)sitesoftheritualsfortheancestorsofthelocalpeople(hitobitonoso-
sensaishij).Uematsualsoremarksthatthebonesstockpiledattherear
ofthetombsdonotrepresentcommonancestors(kytsnososen)butpreserve
personality(Uematsu1993,p.260).Anumberoftombsof[quasi-]historicalpersonalitieson
theMiyakoislandsareconvertedintoshrinesortreatedasutaki.Megalithictombs(myaaka)
(g.40-42)oflocalrulers(cafourteenththroughthesixteenthcenturies)areworshipedand
onecanobserveoeringsplacedbesidethem(authorsobservation).
The relationship between utaki shrines (sacred groves) and graves in the Ryukyus
deservescloseexamination.OnTarama,forexample,gravesareoftenveryclosetosomeof
themostsacredutakishrines.AsNewellsays,UnlikeinJapaneseShintowheregravesare
impurerelativetoshrinesandneverassociatedtogether,thereseemstobenoconictbetween
thetwo(Newell1980,p.2829).TisischaracteristicnotonlyofTaramabutalsoofsome
otherislandsoftheMiyakogroupalso.NakamatsuYash,whosurveyedutakishrinesites
throughouttheRyukyuanarchipelagoovermanyyears,notesthattheburialsiteoftheearli-
estancestorsofavillage,particularlytheancestorsofthefounderfamily(muranoske
),wascalledtheplaceforthewindburial(fssho).Overmanygenerations
its function underwent changes and it ultimately evolved into a shrine for the worship of
thekamiandthusbecamethecenterofavillagecommunitysreligiousworship.Nakamatsu
arguesthatalmosteveryutakishrineintheRyukyuscontainsinitsprecinctanareawhere
asizablenumberofhumanboneswerestored.Hehypothesizesthattheentireprecinctofthe
sacredgrovewasoncethecommongraveyardofthecommunity,andthatthemostsacredibi
area(thealtaroftheutakishrine)wasthedepositoryofthecleanedbones.InRyukyuan
villagesthehouseholdofthefoundingfamilywaslocatednexttosuchutakishrineswherethe
burialofancestorswasperformed.Inaddition,therewerealsograveswithinthehousehold
lot
68
(Nakamatsu1968,pp.6162,7075).
MasakoTanaka nds that several facts corroborate Nakamatsus hypothesis, namely:
ithasbeenproventhatmostofthesacredgrovesdoindeedcontainhumanbonesintheir
ibiarea;accordingtoIhaFuyu,ibicanmeanancestralspirit;andpeoplestillremember
their elders saying that the sacred groves contain the divine bone (Ok. funi-shin ).
Sincesomeancestralbonesaretodayalsocalledfuni-shin,itispossiblethatfuni-shin(inthe
senseofancestralbones)
69
becamefuni-shin(inthesenseofdivinebone).Anotherreason
advancedbyTanakaisthattherelationshipbetweenthegeneralprecinctofthesacredgrove
andtheibiareaisconsistentwiththemortuarycustomswhichsurviveduntilquiterecently.
AsaspecialistonOkinawankinship,Tanakasurmisessomesortofrelationshipbetweenthe
sacredgrovesandancestorworshipinthepast.Tatsomeformofancestorworshipexisted
beforetheintroductionofBuddhismseemslikelyfromthefactthatthehouseoftherst
settler(Ok.nii,nii-yaa)wasdistinguishedfromotherhouseholds,andtheocesof
thebigman(Ok.ufukoro/ohokoro,orleaderofthecommunity)andthekami(Ok.ni-
gami,Jp.negami,ormajorpriestessofthecommunity)weretransmittedpatrilineally
fromthesister-brotherpairofthehousefromonegenerationtothenext(Tanaka1974,pp.
3435).
Tere are also other reasons for the inclusion of the kami of the sacred grove (utaki
nuu-kami-ganashii)inthecategoryofancestors.Allvillagersarebelievedtobehisagnatic
ospring;theyconsiderthemselvestobethechildren(Ok.kwaamaagwa)ofthedeity
oftheutakishrine.InsomevillagesofOkinawathekamioftheutakiisdenitelyconcep-
tualizedasthefoundingcoupleoftheoldestdescentgroupofthevillage,whosebonesare
enshrinedintheprecinctsofthesacredgrove.Tanakaarguesthatthecongregationofkamiis
notaresidentialcategory,butratheradescentcategory,sinceonlythosewhowerebegotten
bymalevillagersbelongtothisgroup.InTanakasopinion,allthismakesitmorelikelythat
thekamioftheutakimaybeancestorsofthevillagersnotjustmetaphorically,butgenealogi-
callyaswell.Ontheotherhand,thekamiofthesacredgroveissovaguelyanthropomor-
phizedandpersoniedthatpeoplearenotsurewhetherthekamiistherstancestorofthe
villageorincludesallremoteancestors.Okinawanancestorsmaybeaddressedasparents
(uya)withvarioushonorics(e.g.,mi-uya,uya-ganashii,uya-ganashii-mee,mi-uya-ganashii-
mee).Nootherdeitiesmaybeaddressedorreferredtointhismanner,whileliving
311 BecomingKami?
parentsmaybereferredto,butnotaddressed,asuya-ganashii,oruya-ganashii-mee.Another
distinctivefeatureofthekamiofthesacredgrove,whichsetsthiskamiapartfromallother
ancestors, is that the kami is approachable only through female ritual specialists (Tanaka
1977,pp.45,4849).
Nakamatsushypothesisinvolvesnotonlyutakishrinesbutalsostone-walledenclosures
calledgusuku,orgushiku(Ryukyuancastles)(g.43).Tedisputeregardingtheorigin
andnatureofthegusukutookplaceintheOkinawanacademicworldinthe1970s.Among
three theories which were discussed at that time one is relevant to our study: gusuku were
sacred areas including tombs and having the same characteristics as utaki. Akamine agrees
withNakamatsuthatinmanylocalitiesintheRyukyusbonesofancestorscalledfuni-shinare
worshipedinutakishrines.Bututakiassacredspacesareseparatedfromgraveyardswhich
areusedtodayforburials.Tus,ancestralbonesworshipedinutakirepresentnotthespirits
ofthedeadastheyare,butancestraldeitiesintowhomthesedeadspiritshavebeendeied
(Jp.kamikashitasoreishin).AkamineappealstoarcheologistKokubu
Naoichi,whoholdsthesameopinionasNakamatsuaboutgusuku,whichareheldtohave
beenpreviouslythegraveyardsoftheancestors,aswereutakishrines.ButAkamineimposes
acertainlimitation:thesitewheredeitiesresideisnottheplaceoftheprimaryburial(dai
ichijibosho),buttheplaceofthesecondary(dainijini)oreven
ternary (dai san ji ni shunshita tokoro ) deposition of the cleansed
bones(Akamine1989,p.426).
As for the graves within the house yard (yashikinaibaka ), there are three
householdswithshrines(haisho)thatarecalledshiijinganashi(honorableancestors,
Jp. o-senzo-sama ) and are said to be the type of graves that were conrmed on
Kudaka. Tere is no evidence of the preliminary burial of the dead body in these shrines,
although there is the possibility that the secondary burial of clean bones were moved here
afterthesenkotsuritual.Teoldpeoplesaythataftersenkotsuthedeadbecomesshiijinand
ascendthesky.Tus,shiijinganashiarenotthespiritsofthedeadbutdeiedancestralspirits
(Akamine1989,p.426).
