Ainu Creed And Cult, Edited With A Preface And An Additional Chapter By B. Z. Seligman, Intro Bo H. Watanabe, The Kegan Paul Japan Library Volume Four

First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.The first detailed account of the Ainu, the little-known aboriginal people of Japan, Neil Gordon Munro's classic work was based on decades of research in the first half of this century. Munro, a medical doctor who lived and worked in Japan for almost fifty years, studied the Ainu for years before finally going to live among them for the last twelve years of his life.Munro's object in writing Ainu Creed and Cult was not only to give an account of his close observation of this mysterious people and their customs, but also to demonstrate to the world at large and to the Japanese in particular that the Ainu had an independent culture worthy of respect and preservation.The author's unique insider's position among the Ainu enabled him to accurately describe their religious beliefs, homes, ceremonies, social organizations, arts, festivities, and funerary practices. Ainu Creed and Culture establishes the intricacy of the group's spiritual beliefs and ritual practices, a dominant force in their daily lives.Munro's work stands today as a fine example of the anthropological method, as a historical record of those decades at the beginning of the century when the old Ainu ways were still followed, and as an eloquent and timeless plea for the dignity and survival of a minority cultural group.

The first detailed account of the Ainu, the little-known aboriginal people of Japan, Neil Gordon Munro's classic work was based on decades of research in the first half of this century. Munro, a medical doctor who lived and worked in Japan for almost fifty years, studied the Ainu for years before finally going to live among them for the last twelve years of his life.

Munro's object in writing Ainu Creed and Cult was not only to give an account of his close observation of this mysterious people and their customs, but also to demonstrate to the world at large and to the Japanese in particular that the Ainu had an independent culture worthy of respect and preservation.

The author's unique insider's position among the Ainu enabled him to accurately describe their religious beliefs, homes, ceremonies, social organizations, arts, festivities, and funerary practices. Ainu Creed and Culture establishes the intricacy of the group's spiritual beliefs and ritual practices, a dominant force in their daily lives.

Munro's work stands today as a fine example of the anthropological method, as a historical record of those decades at the beginning of the century when the old Ainu ways were still followed, and as an eloquent and timeless plea for the dignity and survival of a minority cultural group.

Cover......Page 1 AINU CREED AND CULT......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 20 I FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS......Page 26 II THE KAMUI......Page 35 III THE INAU......Page 47 IV EFFIGIES......Page 79 V HEARTH AND HOME......Page 90 VI HOUSE-BUILDING RITES......Page 101 VII THE HOUSE-WARMING CEREMONY......Page 109 VIII THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS OR FALLING TEARS......Page 138 IX EXORCISM......Page 150 X VARIOUS RITES......Page 163 XI DEATH AND BURIAL......Page 172 XII SOCIAL ORGANIZATION......Page 192 APPENDIX I: Invocations to the Kamui for Help in Cases of Severe Illness......Page 210 APPENDIX II: The Bear Ceremony......Page 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 223 GLOSSARY OF WORDS USED FREQUENTLY IN THE TEXT......Page 226 INDEX......Page 228 Ainu Creed and Cult was the first detailed account of the Ainu to be written by either a westerner or a Japanese. In this book, Munro's object in writing it was not only to give an account of his careful observations of the people and their customs, but also to demonstrate to the world at large that the Ainu had an independent culture that deserved respect and preservation. An account of the Ainu people and their customs. This book describes their religious beliefs, homes, ceremonies, social organization, arts, festivities and funerary practices. It establishs the intricacy of Ainu spirit beliefs and ritual pratices which dominated their culture and daily life. Illustrates how Shintoism, Buddhism and Confucianism were moulded and combined by the circumstances of the times and the people into a composite whole, so that the Japanese are, consciously or unconsciously, followers of these various teachings at the same time.