Ainu creation myth

Water wagtail

The Ainu historically have their own language and a rich repertoire of oral literature. The stories are particularly delivered through the genre of Kamui Yukar, which are long narratives of heroic exploits involving spiritual beings such as animals, plants, and natural phenomena. As result of assimilation, most of the Ainu people are Japanese speakers and do not speak the Ainu language. The literature now exists in forms of written texts which have been fixed but still remain to be many versions of the same tales. The Ainu creation myths are the traditional creation accounts of the Ainu peoples of Japan. These myths reflect the Ainu worldview that attributes subjectivity and agency to nonhuman entities, considering them as conscious beings with the ability to communicate and interact with humans. Although Ainu mythology has characteristics in common with the Japanese, whom they have interacted with for since the early 19th century, their creation myth remains their own.

Ainu mythology divides time into three tenses: "Mosir sikah ohta" ("when the universe was born"), "mosir noskekehe" ("centre of the world"), and "mosir kes" ("end of the world", about which there are no detailed concepts recorded from Ainu mythology). In one version, the creator deity sends down a water wagtail to create habitable land in the watery world below. Since the creator sends an animal down to the world to assist in the creation, the Ainu myth can be called a derivative of the earth-diver creation type which is commonly found in Central Asia and Native American cultures. The little bird fluttered over the waters, splashing water aside, and then it packed patches of the earth firm by stomping them with its feet and beating them with its tail. In this way, islands where the Ainu were later to live were raised to float upon the ocean.

Ainu tend to be somewhat hirsute, at least in comparison to other East Asian populations. Therefore, many Ainu stories maintain that their first ancestor was a bear. However, an alternative version tells of Kamuy sending a heavenly couple to earth called Okikurumi and Turesh. This couple had a son, whom some consider the first Ainu, and he is believed to have given the people the necessary skills to survive.

English missionary John Batchelor related a myth the Ainu told him about before the first kamuy created the world, there was only a vast swamp in which lived a large trout, and the creator placed the world upon the trout, so that the fish sucks in and spits out water from the sea, causing the tides.

History

The Ainu creation myth revolves around the roles of various gods and goddesses, the division of the universe into different realms, and the creation of the world and human beings.

Role of the Sun Goddess

In the myth, the sun goddess plays a significant role, conveying authority and importance through her speeches to Oina, the first semi-human ruler of the Ainu. Stylized conversations in the narrative reflect the poetic and concise nature of the myth.

Division of the Universe

According to the myth, the universe is divided into several realms, including the world of the gods, the world of the human, the eastern place of recovered dead gods, and the lower place in the west of completely dead gods. Entry to the world of the gods is through the god-cloud boundary, and gods may descend to the Ainu world, but Ainu individuals do not ascend to the world of the gods.

Creation of the World and Human Beings

The world of humans in the Ainu creation myth is described as similar to the contemporary Ainu world. The god Villagebuilder is mentioned as the creator of the world of humans, while the goddess Fire Maker was sent down to earth to provide fire to humans due to the lack of vegetation.

There are six heavens and six hells housing gods, demons, and mystical animals. The demons reside in the lower heavens, while the less important gods find their place among the clouds and stars.

Tunu, the creator god, guards his kingdom with a metal wall accessed through a magnificent iron gate. He conceives of the world as a sprawling ocean sustained by the backbone of a giant trout. Each movement of the clouds or the fish sets off tremors in the earth, manifesting as earthquakes and tsunamis on the surface.

The goddess of light and fire, known as Kami Fuji, emerged from obscurity and brought light and an atmosphere conducive to life to the newly created islands through dance and song. Tunu granted permission for heavenly animals to inhabit the new paradise but also created beings exclusively for this realm.

Kami Fuji, feeling a profound sense of loneliness, created a human being out of clay and breathed into him the spirit of life. Thus, the Ainu were born.

References

• Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (2009). A Dictionary of Creation Myths (Oxford Reference Online ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Sproul, Barbara C. (1979). Primal Myths. HarperOne HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 978-0-06-067501-1.
• Sakata, Minako. "Possibilities of Reality, Variety of Versions: The Historical Consciousness of Ainu Folktales." Oral Tradition 26, no. 1 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1353/ort.2011.0003.
• Strong, Sarah M., et al. Ainu Spirits Singing: The Living World of Chiri Yukie's Ainu shinʼyōshū. University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu, 2011; 2017; doi:10.1515/9780824860127.
• Howell, R. W. "The Kamui Oina: A sacred charter of the Ainu." The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 65, no. 258, 1952, p. 379, doi:10.2307/536044.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq5jXj9s6fg