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Title |
Text |
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1 |
Akamata Kuromata |
A pair of grass-clad, masked deities believed to bring yuu (happiness associated with fecundity, fertility, and the like) from Niraasuku (the word for Nirai-kanai , "the Other World," in the local dialect). Belief in the deities is found in many places in the Yaeyama Isl... |
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2 |
Hinukan |
"Fire deity." A folk belief spread throughout Amami and Okinawa. the original objects of worship as suggested by the variant name umichimon (lit., "honored three things") were three fieldstones, which were used to create a hearth in its primordial form; the ... |
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3 |
Izaihō |
A festival held on Kudaka Island, Okinawa Prefecture, during the year of the horse (once every 12 years) from the 15th to the 18th of the 11th lunar month. Prayers ( ugandate ) are begun a month before the festival so that it can take place without hindrance or impediment, and when they ar... |
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4 |
Munchū |
A type of patrilinear group found primarily on the main island of Okinawa, based on the recognition of a common ancestor. Munchū emerged out of the late 17th century drive by the Ryūkyū kingdom to strengthen the class system among the gentry, which led in 1689 to the creation of the stat... |
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5 |
Nirai-kanai |
The name for the other world across the sea (or, on the seabed) where the deities dwell, and from where they bring both good fortune and catastrophe to the human world. Belief in this realm is found in the southwestern islands stretching from Amami to Okinawa. In most places, this realm ... |
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6 |
Noro |
The senior female celebrant in villages in Amami and Okinawa. Noro means "to pray" or "to report to the deities," and also refers to the person who engages in those activities. Norokumoi and norokumo also are used, with kumoi and kumo being honorifics. The ori... |
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7 |
Obotsu-kagura |
A term used in a region that stretches from Amami to the Okinawa archipelago that refers to the other world where the kami dwell. The words obotsu and kagura have basically the same meaning and are used to form a couplet. According to the Chūzan seikan (Mirror of Chūzan, 1650) and the Oki... |
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8 |
Omoro |
There are many varieties of ancient songs found in the area between Amami and Yaeyama. Omoro are a type of song that were sung between the 12th and the beginning of the 17th centuries in Amami and the Okinawa archipelago. They are collected in the Omoro sōshi , a work compiled by the court ... |
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9 |
Onarigami |
In Okinawa there is the belief that women possess spiritual power; sisters, referred to as onarigami , use their power to spiritually protect their brothers, called umiki . When there are no sisters, paternal aunts—called obagami —take over the role. The umiki in their turn provide ... |
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10 |
Ryūkyū Shintō |
The term Ryūkyū Shintō is an all-embracing term frequently used to refer not only to the Shrine Shintō (see The History of Shrines and Shintō) transferred ( kanjō ) from the mainland since the medieval period, but also to traditional Ryūkyū beliefs that are regarded as primitive form... |
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11 |
Ryūkyū mythology |
Two types of creation myth can be found in the Ryūkyūs: the court myth contained in the histories compiled by the Shuri court and the folk myths circulating in Amami, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama. The mythologies contain similarities and differences as well as a variety of motifs; the... |
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12 |
Sanjinsō |
This word can also be written with Chinese characters that read sanzesō (三世相) in standard Japanese. In Okinawa it refers to a fortune-teller, who can also be called munushiri (Jp monoshiri , "knower of things") or shimuchii (Jp shobutsu , "book"). Fortune-t... |
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13 |
Utaki |
"Honored mountain." A sacred space in Okinawan villages where a deity similar to a village tutelary (see chinjugami ) on the mainland is enshrined or to which it descends, and where people interact with that deity through the media rites and festivals. The names for these ... |
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14 |
Yuta |
Spiritual practitioners found in Amami and the main island of Okinawa. They can enter a state of possession during which they communicate with deities and spirits of the dead. In the process, they manifest distinctive spiritual powers and practice magic in the form of oracles ( taku... |
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