If only you knew what Ainu

The indigenous peoples of Japan are the Ainu Indians.  They were pushed off the main island of Honshu and isolated in the northern island of Hokkaido in their own version of the Trail of Tears (OK, I’m using a little artistic license here–so sue me). They intermarried with the Japanese to the extent that there are no more pure-blood Ainu, but some of the Ainu characteristics, such as greater height, as well as greater body and facial hair, can still be seen today.

One of the things you will find in the tourist-oriented Ainu village that accentuates the mixing of the Japanese and Ainu cultures is the presence of samurai swords (katana).  They decorate with these swords and use them in their ceremonial dances.  There is still a distinct Ainu language that you can hear in their songs, and which is totally unintelligible to the Japanese, but I’m not sure if they still can use it conversationally.

Here’s the first installment of photos of the Ainu village our tour group visited on our way to the Sapporo Snow Festival.  The Ainu are animists, and if you visit the village you’ll see several carved statues and totem poles of animals. 

Entrance to Ainu Village

Totem

 

Bad bear! No cookie!

Cooking pots? Funeral urns? Wakaranai.

 

Hibachi firepit

 

This hibachi and the grass tatami mats look very Japanese.

 

It may be hard to see, but the women used to wear some funky makeup.

A little mood music

The two Ainu women in front were playing some kind of instrument akin to what we commonly know as a Jew’s harp.  Yeah, I know, it’s not politicallly correct to use that term, but to that I say, “SHA-ALU SHALOM YIRUSHALAYIM.”  They played for a very long time, so long that it became annoying.  I have some of it on videotape, but I don’t have any of my Japanese videos in digital form yet.  Someday… 

Apparently, it’s easier to find women who want to keep the Ainu traditions alive that it is to find men, but after this performance, the women formed a circle and a very tall Ainu man joined in for a slow dance around the circle.  The man had a katana and waved it in the air for most of the dance.  Later, I showed the video to a Japanese girl and asked her what they were singing during the dance, and she told me she didn’t have a clue because it wasn’t Japanese.

Yum!

This may look archaic, but your average Japanese also enjoys a good chew on dried fish.  In the convenience stores, you can even find bags full of what look for all the world like dried minnows.