Post on 04-Jun-2018
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
1/45
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
2/45
http://e-asia.uoregon.edu
http://e-asia.uoregon.edu/8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
3/45
THE AINUS
Paul Carus
The Open Court
VOL. XIX (No. 3), March,
1905, no. 586, pp. 163-177
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
4/45
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
5/45
THE AINUS.
BY THE EDITOR.
ON Yezo, the most northern Islandof the Japanese empire, there isiving the remnant of a peculiar
people, called the Ainus, who arecommonly supposed to have beenthe earliest inhabitants of the whol
archipelago. They were notunknown to the Chinese, who in areport of the year 310 A. D. aboutstrange ship wrecked people on
their coast, speak of them as mao
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
6/45
in or hairy men. When the rulingclasses of the present Japanesepopulation, who arc probably a
mixture of Malay and Hindu, orperhaps Siamese, conquered thecountry, the Ainus were driven from
their original homes, until now theyare to be found only in the northernslands, counting a population ofnot more than 50,000 souls.
he Japanese as a rule look downupon the Ainus as an inferior race,
and when Professor Starr went toJapan for the purpose of engagingan Ainu family for exposition at theSt. Louis World's fair, the Japanese
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
7/45
authorities tried to frustrate theproject. His wishes were acceded toonly on his promise that he would
not fail to impress the truth uponthe visitors to the Fair, that theAinus were not Japanese, but
merely subject to the Mikado, andwere primitive tribes speaking aanguage of their own, with theirown peculiar customs and
nstitutions.
Now it is interesting for us to know
that the Ainus are obviously a whiterace and are nearer kin to theEuropeans than any Asiatic races.hey seem to have come to Japan
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
8/45
from the continent of Asia, and mayat a remote prehistoric time haveextended over the whole of Siberia
A priori it would seem probable thathey might to be nearest in blood tothe Russians --- the most eastern
nhabitants of Europe; and if wecompare the features of the Ainuswith the Russian type we are struckwith their remarkable similarity.
page 164
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
9/45
AINU FAMILY WITH JAPANESE INTERPRETER
page 165
Anthropologists, folklorists, and
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
10/45
philologists have so far troubledvery little about the Ainus, and thebest authority on the subject, so fa
as we know, is still the Rev. JohnBatchelor who came to Yezo in1879 and has worked among the
people as a missionary and civilisesever since. We learn from ProfessorStarr, who met
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
11/45
OLD MAN WHITTLING.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
12/45
him at his home in the far East, thaMr. Batchelor has ready in
manuscript a dictionary of the Ainuanguage, and it would be verydesirable for the interests of
anthropology in general to have itpublished, that students ofcomparative philology might begiven
page 166
an opportunity to determine thecharacter of the language and thussee whether or not there is anysimilarity to the Slavic tongues.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
13/45
he Ainus, not unlike Russianpeasants, are a most inoffensiveand peaceable people. They are no
rovers but like to remain home, andare good natured and amenable toauthority. The become dangerous
only when driven to despair by cruetreatment
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
14/45
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
15/45
A TYPICAL RUSSIAN PEASANT.
page 167
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
16/45AINU MAN.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
17/45
page 168
and since the Japanese governmens very considerate with them they
have rarely proved anything butsubmissive. They are veryndustrious, and live mainly byhunting and fishing, but are also
fond of weaving carpets, baskets,mats, etc., and are experts atwhittling, by this means making
spoons, bowls, and other utensils.
he writer of this sketch visited theAinus at the St. Louis Exposition in
the company of Prof. Frederick Star
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
18/45
of the University of Chicago, andProf. F. W. Kelsey from Ann Arbor.he head of the household was a
venerable old man who bore astriking resemblance to the greatRussian philosopher Tolstoy, not so
much
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
19/45CARPET WEAVING.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
20/45
page 169
perhaps, in particular features as inhis general appearance. Another
Ainu who represented the type offullgrown manhood, looked like aRussian peasant of the better classwith benevolent features and an
almost Christ-like expression in hiseye. So far as exterior is concernedhe would certainly be a welcome
candidate for the
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
21/45
BASKET MAKING.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
22/45
chief role at Oberammergau. Thewomen among the Ainus are
noticeably different and seem to beof a Mongolian type.