OnHaterumasomeutakishrines(calledwaa)haveburialswithintheirprecincts.Mi-
shuku-waa,thevillageshrine,hasremnantsofanoldgravemoundwithinitsground(Ou-
wehand1985,p.42,Fig.10).TegraveofAramari-nu-pa,thelegendaryancestressofthe
human race on Hateruma is still worshiped by the Futamuri family and food is oered at
thegrave.TepriestessfromtheFutamurifamilypresidesovercertainritualsseveraltimes
a year (Ouwehand 1985, pp. 4748, Fig. 12). On the shrine ground of the Arantu-waa a
stone mound marks the place where one of the ancestors (uyaan, Jp. oyagami) of the Petu
house,allegedlythefounderoftheArantushrinecomplex,issupposedtobeburied(g.44).
Tisgraveisworshiped,especiallyduringtheharvestfestivalbytheheadsofPetuandother
houses.ForHaterumathisoldPetuancestorgraveistheonlyclearlydemonstrablecaseofa
gravesiteonthegroundsofavillageshrinethatiscloselyrelatedtoitinlegend.Assuch,ac-
cordingtoOuwehand,itoerssupportforNakamatsushypothesis.Tatthisalsoholdstrue
forplaceslackingsuchvisiblesignsandformalvenerationwasrepeatedlyconrmedbythe
informationtheresearchersreceivedfromthepriestesses,thatbonesandskullslayburiedat
suchandsuchplaceswithintheshrinegrounds.Bonesoflocalrulers,chieftains(Ok.ushi
)aresaidtobeburiedatseveralspotsintheseshrinegrounds;onritualoccasionswater
isoeredatthesespots(Ouwehand1985,pp.4142,Fig.9;149).
OnKakeromaandAmamishimainthecenterofeachvillage,nearthesanctuaries
calledkami-ashagi(fromkamiashiage)forvisitingdeitiesandtuneya/toneya
(ahouseofanoropriestess)forancestorsandtheredeityliesasmallmoundcalledibe
.TisibeofAmamiiscomparablebothtotheibe,oribi,altar,thecentralplaceofwor-
shipintheutakishrinesofOkinawaandtheSouthernRyukyus(Miyako,Yaeyama),andto
thesanctuariesofSouthernKyushusuchasmoidon(Jp.moridono;holygroveswithold
gravesassanctuariesofdzoku-typepatrilineageskado)andmemorialsofthevillage-
founderkiiakedon(Jp.kiriakedono)(Kreiner1966,pp.114115).
OntheMiyakoislandsanumberofutakishrinescontainburialcavesandstonemounds
withintheirprecincts(g.45).Someofthesemoundsarelocateddirectlynexttotheibial-
tarsoftheutakiwhileothersareregardedtobetheibiitself.Tesemoundsaresaidtobethe
gravesofthepeoplewhoareworshipedthereaskamioftheutaki.AtIkemaislandmorethan
half(nineoffteen)ofthevillageutakiandsatoutaki
70
fallintothiscategory:Nakamanii,
Muikusu,Nauvva,Muddumai,Sukimma,Tanui,Majyayama,Mahainasumiga,Tunuganasu
(g.46)(authorsobservation).
71
Inimportantdocumentsoftheeighteenthcentury,Utaki
yuraiki , (Records on the Origin of Utaki [Shrines]), 1705, and Rykykoku
yuraiki,(RecordsontheOriginofRyukyuState,1713)twenty-nineutakiof
Miyakoarerecorded.AkataMitsuoreportsthattherearevegraveyard-typeutakishrines
(bochigatautaki )amongthem(Akata1995,pp.61516,64349).Localeth-
nographers(e.g.,MotonagaKiyoshi,SadoyamaAnko,IrahaMorio)whosupportNakamat-
sushypothesisatleastpartiallyconrmthatmoundswithintheprecinctsoftheutakishrines
aresupposedtobegravesofpersonswhoareworshipedthereaskami.Iwasinformedthat
aboutthirtytofortyyearspreviouslythepriestessesreburiedbonesfromtheprecinctsofthe
sacred groves in proper graves. In some other utaki-shrines ancestral deities are worshiped
(g.47)andmemorialtabletsareinstalled(g.48).
Te graves and groves phenomenon is not restricted to the Ryukyus. Utaki-type
shrinesoftheRyukyusaresupposedtojointheso-calledcultureofsacredgroves(mori,
,ormoriyama)orworshipofsacredgroves(morinoshink)commonto
allJapan.Tiscultureembraceslocalcultsofdierentregions:morigami,ormorisama
(Sanin),nisonomori (Fukuiprefecture,WakasaBay),kjinnomori
(Chgokuregion),shige(Tsushima),moidon(Satsumapeninsular,SouthernKy-
ushu),moiyama(Jp.moriyama)(sumipeninsula,SouthernKyushu),garyama(Tanegashi-
ma), muiyama (Jp. moriyama), kamiyama (Tokara islands), muriyama/muiyama (Jp.
moriyama),obotsuyama,kamiyama,uganyama(Jp.ogamiyama),terayama
, gonginyama/gunginyama (Jp. gongenyama ) (Amami). Many of these local
cultsarerelatedtoancestorworshipandevenburials.
ShimonoToshimiseldresearchonOkinoerabuseemstogiveacluetothehistorical
development(fromstageIastheoldesttostageIIIasthelatest)oftherelationshipbetween
dierentburialsystems,ancestorrituals(sosensai)andsacredgroves.
I. (a) Abandonment of the corpse in the jungle, namely in sa-
credgrovescalledujichiyama,ontheclisorinnaturalcaves.
(b)Umiri(umiori,lit.descenttothesea)matsuriasritualfordistantances-
tors(ensoreimatsuri).
313 BecomingKami?
II. (a) Disposal of the corpse in natural or articial caves, called tuurubaka.
(b)Tuurumi(lit.toseetuuru[graves])asritualformiddleancestors(chsorei
matsuri).
III.(a)Graveyard.
(b)Uyafuji(Ok.forancestor)matsuriasritualforrecentancestors(kinsorei
matsuri).
Teumiri(umiori)matsuriissimilartothehamaoriritualandperformedintheninth
ortenthlunarmonthonthebeach.Gravesarenotvisitedonthisoccasion.Rather,people
donotwelcomeancestorswhomtheyformerlyknew,butremoteancestorsfromtheoverseas
otherworld,i.e.,nirai-kanai.Duringthetuurumiritualintheninthlunarmonthreburial
andthebone-washingriteareconducted.Uyafujimatsuriisperformedfromtheseventhto
the tenth lunar month during which recent ancestors are invited from the graveyard to
thehousewheretheystayforaweekandaresentbacktotheirtombs(Shimono1991,pp.
5159).
HouseholdDeitiesandDeiedAncestors
Te re god (Ok. hinukan, nukan, i nu kang, i nu kami; Jp. hi no kami
),orthehearthdeity(Ok.ukamanukami,Jp.kamadonokami)was
worshipedasaguardiangodatthekitchenhearth,whichconsistedofthreestones(g.49),
in every Ryukyuan home.
