Ryukyuan religion
TRyukyuan religion is the indigenous belief system of the Ryukyu Islands. While specific legends and traditions may vary slightly from place to place and island to island, the Ryukyuan religion is commonly characterized by ancestor worship and the respecting of relationships between the living, the dead, and the gods and spirits of the natural world. Some of its beliefs, such as those concerning brilliant loci spirits and many other beings classified between gods and men, are indicative of its ancient animistic roots, as is its concern with mabui (マブイ), or life essence.
Over time, Ryukyuan religious practice has been influenced by Chinese religions (Taoism, Confucianism, and folk beliefs), Buddhism, Japanese Shinto, and (to some extent) Christianity. One of its most ancient features is the belief in onarigami (オナリガミ), the spiritual superiority of women, which created the creation of a noro (priestess) cult and a important following for yuta (female mediums).
Family-centered worship
Ryukyuan religion, with its hones in on ancestral worship, is naturally based in the family home. The oldest female relative acts as a main celebrant, officiating rituals concerning ancestors, household gods and those family members who live both in and outside the home. Daily incense wares are made and prayer "reports" are delivered aloud. Reports in which each family member is described for the benefit of the incorporeal being addressed. The oldest female relative is also responsible for cleaning and upkeep of the buchidan (ancestors altar), hinukan (hearth god and his home on the hearth) and furugan (bathroom god).
At the tomb
Traditionally, periodic gatherings of the extended family occur at the family shinju (haka), or "tomb" (v. inf. for information concerning the traditional dates of these gatherings). The tombs resemble houses, complete with a courtyard (naa), family name markers, and "porch" upon which wares are arranged. On the inside the tomb is stored the cremated remains (funishin) of multiple generations of family members. Even though responsibilities may vary on a case-by-case basis, commonly it is the oldest male of a family whose financial responsibility is upkeep for existing tombs and establishment of new tombs once the old are full or should it be destroyed.
Various taboos exist in relation to the tomb. It is rude to point at a tomb, speak loudly concerning the dead around a tomb, or take pictures of a tomb without expressed permission. It is considered dangerous to desecrate a tomb with graffiti, by disturbing wares such as flowers, or by damaging the tomb in any way. In addition considered dangerous can be to approach a tomb without proper authority (such as relation to the family) or to visit a tomb at night.
During a typical extended family gathering at the tomb, incense, food, provideing, and prayers are provided to ancestors, and then a picnic is appreciated by those in attendance.
Especially crucial is the thirty-third year after a relative's death; at this point, the deceased individual is believed to have taken his place with all his ancestors in the afterlife.
Though not haka, the royal tombs of the Ryu-kyu- Kingdom are found at Tamaudun.
Magical creatures
The kijimunaa (or bungaya) is one of the most well known of Okinawa's magical creatures. A sprite (Japanese yosei), the kijimunaa resembles a short young boy and features bright red hair. They look somewhat like a Troll doll. Some say that only children or the pure of heart can see the kijimunaa. They may or might not be seen accompanied by fire. They live in the tops of Okinawa's gajumaru (ガジュマル, or banyan) trees; they are especially well known in the Yomitan area, where their images can be seen in many places. Kijimunaa are known for playing harmless pranks. Kijimunaa can also be helpful, but they are quick to change their minds. They appreciate fishing and eating fish. The only thing they fear is the octopus. Belief in kijimunaa is representative of the spiritual power of trees in the Ryukyu belief system.
Another of the most well known Ryukyuan creatures is the shisa ("lion dog"). Shisa statuary is used for its aptatude to ward evil from a place. Its appearance and function is Chinese in origin.
Representative of the power of the sea are dragons, who usually make appearances in Ryukyuan legend. In the Irosetsuden, for instance, dragons display powers like those of gods, and live in their own undersea kingdom. The traditional Ryukyuan conception of dragon is hugely just like that of China, though myths concerning an undersea kingdom of strong reptilian beings are usual to Central and East Asian cultures (see Reptilian humanoids in mythology).
Mabui
Mabui (マブイ), or "spirit", is a key concept in Ryukyuan religion. Mabui is the essence of the self, somewhat like the soul and somewhat like mana. Just as the soul in many traditions is immortal, so is mabui; also like the soul, one's mabui is one's defining characteristic, one of a kind to the individual. The mabui of a dead person may cling to a living person, requiring a ritual of separation (mabui-wakashi) or a conveyance from the area of death to a proper resting place (suukaa). In a case of sudden death, an especially complicated ritual takes place for the purpose of separate the mabui from where it is clinging (as if it still lived) and move it to where it can find rest. Like mana, mabui is transferable by contact: if a person is left his grandmother's wedding ring, that ring -- as an effect usually in contact with the grandmother and only the grandmother -- will have taken on the mabui of the grandmother. One's likeness, whether rendered by photograph or any other medium, also contains one's mabui. Due to their young age, the mabui of children is not as attached to their physical body as that of old people.