heir thatched hut was built exactlyike the homes they left in Yezo, ofmaterials brought with them for thepurpose, and as we approached it,
they greeted us after their nativefashion by
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
23/45
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
24/45
AINU MOTHER.
page 170
raising three times both hands,palm upwards, with fingers widelyspread, and then gravely stroking
their beards downwards. Thewomen who wore tattooedmustaches welcomed us in apeculiar manner which we could no
help considering ridiculous, bydrawing the first finger of the righthand under the nose, and Professor
Starr thought that the artificial
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
25/45
beard was probably made for thepurpose of enabling them to imitatetheir husbands' method of greeting
We discoursed with these amiablechildren of nature through
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
26/45
MAKING MATS.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
27/45
page 172
their Japanese interpreter who
spoke enough English to makehimself understood to us and hadfull command of Ainu speech. We
squatted round the fire over whichour hosts baked rice cakes andserved tea.
he old man made wood shavingswhich were curling under his knife.hey serve a religious purpose, and
he explained to us the orthodoxway of making them, although theheterodox way was not so muchabhorred as deemed inefficient. At
any rate, he did not hesitate to
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
28/45
make shavings either way and toreject the heterodox and throwthem into the fire as useless.
he shavings are frequently lefthanging from the top of the sacred
willow-stick, called inao, and thisgives it something of theappearance of a mop. A large inaos kept constantly in the northeast
corner of the house whence it isnever removed. It is called "the oldman," and the Ainus dislike to
speak on the subject, and regard itwith great reverence. Other inaosare set up at places which theywish to consecrate --- at springs, a
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
29/45
storehouses,(wherever theyexpect divine
protection. Theseodd symbols seemto serve as
guardians, andare supposed tobe endowed withsupernatural
power. A sacredhedge, callednusa, is grown on
the east side ofAinu dwellings,and ProfessorStarr advises
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
30/45
foreigners never to meddle witheither inao or nusa (See Starr, TheAinu Group at the St. Louis
Exposition, pp. 26-28.)
he Ainus are naturally devout, but
their religion is so vague that itwould be very difficult to givedefinite explanation of it, for theythemselves are probably least fit to
be the interpreters of theirtraditional beliefs. They only followthe precedents established by their
fathers, and any one who would
page 174
attempt to describe their religion
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
31/45
would have to begin with simply adescription of their customs,nstitutions, rituals, and festivals.
Explanations will have to be derivedfrom the data of comparative
religion.
It is characteristic of the Ainus thatthey celebrate festivals
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
32/45
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
33/45
OLD MAN WITH INAO.
BEAR'S CAGE
page 175
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
34/45
n honor of animals, and the mostmportant of these is the bear,which seems to be regarded as an
ncarnation of the deity whoassumes this visible form in order tofurnish the Ainus with food and
clothing. The reverence with whichthe bear is regarded, the love withwhich the cub is raised, and thereligious observance with which he
s finally eaten, furnishes us with apeculiar parallel to the customs ofthe Aztecs who feed a
representative of the god andfinally sacrifice and eat himceremoniously in a sacramentalmeal.
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
35/45
AINU HOUSE.
page 176
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
36/45
We learn from Professor Starr's littlebook (pp. 45-50) that the festival is
a regular institution among theAinus. Bear hunting n takes place inwinter and early spring, and on one
of their expeditions they areparticularly anxious to capture alivea little bear cub. Mr. Batchelor toldProfessor Starr that the bear cub
was suckled by the women of thevillage.
