Rep-un-kamuy
Rep-un-Kamuy is the Ainu kamuy (god) of the sea.
Depiction
[edit]Rep-un-Kamuy is sometimes depicted as an orca. In other instances, he is a carefree, somewhat mischievous young man armed with a harpoon.[1]
Mythology
[edit]Rep-un-Kamuy is an important figure in Ainu mythology because the sea represents opportunities for harvests that could not be found on land: fishing, the hunting of whales, and maritime trading expeditions. One of his myths displays his carefree nature and his generosity.
In the story, he harpoons a whale and her young, and throws them ashore near a human village. When he arrives at home, he is visited by a sea wren, who tells him that the humans are cutting up the whales using sickles and axes — that is, not showing proper respect to the animal or to Rep-un-Kamuy as the gift-giver. Rather than growing angry, he laughs, saying that the meat belongs to the humans and they can do with it as they like. A short time later, he sets out again, and he happens to pass the same village, where he finds that the sea wren has lied: the humans are dressed in ritual robes and cutting the flesh from the whales with sacred swords, in the proper manner. Moved by this display of piety, Rep-un-Kamuy assures the humans that the bounty of the sea will keep them from famine.[1]
Rep-un-Kamuy is also credited with saving a village on Hokkaido from a giant spider, Yaushikep, by pulling it into the sea from Uchiura Bay and transforming it into the octopus-like creature Akkorokamui.
Other
[edit]Respecting orcas as deities, Ainu tribes held traditional funerals for stranded or deceased orcas (such as on Rebun Island) akin to funerals for other animals such as brown bears.[2]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 238-239
- ^ Miyanaga T.. 2014. "（北海道）「シャチ送り」の遺構か 礼文島の遺跡で出土". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved on October 04, 2017
References
[edit]- Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
- Etter, Carl. Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan. Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1949.
- Munro, Neil Gordon. Ainu Creed and Cult. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.