72
Together with the ancestral shrine, the kitchen hearth was an
important center of religious activity within the household. Many scholars of Okinawan
religionbelievethatworshipoftheregodprecedesworshipofancestralspirits.Eventoday,
atimportantreligionsfunctions,prayersarerstoeredtotheregod,followedbyprayers
attheancestralshrine.Ritualsatthehearthtotheregodwhoisbelievedtobefemaleare
conductedbytheoldestwomaninthehouse.Somescholarsarguethatthedeiedancestral
spiritsareworshipedafterthelastmemorialserviceastheregod(Okinawadaihyakkajiten
1983,vol.2,p.628).Akamineiscriticalofthisopinion(Akamine1996,p.77).
InvestigatorsofRyukyuanandJapaneseculturesalsohintatyashiki-gamiasthedeied
ancestor.Yashiki-gami(Ok.yasichi-gami,tukurunukan,Miyakotukurugan/
tukurugam,tukurunushi,Haterumayasikinkan),orthedeityofthehouseholdlot(g.
50), used to be worshiped in every house and was believed to be a household protector
(Takiguchi1984,p.376).Sometimestombswithinthehouseyardwereworshipedassym-
bolsofyashiki-gami(Zamami2006,pp.18486).
73
SakaiUsakugatheredanumberofsuch
casesinhiseldwork(Sakai1987,pp.12033).SomestudentsofJapaneseancestorworship
havearguedthatitisbeyonddoubtthatcertainofthekamihaveamoreobviousconnec-
tionwithancestralspiritsthanothers,forexampletheujigamiandtheyashiki-gamiandtheir
equivalents. Regarding the latter, many concrete examples may be given of ancestors who
afterthenalmemorialservice(tomuraiage)havebeenidentiedasyashiki-gami
(Berentsen1985,p.95).
ItmaybesupposedthattheRyukyuanworshipoftukurunukan(alsojiichinukami
, chichinukami ) would lend itself to comparative analysis with the highly
developed concept of yashiki-gami (also uchigami/utsugan, chijin/jigami , jinushi
,kjin)ofJapanproper.Tisisparticularlythecasewherethemodeofworship
in mainland Japan is related to ancestor worship where yashiki-gami, or the deity of the
householdlot(alsojinokami)isworshipedasthedeiedancestor.Inamoredistant
age,Japanesebelievedthatsoulsofthedeadpuriedfromthepestilenceofdeathbecameya-
shiki-gami.Inthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcenturythetombsofthefoundingancestors
withinornearthehouselotswerestillworshipedasyashiki-gami.Researchersdiscoveredthat
thetheshrinesofancestordeitiesgraduallymovedovertimefromdistantlocations(inthe
forestoratthebaseofmountains)tothehouselot.NisonomoriofWakasaBayisheldasan
exampleoftheoriginalformofyashiki-gami(cf.Naoe1980,pp.198214).
Iwouldliketostressthatyashiki-gamiofthemainfamilyintheJapanesevillage(Ok.
mutu, or mutuyaa) can become the guardian deity (chinju no kami ) of the kin
group or of the whole village. Moreover, yashiki-gami can develop into a eld deity (ta no
kami).Ritualsforyashiki-gamiinJapanarecarriedoutatthetimeofthefestivalsfortheeld
(ta no kami) and the mountain deities (yama no kami) on the second, tenth, and eleventh
monthsofthelunarcalendar,consequentlyduringthefestivalsforthebeckoningofthenext
years harvest (yoshuku -type rituals) and harvest thanksgiving festivals (hnensai
-typerituals)whicharecommonbothtoJapanandtheRyukyus.
Flesh/Bones,Feminine/Masculine
Twonaturalsubstances,blood(Ok.chii;Jp.chi)andsemen(Ok.sani,Jp.sane
or),arebelievedtoplaysignicantrolesindeningtwodierentkindsofparent-child
relationshipsintheRyukyus;specicallyinOkinawa.Terelationshipthroughblood(Ok.
gweeshichi, non-agnatic kin relationship) is bilaterally symmetrical: the person is related to
boththegenitorandgenitrixinblood.Inthissense,itsharplycontrastswiththeagnatic
74
(Ok.shiji)relationshipwhichisthoughttobebasedonsemen(sani):agnaticstatusderives
solelyfromthegenitor.Shiji()asthepaternalrelation,orpatrilineagestandsforthe
genealogicallineofsuccession,beingakindofspiritualpowerpassedontotheindividual
throughthepatriline.Tusagnaticstatuscomeswithsemen(sani)andistransmittedonly
throughthemale.Teprincipleofshiji(agnation)isrelevanttotheindigenousRyukyuan
conceptofcitizenshipinthevillagecommunity.Aconcreteexpressionofthisprincipleis
astrictmaleprimogenitureininheritanceandsuccession(Tanaka1974,pp.112,118,164;
Tanaka1977,pp.3738).
In omoro songs as well as in the modern folk ideology another shiji
75
appears (seji in
theOmoroSshi),whichwasanimpersonalsupernaturalpowerbelievedtocontrolulti-
matelyeverythingintheworld,transformingfemaleintosacredpersons(i.e.,priestesses)and
grovesintoutakishrines.AccordingtoTanaka,itisnotaccidentalthatbothpatrication
andsupernaturalpowerarecalledshiji,althoughthesewereregardedastwoseparateand
homophonouswords(Tanaka1974,pp.248249).Indeed,Lebradenesshijialsoasthe
spiritinamaleline
76
(Lebra1966,p.222).OnHaterumaallmanifestationsoftheuyaan
(oyagami)orancestraldeitiespossessthisshijipower;elsewhereintheYaeyamastheideaof
shijipersistsintheconceptoffertility(yu/yuu()(Ouwehand1985,p.165).
AccordingtothepopularsomatologicalbeliefsintheRyukyusverymuchlikethose
inKorea,SoutheastChinaorinSoutheastAsiaesh,bloodandbonesconstitutethehu-
manbody.Fleshandbloodareinheritedfromthemotherwhilebonesarethesymbolofse-
315 BecomingKami?
menreceivedfromthefather.Aswasalreadymentioned,atthesenkotsubone-washingritual
theremainsofthedeadareseparatedfromredeshandbloodandaretransformedinto
whiteboneswhichare,asAkashiUematsuargues,thesymbolofthesemeninheritedfrom
thefather.Afterthebone-washingritualthebodyisreducedtoboneswhicharethesymbolof
patrilineality;thusthedeceasedispromotedtothestatusofanindividualancestor(Uematsu
1986,p.81;Uematsu1988,pp.140,146,165).
Saion
77
wroteinhisGokyj(Instructions1733)thatsincetheichimun(Jp.ichimon
)iscomposedofthedescendantsofthesinglefoundingancestor(Ok.gwansu),the
membersoftheichimunsharethesameboneandesh.Teseinstructionsalsoshowthatthe
rulingwarriorclasstriedtoinstillagnaticprinciplesinthepeoplesminds(Tanaka1974,p.