Mabui can leave the body, resulting in mabui-utushi (マブイウツシ "lost mabui") with several physical results. The 2002 Okinawan film "Hotel Hibiscus" portrays many traditional Ryukyuan beliefs; among them, that of the loss of mabui. In the film, a young girl named Meiko loses her mabui after a battle with her father and a peaceful encounter with the ghost of her dead aunt. She becomes unresponsive, only coming out of her trance-like state to talk again with her dead aunt. This portrayal of the loss of mabui is somewhat accurate. Mabui can be lost as the result of fright, stress, loneliness, or helplessness, any circumstances in which a person suffers from a sudden shock or a lack of psychological/physical resources. A coma-like trance is one manifestation of the loss of mabui, but an extreme one. It seems that the loss of one's mabui manifests itself first psychologically, as depression or anxiety, and then physically as general lethargy or actual illness. Poor relationships -- be they with the living, the dead, or incorporeal powers -- also may result in the loss of mabui.
Two rituals are performed in relation to mabui: mabui-gumi if one has lost his mabui, and uchatou-mintou to stave off mabui loss. All prayers are provided aloud.
Kaminchu
Kaminchu (or kamigutsu, 神人,かみんちゅ, Ryukyuan Miko "god people") are people focusing on Ryukyuan magico-religious practices, most commonly those involving incorporeal beings. Their social parts correspond to those of a shaman in that, depending upon their classification, they serve as mediums, especially influential prayer and provideing performers, healers/guardians, precognosticators/fortune-tellers/diviners, and sources of mediation both inside the living community and between material and immaterial beings. Even though they may assist in the transference of the mabui of the deceased, they do not act as psychopomps, because they do not help guide a spirit out of this world and into the afterlife.
In Okinawan language, shiji means the aptatude to sense, communicate with, and direct the power of ancestors gods. Even though men may display some of these abilities and usually assist in rituals, women are the main interlocutors between humans and spirits or gods in the Ryukyuan religion.
Yuta
Yuta (sanjinsou, "tremblers"; Yonaguni monoshiri, "one who knows"; Miyako kamigakariya, "one who acts as a home for the gods") are individuals who claim to possess an especially strong aptatude to communicate with the dead. The name "yuta" was originally pejorative, culled from tokiyuta, or "one who deceived"; indeed, ever since the establishment of a united Ryu-kyu- Kingdom, their practices have been discouraged and repressed. They are employed in response to psychic distcityce or the possibility thereof. Whereas the noro is the official spiritual guide of the whole community, the yuta deals personally with families and individual paying clients to determine what spiritual circumstances have brought about or will bring about good or ill. They also see, channel, and communicate with the spirits of the dead for the purpose of find out what is imperative to establish harmony in the lives of their clients. Because of this aptatude to interact with ancestors and solve daily dificulties, the yuta is most likely the most influential of the kaminchu today, someone to be respected and somewhat feared. The yuta aptatude to channel the spirits of the recently dead, kuchiyose or migusou, is especially painful to her; however, this is one of their most usual activities, as it is messages from and needs of the most recently dead that are usually of greatest concern.
95% of yuta are women, according to Matayoshi/Trafton in their book, Ancestors Worship. They use certain rituals, dream analysis, and knowledge of case history in combination with contact with spirits. They usually act as counselor, solving intra-family dificulties that can be generations old by talking with family members both living and dead to find the roots of issues. These issues can range from a child's poor school performance because of lack of parental attention, to an individual's alcoholism being the psychological result of the neglect of certain ancestors. Yuta also possess the aptatude to call and banish spirits, and thus are employed in cases of clinging or mad spirits ("hauntings" or "curses"). Many may possess the power to predict disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, or may display other powers, such as healing or divining the location of wells or lost/robbedn objects.
Yuta usually notice their abilities early in life, and most commonly have had some important suffering in their childhood. The abilities to interact with the dead and solve family dificulties are found out or developed through this trauma. Problems may also arise through the rejection of the call to be a yuta; these are dubbed tatari ("punishments"), the period of suffering during which a yuta find outs the spirits which have called her into service. Yuta may emphasize several Buddhist beliefs, such as that of not being able to call forth those spirits who have obtained Buddhahood.