The Wolf, The Black
Snake, The Owl, And Several Other Beasts And Birds Have The Word
Kamoi, God, Attached To
Them, as the wolf is the "howling god," the
owl "the bird of the gods," a black snake the "raven
God;" but none
of these things are now "worshipped," wolf-worship having quite
lately died out. Thunder, "the voice of the gods," inspires some
fear. The sun, they say, is their best god, and the fire their
next best, obviously the divinities from whom their greatest
benefits are received. Some idea of gratitude pervades their rude
notions, as in the case of the "worship" paid to Yoshitsune, and it
appears in one of the rude recitations chanted at the Saturnalia
which in several places conclude the hunting and fishing seasons:-
"To the sea which nourishes us, to the forest which protects us, we
present our grateful thanks. You are two mothers that nourish the
same child; do not be angry if we leave one to go to the other.
"The Ainos will always be the pride of the forest and of the sea."
The solitary act of sacrifice which they perform is the placing of
a worthless, dead bird, something like a sparrow, near one of their
peeled wands, where it is left till it reaches an advanced stage of
putrefaction. "To drink for the god" is the chief act of
"worship," and thus drunkenness and religion are inseparably
connected, as the more sake the Ainos drink the more devout they
are, and the better pleased are the gods. It does not appear that
anything but sake is of sufficient value to please the gods. The
libations to the fire and the peeled post are never omitted, and
are always accompanied by the inward waving of the sake bowls.
The peculiarity which distinguishes this rude mythology is the
"worship" of the bear, the Yezo bear being one of the finest of his
species; but it is impossible to understand the feelings by which
it is prompted, for they worship it after their fashion, and set up
its head in their villages, yet they trap it, kill it, eat it, and
sell its skin. There is no doubt that this wild beast inspires
more of the feeling which prompts worship than the inanimate forces
of nature, and the Ainos may be distinguished as bear-worshippers,
and their greatest religious festival or Saturnalia as the Festival
of the Bear. Gentle and peaceable as they are, they have a great
admiration for fierceness and courage; and the bear, which is the
strongest, fiercest, and most courageous animal known to them, has
probably in all ages inspired them with veneration. Some of their
rude chants are in praise of the bear, and their highest eulogy on
a man is to compare him to a bear. Thus Shinondi said of Benri,
the chief, "He is as strong as a bear," and the old Fate praising
Pipichari called him "The young bear."
In all Aino villages, specially near the chief's house, there are
several tall poles with the fleshless skull of a bear on the top of
each, and in most there is also a large cage, made grid-iron
fashion, of stout timbers, and raised two or three feet from the
ground.
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