45).TeRyukyuanconceptofblood/eshandsemen/bonesisquitesimilartothepopu-
lar ideas in Southeast Asia and Southern China (Fukien, Canton, andTaiwan).Two-stage
burialswithreburialandbone-washingritesweresupposedlyimportedtotheRyukyusfrom
SouthernChinaalongwiththeintroductionoftheconceptsofbloodandsemen(cf.Tanaka
1974,p.340).AsheldinalocalCantonesevillage,eshisinheritedfromthemotherand
istherebyoftheyin essence;bones,ontheotherhand,arepassedpatrilineallyandare
primarilyyang (Watson1990,p.113).Here,asintheRyukyus,bonesasancestralstu
andagnaticmatterareretainedwithinthefamilyanddescentline,fortheyareexhumed
andputintoanossuaryforpreservation.Localpeoplesaythatonlybonesareregardedas
important.Fleshrotsaway,butbonesarepartofyourancestors,soyoucannotthrowthem
away.Furthermore,inChinabonesareexplicitlyassociatedwithsemen.Inthewordsofthe
informants, Bones are connected directly to your ancestors through your fathers semen
(Tompson1990,p.93).InOkinawatheuncompromisingideologyofpatrication(shiji)
based on the concept of semen is the core of the munchu descent group (Tanaka 1974,
pp.226,238).AnOkinawaninformantexplainedtoWilliamLebra:Shijidoesnotmean
bloodwhenreferringtomaleancestors;itmeansthatyouhavetheirspirit.Yourfathergives
hisshijitoyouandyoursiblings(Lebra1966,p.27).
Tepollutionofdeathemanatesfromthedecayingesh,notfrombones.Teobjective
ofCantonesemortuaryritesistoprogressassmoothlyandecientlyaspossibletothestage
whenitispossibletoexhumethebonesandcleansethemofthelastcorruptingremnantsof
esh(Watson1990,p.113).Tefocusofthefuneralritualistoremovethedangerousand
pollutingcorpsefromcontactwiththelivingandreduceittoclean,long-lastingbones.Te
goalistoremovetheeshlyyinelementsofthedeceasedandseparatethemfromtheliving
whileenhancingthevitalyangelementscontainedinthebones(Martin1990,p.167).
TepreservationofbonesandthedisappearanceofeshreecttheCantoneseconcep-
tionofthepatrilineageasacorporategroupofmalesthat,irrespectiveofdeath,continueto
existthroughtime.Terealmofancestorsisthusexclusivelymale,oryang,intotalabsenceof
women,orfemaleessence(Watson1990,p.114).InOkinawanancestor-orientedideology
themaleisalsosuperiortothefemale(Tanaka1974,p.113).Duringthelastseveralcenturies
theinstitutionofthepatrilinealdescentgroupanditsconcomitantagnaticdescentprinciples
arethoughttohavebeenintroducedfromSouthernChinaandsuperimposeduponthebasi-
callybilateralsystemoftheRyukyus
78
(Tanaka1977,p.62).Tus,theandrocentricideol-
ogyoftheancestralcult(J.L.Watson)ofChinawasgraftedontoRyukyuanculturewhich
ischaracterizedbygenderbalanceandtheritualsuperiorityofwomenwhowereandstillare
responsibleforthemajorityofrituals.
79
WhileinSouthernChina(Canton)thereburialprocedure(equivalenttotheRyukyuan
bone-washingritual)isconductedbymaleprofessionalritualspecialists(funeralpriests),in
theRyukyusthesenkotsuritualiscarriedoutbythewomenofthefamily.
80
However,inCan-
tonitisthewomenandnotthemenwhohandlecorpsesandattendtofunerals.Cantonese
villagemenavoidanyphysicalcontactwiththecorpsebecauseitisthoughttoaectadversely
their yang, or male essence. Women are not aected in the same way given that they are
primarilyofyinessence(Watson1990,p.113).Teycantakeintothemselvesthepollution
ofdeath,asinthevividexampleofwomensweepingtheirunboundhairalongtheconin
ordertoabsorbthecorpsespollution(Martin1990,p.167).Inthesamewaywecaninter-
prettheRyukyuanexample(Hateruma)whenafterthethirty-thirdanniversarywomenerase
thenameoftheirrelativesfromthememorialtabletwiththeirhair(MasaoHiga,personal
communication).
IntheviewoftheCantoneseexample,bonesaremale(yang)inessence,andeshis
female(yin)(Rawski1990,p.24).Althoughyin-yangdualismdoesnotpervadeRyukyuan
culturetotheextentitdoesinChinese,researcherspointoutthebinaryoppositionofagnat-
ic/non-agnatic relationship (shiji/gweeshichi, sane/chii, semen/blood) in Okinawa (Tanaka
1974,p.324).Tisimportedbinaryoppositionoverlappedwiththeindigenousdichotomy
betweenthedomainofthefemale(sacred)andthemale(profane)(Tanaka1974,p.244).
Death rituals are recognized as the crystallization of cultural values and symbolism.
EvaluatingHertzscontribution,MetcalfandHuntingtonwrotethatsocietiesthatpractice
secondarybonetreatmentdemonstratebythisactivityagreatercognitiveconcernwiththe
bones.Hertzcontendedthatthecorpseandhumanosseousremainsmanipulatedinreburi-
alsareusedtosymbolicallyrepresenttheculturalsystem,thebeliefs,andvaluesofasociety
that practices such rituals (Metcalf and Huntington 1991). Ryukyuan rites highlight the
symbolismoftheancestorsbones.Tebodyandbonescometoembodythesocialidentityof
theperson.Withinmortuaryritesandancestorworshipeshisthesymbolofthefeminine
andpollution,whilebonesarethesymbolofthemasculineandsacred.
Bywayofconclusion,letussummarizethedierentviewsinthediscourseonthepost-
mortemritualdeicationintheRyukyus.Ancestralspiritsareviewedaskamioflowrank.
TebeliefthatthedeceasedbecomesakamiseemstoantedatetheintroductionofBuddhism.
On the contrary, the concept of the deication of the souls of the dead at the thirty-third
anniversaryisofalaterintroductiontotheRyukyus,althoughitisnowwidelyanddeeply
rootedinlocalculture.TereseemstobeprevalentamongtheRyukyuansavaguedistinction
betweenthedeadwhosememoryisstillvividandthosewhodiedlongago,eventhoughthe
thirty-thirdanniversaryisnothingbutabusinesslikeprocedurebywhichtodiscardofa
distinctionthatwasprimarilygradualandrelative.Withinancestorworship,deiedancestral
spiritsortheiranonymoushostsareseparatedfromthedeitiesoftheutakishrineswhoare
notancestraldeitiesofacertainfamilyorlineagegroup,butareoldancestralspirits,mythical
foundingancestraldeities,culturalhero-typeancestraldeities,orveryspecialfemaleancestral
spirit-deities.
317 BecomingKami?
Ancestor-deities (uyaan/oyagami) who are worshiped in the tokonoma and the utaki
shrines are individual deied ancestor spirits but not collective deied ancestor spirits
withinancestorworship.Ancestorsdeiedatthenalthirty-third-yearceremonywithinthe
frameworkofancestorworship,andthedeitiesofthevillageshrineworshipsuchasuyaan
represent two dierent concepts. No clear distinction is drawn between the souls of the
deadandthedeiedancestorsatthebonfestival,althoughthedeiedancestorsareclas-
sied into the earlier and the latter, in parallel relationship with the distinctions between
thestemfamilyandthebranchfamilies.Teprocessbywhichanancestortransitionsfrom
akamitothestatusofancestor-deitiescanbetracedtoasimilarphenomenonseeninthe
transitionfromreverenceofthedeadinritualssuchasbontouyaanworshipwithinthesys-
temofagriculturalrituals.
