Book
Ainu creed and cult
Columbia University Press • New York • Published In 1963 • Pages:
By: Munro, Neil Gordon, Seligman, Brenda Z., Watanabe, Hitoshi.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The data for this document, related primarily to the religious life of the Ainu, were collected during the first three decades of the twentieth century by the principal author N.G. Munro, a British physician who lived for many years in Japan. This author, accompanied by his Japanese wife, established a clinic for the Ainu at Nibutani in the Saru district of Hokkaido, by means of which he was able to win the confidence and trust of the people several of whom were later to serve as his informants. There, realizing that the traditional life of the Ainu was rapidly disappearing, he made an intensive study of various aspects of Ainu culture, in the hope that he could demonstrate to the world at large and the Japanese in particular that the …'Ainu had a culture of their own which was worthy of consideration and that they were not a low grade people believing only in absurd superstitions.'Although the author's investigation was carried out primarily at Nibutani, he also worked with native informants in other districts. After Munro's death some of his documents were lost, but a substantial number finally reached Professor and Mrs. Seligman (B.Z. Seligman), where they were edited for publication, and finally evolved into the present form of this book. Mrs. Seligman was aided in the preparation of Monro's notes by Professor Watanabe of Tokyo University who besides making comments on the manuscript, also added footnotes to this document and an historical introduction. The document deals with the general nature of Ainu religion, the Kamui (spirits or gods), the Inau or religious offerings, Ainu hearth and home, and various religious ceremonies associated with house building, house warming, the Bear Ceremony, the Feast of All Souls or Falling Tears (Shinurapa), magical and mental therapy in the form of exorcism of evil spirits from patients, and death and burial. A final chapter on Social Organization by B.Z. Seligman concludes the document.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- General character of religion
- Spirits and gods
- Eschatology
- Organized ceremonial
- Magic
- Ethnozoology
- Prayers and sacrifices
- External relations
- Burial practices and funerals
- Magical and mental therapy
- Rest days and holidays
- Activities of the aged
- Acculturation and culture contact
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ainu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2009
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Physician
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1965-1968
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1900-1942
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1900-1930
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nibutani, Saru District, Hokkaido, Japan
- NotesAdditional notes
- Edited with a pref. and an additional chapter by B.Z. Seligman. Introd. by H. Watanabe
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 172-174) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 63007510
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ainu