"On one occasion, when he waspreaching in a house, the little cubwas taken into the service and waspassed from one woman to another
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
37/45
and suckled, in the most matter offact way. Later on, though noonger suckled, the pet bear is mos
carefully fed; sometimes thewoman will give it a soft morselwith her lips. When the animal is
too large to be longer kept in thehouse and petted, it is put out intoa cage, constructed of a cob-web ofogs and raised a little above the
ground on posts. In feeding it therea special wooden trough with ahandle is used. Formerly the bear
was kept two or three years in thevillage; now one rarely, sees a beamore than a year old in the cages.Finally the time for the great
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
38/45
ceremonial arrives. Food and drinkare prepared in large quantitiescakes or dumplings, millet beer,
and sak (Japanese rice brandy).Guests from other villages arenvited. Everyone is dressed in their
finest clothing. The older and moremportant men wear their crowns.he men have bathed and their
foreheads and the back of their
necks have been shaved and theirhair trimmed; bathing, shaving, andhair trimming regularly occur but
once a year. Abundance of freshnao are cut. A preliminaryfeasting takes place, at which themen seat themselves in a semi-
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
39/45
circle to the east of the house,facing the nusa, near the food anddrink, whirl: are placed before them
the women sit behind the men.Presently a man, chosen for thatservice, goes to the bear's cage,
where he salaams and makes anaddress to the captive. Mr.Batchelor prints one such address,as follows: "Oh, thou divine one,
thou wast sent into the world for usto hunt. Oh, thou precious littledivinity, ire worship thee; pray hear
our prayer. We have nourished theeand brought thee up with a deal ofpains and trouble, all because weove thee so. Now, as thou hast
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
40/45
grown big, we are about to sendthee to thy father and mother.When thou comest to them please
speak well of us, and tell them howkind we have been; please come tous again and we will sacrifice
thee." Two young men, one oneither side, now noose the bearwith lassoes and drag him outamong the people. Armed with
bows and arrows, with blunt,wooden points, they shoot at him totease and irritate him. Such arrows
are not used on any other occasionand the tips are stained black afterwhich
page 177
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
41/45
ornamental patterns are cutthrough, to show the white wood
beneath; a bit of red flannel isadded at the very tip. After beinged around for some time, the
animal is tied to a stout stakedriven into the ground, and theteasing continues. Finally, twoyoung men attack the animal, one
seizing it by the ears and head, theother taking it by the hind quartersa third man rushes up holding a
stick by the ends in his hands andforces it between the bear's teeth;four other men seize the animal byhis legs or feet and drag them
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
42/45
outward until the bears liessprawling upon the ground. Twoong poles are then placed, one
under the bear's throat, the otheracross the nape of his neck. Uponthese the people crowd and weigh
down to strangle the poor beast.Sometimes a man with a bow andarrow shortens the creature'ssufferings by a well directed shot.
he bear is then skinned and itshead is cut off, the skin remainingattached to it. The skin and head
are then laid out upon a nice matnear the east window, anddecorated with inao shavings,beads, earrings, small mirrors, etc.;
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
43/45
a bit of its own flesh is placed undets snout;
ARROW USED IN THE BEAR FEAST.
dried fish, sak or millet beer, milledumplings, and a cup of its own
meat boiled are offered to it. Aworshipper addresses it in somesuch fashion as this: 'Oh, cub, wegive you these inao, cakes, and
dried fish: take them to yourparents and say, "I have beenbrought up for a long time by an
Ainu father and mother and have
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
44/45
been kept from all trouble andharm; as I am now grown big, I amcome to you. I have also brought
you these inao, cakes, and driedfish. Please rejoice." If you say thisto them, they will be very glad.'
Dancing and feasting then ensue. Acup of the animal's flesh hasmeantime been boiled; after thishas been offered to him, a little is
given to every person present, eventhe children. A general feast uponthe meat of the bear follows, until
practically nothing is left except hisbones. The head with its skinattached is then placed upon thenusa and left there. In time,
8/13/2019 The Ainus - Paul Carus
45/45
through decay and weathering, onlythe bleached skull remains."