TatsomeformofancestorworshipexistedbeforetheintroductionofBuddhismseems
likely,sincethehouseoftherstsettler(nii-yaa)wasdistinguishedfromotherhouseholds,
andtheocesoftheleaderofthecommunityandthemajorpriestessofthecommunity(ni-
gami)weretransmittedpatrilineallyfromthesister-brotherpairofthehouseofonegenera-
tiontothenext.Someplaceswheretheearliestancestorsofavillagewereburiedultimately
becameutakishrinesfortheworshipofthekamiandthusthecentersofthereligiousworship
ofavillagecommunity.Ancestralbones(funi-shin)worshipedinutakirepresentthedeied
ancestraldeities.Somedeiedancestorsafterthenalthirty-thirdmemorialservicealsohave
beenidentiedasthedeityofthehouseholdlot(yashiki-gami).
PriortotheintroductionofTanabata,thebone-washingritualwascarriedoutduring
the shinugu or unjami/ungami festivals (during the seventh month of the lunar calendar),
arasachi,shibasashi,anddungafestivals(eighthmonthinthelunarcalendar),andthetuurumi
ritual(ninthlunarmonth).Tesefestivalsaswellastheritualsofhamaori(descendingon
thebeach)andumiriareperformedonceayear(roughlyaroundthetimeofbon)forthe
purposeofreceivingthesoulsofthedeadandprayingtothedistantancestors(thosewho
diedmorethanthirty-threeyearsagothosecomingfromoverthesea,ornirai-kanai)fora
goodharvest.TesefestivalsrepresentanoldformoftheRyukyuanancestorcultthatreveals
theindigenousritualelevationofthedeadspirittothestatusofancestraldeity.
Acknowledgments: Tis project was begun when I was a visiting researcher at Nichibunken (2003
2004) and nished during my stay as a visiting researcher (as a Japan Society for the Promotion of
ScienceFellow)attheUniversityoftheRyukyus,Okinawa(20072009).IthankProfessorsKomatsu
KazuhikoandKarimataShigehisaofthoseinstitutionsforacceptingme.Iamalsogreatlyindebtedto
a number of researchers from Miyako (Motonaga Kiyoshi, Sadoyama Anko, Iraha Morio, Nakasone
Masaji, Okamoto Keish), Yayeyama (Ishigaki Shigeru), Okinawa (Higa Masao, Karimata Kenichi,
HaterumaEikichi,TsuhaTakashi,TakaraKurayoshi),andmainlandJapan(TanigawaKenichi,Sakai
Usaku,ShimonoToshimi,ShintaniTakanori)fortheiradvice,supportandguidance.Iwouldalsolike
tothankmanypeopleofMiyako,Yayeyama,andOkinawafortheirkindnessandcooperationduring
myeldresearchandstayonthesebeautifulislands.Lastbutnotleast,IthankProf.JamesC.Baxter
andDr.JamesBaskind,whobothputinmanyhourshelpingmerenemymanuscriptforJapanRe-
view.
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NOTES
1 Inthisresearchnote,thetermtheRyukyusreferstotheRyukyuanculturearea(Rykybunka
ken),embracingtheNanseiislands(Nanseishot)(g.1),inclusiveofthefol-
lowingislandgroups:Yaeyama,Miyako,Okinawa,Amami,andTokara(herenamedinsouth-to-north
order).
2 AmongthesepublicationsthereareonlyfewshortspecialarticlesondierentaspectsofRyukyuan
deathritualsandancestorworship(Haguenauer1954[1977];Kaneko1964;Kreiner2004;Mabuchi
1976a;Noguchi1966;Tanaka1977).Tereisnotasingleworkonthepostmortemritualdeication.
3 Tecommonalityisfoundinthebasicstructureofmortuaryriteswhichinvolvedoublefunerals:(1)
theprimarytemporaryburialofthedeadbody;and(2)thesecondarytreatmentincludingtheburialof
cleanbones(Sai2004;Yamaori2004;Baksheev2005).
4 Tereareafewexceptionsasseeninthecomparativestudy,Ancestors(Newell1976),andaspe-
cialarticleonRyukyuandeathrituals(Haguenauer1954,1977)whichwerewrittenoverthirtyyears
earlier.
5 Teobjectofthispaperistheprocessofthedeicationofthedeadandthenatureoftheancestral
deities, not the whole complex of diverse rituals and concepts relating to mortuary and postmortem
practicesthroughouttheRyukyus;thelatterwillbeconsideredinthefollowingpublications.
6 Omoro are traditional religious songs, ritual chants, and the prayers of priestesses of the northern
group of Okinawan and Amami islands. Te Omoro sshi , recorded in 15311623, is
consideredtheRyukyusgreatestcollectionofsongs.
7 ForadiscussioninEnglishonsingle(nal)anddouble(multiple)disposalmethodsintheRyukyus,
seeKaneko1964,p.25.
8 Fluid-reducer(Kaneko1964,p.25),bone-dryingplace(Lebra1966,p.166).
9 Itmeansthatthesegravesareusednow.
10 Telatterisofagabletype.Whenaprimaryburialtombandapermanentburialtombofthistype
aremergedinonetomb,shiruhirashiisaright-hand(western)chamberofatomb,usedforthetem-
poraryintermentpriortobonewashing(cf.Lebra1966,p.223).Itisrepresentedbythefamousroyal
tombTamaudun(or;g.3);however,Tamaudunhasone(central)shiruhirashichamber
andtwo(rightandleft)chambersforthelayingofremainstorest.Teinteriorstructureofthetomb
withasingledemarcatedspaceisanalyzedbelow.Itisoftenofaturtle-backtype.
11 PrimarytombsaretermedintheRyukyusgushoo,orgusoo(Jp.gosh)orshiruhirashi/shiruha-
rashidukuma;permanenttombsshinju(Jp.senzo)orjustpaka.Terearenumerousgeneralterms
foratombindierentlocationsof theNanseiIslands:haka/paka/faka,paa(),gushoo,shinju/shinzu
(Jp. senzo), muto/mutu/mudu (Jp. moto , i.e., origin), haru (lit. eld ), haruyaa/paruyaa
(lit.eldhouse),fukayaa(lit.outdoorshouse),tsukaju/chikaju,muuju(lit.
mourningplace),etc.(NakamaandEbara1983,p.130).
BecomingKami? 327
12 Alsoike,sichiki),tooni()(Fujii1989,p.317).
13 Onrstreferencetoanindividualisland,Igivethenameoftheislandand(inparentheses)the
nameofthegroupofislandstowhichthatindividualislandbelongs.Insubsequentreferences,Iomit
theparentheticalidenticationoftheislandgroup.
14 Jp.oyahito(thedead,lit.parent-human).
15 Suicide,murder,drowning,burning,accident,andsomekindsofdiseaseareregardedbyOkinawa-
nsasabnormaldeaths(ijshi).Insuchcases,aswiththedeathofachildunderseven,postmortem
ritesgreatlydierfromthestandardpattern.
