The Religions Book

24

EVEN A ROCK

HAS A SPIRIT

ANIMISM IN EARLY SOCIETIES

T

he word Ainu means

“human being,” and

refers to the indigenous

population of Japan, now living

mainly on the island of Hokkaido.

The Ainu have close cultural ties

with other inhabitants of the north

Pacific Rim—Siberian peoples

(such as the Chukchi, Koryak, and

Yupik) and the Inuit of Canada

and Alaska. These peoples share,

in particular, an animistic view of

the world, in which every being and

object that exists has a spirit that

can act, speak, and walk by itself.

They also believe that the spiritual

and physical worlds are separated by

only a thin, permeable membrane.

The Ainu consider the body to

be simply a container for the spirit;

after death, the spirit passes out of

the mouth and nostrils, and arrives

in the next world to be reborn as a

kamuy, a word meaning both god

and spirit. When the kamuy dies in

the next world, it is reborn in this

one. It will always reincarnate in the

same species and gender—a man

will always be a man, for example.

Kamuy can be animals, plants,

minerals, geographical or natural

phenomena, or even tools and

utensils produced by humans.

Because all spirits, even those of

IN CONTEXT

KEY BELIEVERS

Ainu

WHERE

Hokkaido, Japan

BEFORE

10,000–300 BCE Neolithic

Jomon people—remote

ancestors of the Ainu—

live in Hokkaido, probably

worshipping clan deities.

600–1000 CE Okhotsk hunter-

gatherer people occupy coastal

Hokkaido. Some of their ritual

practices, such as bear worship,

are seen later in the Ainu.

700–1200 Okhotsk culture

blends with that of the

Satsumon to create the Ainu.

AFTER

1899–1997 The Ainu are

forced to assimilate into

Japanese culture; many Ainu

religious practices are banned.

2008 The Ainu are officially

recognized as an indigenous

people with a distinct culture.

Even human beings are

simply containers

for a spirit.

Spirits are immortal.

The most important

spirits are the gods.

If we treat the gods well,

they will provide us

with food.

Ceremonies, songs, and

offerings give the gods

status in the other world.

Everything in the world

has a spirit.