Rep-un-Kamuy is the
Ainu ''
kamuy
A ''kamuy'' (; ) is a spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology, a term denoting a supernatural entity composed of or possessing spiritual energy.
The Ainu people have many myths about the ''kamuy'', passed down through oral traditions and r ...
'' (''god'') of the sea.
Depiction
Rep-un-Kamuy is sometimes depicted as an
orca
The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...
. In other instances, he is a carefree, somewhat mischievous young man armed with a
harpoon
A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...
.
[Ashkenazy, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese Mythology''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 238-239]
Mythology
Rep-un-Kamuy is an important figure in Ainu mythology because the sea represents opportunities for harvests that could not be found on land: fishing, the hunting of whales, and maritime trading expeditions. One of his myths displays his carefree nature and his generosity.
In the story, he harpoons a whale and her young, and throws them ashore near a human village. When he arrives at home, he is visited by a sea wren, who tells him that the humans are cutting up the whales using sickles and axes — that is, not showing proper respect to the animal or to Rep-un-Kamuy as the gift-giver. Rather than growing angry, he laughs, saying that the meat belongs to the humans and they can do with it as they like. A short time later, he sets out again, and he happens to pass the same village, where he finds that the sea wren has lied: the humans are dressed in ritual robes and cutting the flesh from the whales with sacred swords, in the proper manner. Moved by this display of piety, Rep-un-Kamuy assures the humans that the bounty of the sea will keep them from famine.
Rep-un-Kamuy is also credited with saving a village on
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
from a giant
spider
Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
, Yaushikep, by pulling it into the sea from
Uchiura Bay
The or is a bay southeast of the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. It has also been known as Iburi Bay and Volcano Bay.
History
The shoreline of Uchiura Bay was first settled by the Jōmon people as early as 4000 BC. Trade settlements have ...
and transforming it into the
octopus
An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...
-like creature
Akkorokamui
is a gigantic octopus-like monster from Ainu folklore, similar to the Nordic Kraken, which supposedly lurks in Uchiura Bay in Hokkaido. It is said that its enormous body can reach sizes of up to in length. Its name can be translated as "tent ...
.
Other
Respecting orcas as deities, Ainu tribes held traditional funerals for
stranded or deceased orcas (such as on
Rebun Island
is an island in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island sits off the coast of Hokkaidō. Rebun stretches from north to south and from east to west. The island covers approximately . Rebun Island is located ...
) akin to funerals for other animals such as
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
s.
[Miyanaga T.. 2014. "（北海道）「シャチ送り」の遺構か 礼文島の遺跡で出土". ]Asahi Shimbun
is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan.
The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
. Retrieved on October 04, 2017
See also
*
Animal worship
Animal worship (also zoolatry or theriolatry) is an umbrella term designating religious or ritual practices involving animals. This includes the worship of animal deities or animal sacrifice. An animal 'cult' is formed when a species is taken ...
*
List of water deities
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...
Notes
References
*Ashkenazy, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese Mythology''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
*Etter, Carl. ''Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan''. Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1949.
*Munro, Neil Gordon. ''Ainu Creed and Cult''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
Ainu kamuy
Sea and river gods
Animal gods