16 Jp.hotoke ,the[newly]dead.
17 Jp.kami.
18 Seethedescriptionoftheseventh-dayceremoniesinEnglish:forthemainislandofOkinawa,see
(Tanaka1977,p.46);forHaterumaisland(Ouwehand1985,pp.19192);forKurohamaisland(Ota
1987,pp.13032);forTaramaisland(Newell1980,p.35);forMiyakoisland,KarimataVillage(Burd
1952,p.228).
19 TisperiodcorrespondstotheBuddhistintermediateshade(chin)orintermediateexis-
tence(chu),aforty-ninedayperiodbetweensomeonesdeathandtherebirth.
20 InAmamithedeadsoulisbelievedtomovebackandforthbetweentheafterworldandthisworld
forsevendaysafterdeath.
21 Onthesymbolismofforty-nineinfunerarymatters,seeOuwehand1985,p.183.
22 ForMiyako(KarimataVillage)seeBurd1952,p.228;forKurohama,seeOta1987,p.131,butthe
mabuiwakashiritualonKurohamaisperformedonthetwenty-rstday(ibid.).
23 Tetimingofthemabuiwakashiritualdieredgreatlyfromlocalitytolocality:thirdday(Tonaki,
Henza,Teima,Kabira,andNagahama),twenty-seventhday(Kiyan,Tomori),thirty-seventhday(At-
suta),forty-ninthday(Ou,Itokazu,Oku,Izena,Aguni,Uruka,Sonai,etc.),hundredthday(Zamami)
(Fujii1989,p.315).
24 Kamkakarya(kam-kakara[Nevsky2005,V.I,p.343];[Yonaha2003,p.137];
someWesternscholarspreferkankakariaorkangkakaria)iskamigakariinstandardJapanese,and
meanspossessedbyakamispiritandiscommonlytranslatedasshaman.Onemayconsider,how-
ever,thewordshamanquestionableasregardstheRyukyuancontext.However,localethnologistsof
MiyakowhocontributedtotheMinzoku,kayvolumeofHirara-shishitreatlocalfolkloreandethnol-
ogyinachapterentitledShaman (Hirara-shiShiHensanIinkai1987,pp.338362).
Tey consistently use the words shaman and shamanism (ibid., pp. 33840,
34549,35254,356,358,35960).
25 BonisprimarilyadomesticritewhiletheNewYearsDayoftheDead,shiimiiandhigancenter
ontombvisitations.Higanisnolongercelebratedbyallfamilies.TeNewYearsDayoftheDeadis
ariteforthosewhodiedduringthepastyear.
26 Shiimiiisthemajorsibandfamilyriteoftheyear,observedatthetombs(Lebra1966,p.222).
Kami ushiimiian annual rite for the founder of a siboccurs during the same period as shiimii
(Lebra1966,p.219).TakiguchitreatsshiimiiatMiyakoasaNewYearcelebrationfortheancestors
(Takiguchi1984,p.375).
27 Tebone-washingritemayalsotakeplaceontheoccasionofalaterfuneraltomakeroomforan-
othercorpse(Lebra1966,p.200).OnKudakabone-washingwascarriedoutonceeverytwelveyears.
28 Foradescriptionofbone-washingritesonthemainislandofOkinawa,see(Lebra1966,p.200);
forHateruma(Ouwehand1985,pp.18990);forTaiwan(Tsu2001).
29 Forthesefestivals,seebelow.
30 TistypeofdisposalwasobservedonMiyako.
31 OntheMiyakoislandsthesenkotsuritualwaspracticedatHiraraCity,IkemaislandandTarama
island;itwasnotobservedinGusukube,Shimajiri,ura,gamiislandandMinnaisland.Tisrite
isthoughttohavebeenintroducedtoMiyakofromShuriabout500yearsbeforeandwaspracticed
initiallyamongthelocalnobility;latelyitwasadoptedalsobyordinarypeopleinsomelocalities(Masaji
Nakasone,personalcommunication).Alsosee(Sakurai1972).
32 FortheschemesofthelocalvariationsoftheprocessofdeicationofthedeadintheRyukyus,see
Fujii1989,p.314,Fig.1(GusukubeandBora[Miyako]andKatsuren-son[Okinawamainisland]);
Uematsu1993,p.273(Taramaisland[Miyako]).
33 OmoroSshi(15321623),Rykyshint-ki(1609),Rykykoku-kyki(1731).
34 SeealsoTanigawa2006,pp.27880.
35 FortheconceptofthesoulinJapan,seeMatsudaira1980.
36 SeephotobytheauthorofprayingIrabutsukasainkampanirobes(g.20).
37 ForadescriptionofOkinawanancestraltablets,seeTanaka1977,p.53.
38 AncestraltabletswereintroducedtomainlandJapanfromChinabyZenmonksinthefourteenth
century.
39 ForalookintotheconstructionofahouseholdancestralaltaronOkinawasmainisland,seeLebra
1966,pp.18283,andfortheislandofTamara(Miyako),seeNewell1980,p.34.
40 Tis is also the case in Japan, although temporary memorial tablets are made of white paper in
China.OuwehanddiscussesthetemporarypapertabletsonHateruma(Ouwehand1985,p.186).
41 InSouthernChinathetemporarytabletisreplacedbythepermanentoneaboutayearafterdeath
(Ahern1973,p.94).
42 Jp.senzo.
43 Duringthejurukunichiandsiimii(Jp.seimei)festivalswhenfamilymembersvisitthetombwith
oeringsandpraytotheirancestralspirits,thefeastinthetombyardisnotobservedonKudakaisland.
Localpeoplevisittombsonlyontheoccasionofaburialorabone-washingritual.Akamineattributes
thistotheextremefearofgraves(Akamine1996,p.83).
44TeritualsuperiorityoftheEastovertheWestintheRyukyuscanbewidelyobservedinotherrites
(Mabuchi1980,p.4).
45 InanorthernOkinawanvillageinichibanza,ontheleftsideofanutanaanalcovecalledu-tukuis
situated.Tisisfoundineveryhousehold,butonlyinthemutuujihousehold(theseniorhouse)
doesitcontainthescrollcalledu-kwannun(Jp.o-Kannon)depictingtreedeities(Tanaka1977,p.50,
Fig.3).
46 Buzashikiisashelfwithculticobjectssuchasincenseburnersandowervases.
47 Ouwehand1985,p.30.
48 Ibid.,p.162.
49 Munchuuisapatrilinealdescentgroupwhichmayberegardedasakindofnon-exogamouspatri-
lineage;themunchuusystemisacomplexofpatrilinealkingroups.Temunchuusystemmaybecon-
sideredaresultofarelativelyrecentcentralizationundertheRyukyuandynasty(SuzukiandMuratake
1971,pp.348,351).Temunchuuisorganizedaroundastemfamily(Ok.mutu-yaa/muutu-yaa
,mutu/muutu,mutudukuru/muutudukuru,ufuyaa);thestemfamilyofamunchuu,
regardedaslinealdescendantsofthemunchuusoriginalfounder,playsaleadingroleintheceremonial
practices for the ancestor. Te larger munchuu are segmented to form subgroups of various grades.
Withintheseverallevelsofsegmentation,eachsegmenthasitsownstemfamilyhouse,ormutu-yaa,
whosefamilylineisusuallycontinuedalongtheprimogenitalmaleline.Tusthereareseveralkinds
ofstemhouses:thestemhouseoforiginandstemhousesofmiddle(Ok.nakamutu)and
lowergrades.Teolderthefamilyline,thegreateristhegenerationaldepthoftheancestorsinvolved
(Mabuchi1976a,p.106;Mabuchi1980,p.12).Amongseveralmunchuusinahamlet,acertainone
is always accorded higher social prestige and ritual dignity over the others due to the belief that the
BecomingKami? 329
munchuusrstancestorwastheoriginalfounderofthehamlet.Testemfamily(Ok.mutuuji,the
seniorhouse)ofsuchadistinguishedmunchuugroupisespeciallydesignatedasroothouseorhouse
oforigin(nii/niiya),rootplace(niidukuru/niidokoro),bighouse,mainhouse(ufuya),
placeoforigin(mutudukuru),orcountrysorigin(kuni-mutu)ofthehamletorvillage(Suzuki
andMuratake1971,p.351;Tanaka1974,pp.2122).Tenii/niiyaa,niigang-yaaisdesignated
astheroothouse,thehouseoftherstsettler,foundinghouseofacommunityorthehouseofa
niigami(Lebra1966,p.221;Tanaka1974,p.32).
50 An agamous patrisib places no restrictions on members regarding whom they are permitted to
marry.
51 Whilethelower-classmunchuuformsacommonburialgroupandpossessasinglepermanenttomb
usedbyallmembers,themembersofanupperclassujiusuallyburytheirdeadindividuallyonahouse-
holdbasis(Lebra1966,p.155).
52 Mutu-yaareferstoanyparenthousewithinthepatrilineageorpatrisib;Lebra1966,p.221.Ufu
muutuandsuumuutumayberenderedasgreatorigin,orhead(chief )originhouse,to
expressthefoundinghouseofapatrisib(Lebra1966,pp.22324).
53 Ashrinecontainingaltarsandahearthbelongingtoacommunityand/orpatrikingroupistermed
tunchi-yaa,tung,tung-yaa,ormeeashagi(Lebra1966,p.223).
54 Nigamiisapriestess-in-chiefofthewholecommunity(villageorhamlet).Testatusofcommunity
priestessesisinmostcasesinheritedfromaunttoniecealongthemalelineofthestemfamily(mutu-ya)
ofagivenmunchuu.Anigamiisahereditarypositionwithinthestemfamily(niiya)ofthepredomi-
nantmunchuuofthehamlet;sheisexpectedtobeamemberoftheniiyafamily(SuzukiandMuratake
1971,p.351).AccordingtoLebra,onthemainislandofOkinawaniigami,niigang,orrootkami,
isthesecond-rankingcommunitypriestess,usuallytheeldestdaughterofthefoundinghouseofthe
community(Lebra1966,p.221).
55 InthesouthernRyukyus(MiyakoandYaeyama)avillagecontainsseveralcultgroupswithasimilar
function, each of which has an utaki shrine. In Miyako, in Karimata, Shimajiri and ura Villages,
the functions of the utaki ritual group and the mutu organization overlap, and utaki and mutu are
worshipedasone.Herethepriestessisselectedfromacertainmutuwhichindicatesanolderstageof
socialstructure.Ikemaislandhasitsownuniquestyleofworshipasseenwhenthemutuisessentially
separatedfromtheutakishrine.Terearealsoinstancesofkinshipgroupsbeingregardedasritualunits
forutakiworshipinthevillageofIrabu.Heretheutakiareworshipedbythekinshipunits(Noguchi
1966,p.31;Noguchi1971,p.359).TecultgroupofthesouthernRyukyusparallelsthevillageonthe
mainislandofOkinawainthatbotharemainlychargedwithperformingtheritualsattheutakishrine
(Mabuchi1976a,p.108).
56 Tere are four mutu on Ikema. Kin belong to the same mutu ritual organization and worship
thesamemutudeitytogether(g.31).Everyonemustbelongtooneofthesemutu(Noguchi1966,p.
34).
57 Also.
58 Kwaa-maaga,orkwa-nmaga;Ok.kwaa,orkkwa,Jp.ko.
59 AmongnumerouskindsofRyukyuankamitherearenatureandlocaldeities,occupationalkami,
ancestraldeities,andlivingpriestessesofallranks.AllRyukyuanwomenarevirtuallykami,wunai-gami
(Jp.onari-gamisister-deity).FortheconceptofRyukyuandeities,alsoseeUematsu1986.
60 Alsoputugi,putuki,futuke,fotoki,hotoki.SeeNevsky2005,vol.2,p.117.
61 RyukyuShintoreferstoindigenousRyukyuancommunityreligion
62 IntheinvocationoftheuyaanatHateruma,whichoccursinmanyritualtexts,theyareconsidered
tobepresentnotonlyatallthedivineplaces(Ok.kaminutukurutukuruooruuyaan),butalsoatthe
greatplaceoforigin,thegreatbirthplaceandattheoriginhouse(Ok.mutunuhii),atthe
roothouse(Ok.ninuhii)(Ouwehand1985,pp.1467,14849,159).
63 Bywayofcontrast,intheshinuguritualitisthemenwhotransformthemselvesintodeities.
64 I have observed rituals for akamata-kuromata (in Aragusuku, Kohama, Komi), paantu, angama,
miruku,fusamaraain20052007.Inaddition,atthesecondMoscowInternationalVisualAnthropol-
ogy Film Festival (MIVAFF; Moscow, May 2004), I translated and commented on a lm by Kazuo
Okada,MayunganashiofIshigakiIsland(1980).
65 Miruku appears on dierent islands of Yaeyama (Ishigaki, Kuroshima, Kohama, Hateruma and
Yonaguni).
66 SeeBaksheev2006b.TeeldresearchvideoAngamaofIshigakiIsland,Okinawa(RussianInsti-
tuteforCulturalResearch,Moscow,2006;38min.,withEnglishsubtitles)waslmedbytheauthoron
18August2005atAzaTonoshiroandon19August2005atAzakawaofIshigakiCity,Ishigakiis-
land,Yaeyamaislands,SouthernRyukyus.TisvideowaspresentedintheprogramofaJapaneseSemi-
naronVisualAnthropologyentitledAnotherJapan:LocalCulturesofJapanatthethirdMIVAFFand
conference,MediatingCamera(Russia,Moscow,M.V.LomonosovMoscowStateUniversity,813
October2006)andatthepanelMediaPresentationandaRoundtablediscussionOtherMateriali-
ties:AngamaMaskPerformancesoftheSouthernRyukyus(panelorganizerE.Baksheev)atthe18
th
ConferenceofJapanAnthropologyWorkshop(JAWS;Oslo,1417March2007).Itisdepositedatthe
MuseumofCulturalHistory,UniversityofOslo,Norway.
67 Aji,oranji,aterritoriallordinthepremodernRyukyus.
68 Tiswasalsoproof,inNakamatsusopinion,thatduringearlierperiodsintheRyukyustherewas
nofearofthedead(Nakamatsu1968,p.72).
69 OnMiyakopunishinisthespiritofthebonesofthedead(Takiguchi1984,p.375).
70 InMiyako,asato(dial.satu)isasubdivisionofavillageorahamlet.
71 SeephotosofIkemasutakibytheauthor;also(Baksheev2003).
72 However,nowadaystheprimitivehearthremainedonlyinshrinesorresidencesofthepriestesses;
incommonhousesitisreplacedbyagasstove,andthereareonlyanincenseburnerandavaseplaced
nearitorinthecornerofthekitchen.
73 InoldOkinawanatombisalsotermedtukuru(Jp.tokoro).
74 AgnatesarethosewhoarepatrilineallyrelatedtoEgo.
75 Shiji(Jp.seji)(cf.Ouwehand1985,p.165)referstothekamispirit,thespiritpowerofthe
kami(shinrei),orspiritforceorpower(reiryoku).Itisavagueconceptwithpossibleanima-
tisticcharacteristics,describingaforcedetachablefromthekami(Lebra1966,pp.2627,p.222).
76 Shiji[nu]kata[] isashijilineorside,themaleline(fukeinokett)orside,
whilefutuki(Jp.hotoke)isancestororancestralspirit(inthemaleline)(Lebra1966,p.218,p.223).
77 Saion,primeminister(Ok.sanshikwan,17281753)oftheRyukyuKingdom.
78 MasakoTanakaarguesfortheuniquenessofthepatrilinealstemsystemoftheRyukyus,specically
ofOkinawaasopposedtotheclassicpatrilinealsystemofChinesesociety(Tanaka1974,p.63).She
isinclinedtothinkthataverystrongpatrilinealbiashasexistedinRyukyuansocietyfromthevery
earliesttimes,withparticularemphasisontheprinciplesofprimogeniture(Tanaka1974,p.340).
79 However,maleritualsarenotunknownintheRyukyus,tomentiononlyshiniguofNorthOkinawa,
myakuzutsu of Nishihara Village and sutsu upunaka ofTarama island (Miyako), numerous rituals of
raihshinvisitingdeitiesofSouthernRyukyus(paantuofMiyako,akamata-kuromataandmayunganashi
ofYaeyama).
80 OnHaterumaanimportantriteinthebone-washingritualisplayedbythesemiprofessionalpriest
saishiorninbucha(Jp.nenbutsusha)(Ouwehand1985,p.186).
331 BecomingKami?
Fig.3.Tamaudunroyaltomb(Shuri). Fig.4.Burialcave(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig.5.Agravetunneledintoahillsidewithanenclo-
sure(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig.6.Aturtle-back-typetomb(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig. 7. Another traditional category of Ryuykyuan
tombsstone mound (ishizumi)-type tomb (Hate-
ruma,Yayeyama).
Fig. 8. Newly built modern family tomb (a house
type)(Ueno,Miyako).
Fig.9.Oldclantomb(Ok.munchuubaka)(atur-
tle-backtype)(Kijoka,themainislandofOkinawa).
Fig. 10. Village tomb (a gable type) (Kijoka, the
mainislandofOkinawa).
Fig.11.Aji-baka,ancestralfounderstomb,atombof
asibfounder(themainislandofOkinawa).
Fig.12.Interiorofatomb:theshiruhirashiplacewith
the remains of the con and higher ledges (Hirara,
Miyako).
Fig.13.Oeringsatthetombforthenewlydead(Sa-
rahama,Miyako).
Fig.14.Atombofachild(Gusukube,Miyako).
333 BecomingKami?
Fig. 15. A modern memorial service on the 49th day
performedbyaBuddhistpriest(Sinzato,Miyako).
Fig.16.Jar-typeossuary(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig.17.Ossuarieswithinagrave(Hirara,Miyako). Fig.18.Palace-typeossuaries(Ishigaki,Yayeyama).
Fig.19.Uparuzuutaki(Ikema,Miyako). Fig. 20. Praying priestesses in kampani robes (Irabu,
Miyako).
Fig. 21. Memorial tablet of Okinawan type (Shioya,
themainislandofOkinawa).
Fig.22.MemorialtabletofChinesetype(Miyako).
Fig. 23. Memorial tablet of Japanese type (Tomori,
Miyako).
Fig. 24. Household ancestral altar (Shioya, the main
islandofOkinawa).
Fig. 25. Household ancestral altar decorated for the
bonfestivities(Ishigaki,Yayeyama).
Fig. 26. Ancestral altar and memorial tablet of Irabu
Village(Irabu,Miyako).
335 BecomingKami?
Fig. 27. Te kamiya (sacred room) in the house of
Kudakapriestess(noro):anincenseholderofthere
deity (left) and tokonoma with an incense holder of
thedeityofthehouse(tokonokami)andthescroll
ofshichifukujin(Kudaka).
Fig.28.AkamidanashelffordeitiesintheHokama-
den,shrineforthecommunalritesofHokamahamlet:
an incense holder of the re deity (left below) and
tokonoma(right)withanincenseholderofthedeity
ofthehouseandthescrollofshichifukujin;otherin-
censeholdersareforthevariousdeitiesincludingtwo
ancestraldeitiesoftheHokamaroothouse,Fukama
niiyaa(Kudaka)..
Fig.29.Ashelffordeitiesinthenorodunchi(shrine-
residence of a priestess): ancestral deities (left) and
Miruku deity (right) (Tanabaru, the main island of
Okinawa).
Fig. 30. A shelf for recent (left) and distant ances-
tors(right)(ura,Miyako).
Fig.31.TealtaroftheAgimasumutudeity(Ikema,
Miyako).
Fig. 32. Angama dance at the bon festival (Ishigaki,
Yayeyama).
Fig.33.TeSeimeiFestival(Katsuren,themainisland
ofOkinawa).
Fig. 34. Yuukui (Ok.), the beckoning of fertility
ritual(Irabu,Miyako).
Fig. 35. Ungami Festival (Shioya, the main island of
Okinawa).
Fig.36.NafkaRitual(Miyaguni,Miyako).
Fig. 37. Paantu blessing a new house (Shimajiri, Mi-
yako).
Fig.38.TeprocessionoftheMirukuatthebonfesti-
val(Hateruma,Yayeyama).
337 BecomingKami?
Fig. 39. Unmee old woman, the Angama (Ishigaki,
Yayeyama).
Fig. 40. Matsubara myaaka megalithic tomb (Hisa-
matsu,Miyako).
Fig. 41. Susabi myaaka megalithic tomb (Irabu, Mi-
yako).
Fig.42.Nakasonetuyumyatomb,asynthesisoflocal
myaakamegalithictombandtunneltombonthemain
islandofOkinawa(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig. 43. Utaki shrine within a gusuku enclosure (Ka-
tsuren-jogusuku,themainislandofOkinawa).
Fig. 44. Stone mound (grave) in the Arantu shrine
(Hateruma,Yayeyama).
Fig.45.TegraveofthelegendaryUninoshuwithin
anutakishrine(Shinzato,Miyako).
Fig.46.Tunuganasuutakihostingagrave(Ikema,Mi-
yako).
Fig.47.Mainmiutakishrineforancestraldeities(Ira-
bu,Miyako).
Fig.48.Utakishrinewithanan-
cestraltablet(Hirara,Miyako).
Fig.49.Teregod(Tanabaru,themainislandof
Okinawa).
Fig.50.Yashiki-gami(Miyako).
339 Becoming Kami?

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