Editing Ainu people (section)

===Religion===
{{Further|Ainu creation myth|Ko-Shintō|Shamanism in Siberia}}
{{Category see also|Ainu mythology}}
[[File:Ainu-iomante-bear-spirit-sending-ceremony-by-Hirasawa-Byozan-1875.png|thumb|Painting of the Ainu {{lang|ain-Latn|[[Iomante|iyomante]]}}, or bear spirit sending ceremony, in Hokkaido (1875)]]
The Ainu are traditionally [[Animism|animist]]s,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-05 |title=Ainu {{!}} Definition, Culture, & Language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ainu |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>believing that everything in nature has a {{transliteration|ain|[[kamuy]]}} (spirit or god) on the inside. The most important include:
* {{transliteration|ain|[[Kamuy-huci]]|italic=no}}, goddess of the hearth
* {{transliteration|ain|[[Kim-un-kamuy]]|italic=no}}, god of bears and mountains
* {{transliteration|ain|[[Repun Kamuy]]|italic=no}}, god of the sea, fishing, and marine animals<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/en/study/eng10.html|title=Ainu History and Culture|website=ainu-museum.or.jp|access-date=January 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124020805/http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/en/study/eng10.html|archive-date=November 24, 2018}}</ref>
* {{transliteration|ain|[[Kotan-kar-kamuy]]|italic=no}}, regarded as the creator of the world in the Ainu religion<ref name="adami">Norbert Richard Adami: ''Religion und Schaminismus der Ainu auf Sachalin (Karafuto)'', Bonn 1989, p. 40-42.</ref>

[[File:Iomante2.JPG|thumb|Ainu traditional ceremony, {{circa|1930}}]]
Ainu craftsmen, and the Ainu as a whole, traditionally believed that "anything made with deep sincerity was imbued with spirit and also became a [{{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}]".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=The Ainu: History of the Indigenous people of Japan |url=https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/ainu-history-of-the-indigenous-people-of-japan |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=The Archaeologist |language=en-US}}</ref> They also held the belief that ancestors and the power of the family could be invoked through certain patterns in art to protect them from malignant influences.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hauge |first1=Victor |title=Folk Traditions in Japanese Art |last2=Hauge |first2=Takako |publisher=[[Kodansha]] |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-87011-360-4 |edition=1st |location=Tokyo |page=262}}</ref>

The Ainu religion has no priests by profession. Instead, the village chief performs whatever religious ceremonies are necessary. Ceremonies are confined to making [[libation]]s of {{transliteration|ja|[[sake]]}}, saying prayers, and offering [[willow]] sticks with wooden shavings attached to them.<ref name="EB1911" /> These sticks are called {{lang|ain-Latn|[[inaw]]}} (singular) and {{lang|ain-Latn|nusa}} (plural).

They are placed on an altar used to "send back" the spirits of killed animals. Ainu ceremonies for sending back bears are called {{lang|ain-Latn|[[Iyomante]]}} which dates back to AD 11.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Hokkaido University |first=CAIS |date=July 12, 2012 |title=Indigenous Archaeology of the Ainu: Shifting from Archaeological site to Native Property |url=https://www.jspsusa.org/FORUM2012/presentation/2-1_Kato.pdf}}</ref> This ritual took place over several years and included the capture of a bear cub, who was then raised as a member of the family. Eventually, they would ritually kill the bear. Since they treated the bear well in life, the Ainu believed that in death, the spirit of the bear would ensure the well-being of its adoptive community.<ref name=":1" /> The Ainu people give thanks to the gods before eating and pray to the deity of fire in times of [[Illness|sickness]]. Traditional Ainu belief holds that their spirits are [[Immortality|immortal]] and that their spirits will be rewarded hereafter by ascending to {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy mosir}} (Land of the Gods).<ref name="EB1911" />

The Ainu are part of a larger collective of indigenous people who practice "arctolatry", or [[bear worship]].<ref name="Cobb BBC" /> The Ainu believe that the bear holds particular importance as {{lang|ain-Latn|Kim-un Kamuy|italic=no}}'s chosen method of delivering the gift of the bear's hide and meat to humans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Japan's Bear-Worshipping Indigenous Group Fought Its Way to Cultural Relevance|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-bear-worshipping-group-in-japan-fought-for-cultural-relevance-180965281/|access-date=2021-10-06|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en}}</ref>

John Batchelor reported that the Ainu view the world as being a spherical ocean on which many islands float, a view based on the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. He wrote that they believe the world rests on the back of a large fish, which, when it moves, causes earthquakes.{{sfnp|Batchelor|1901|pp=51–52}}

Ainu assimilated into mainstream Japanese society have adopted [[Buddhism in Japan|Buddhism]] and [[Shinto|Shintō]]; some northern Ainu were converted as members of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. Regarding Ainu communities in [[Shikotan]] and other areas that fall within the Russian sphere of cultural influence, there have been a few churches constructed, and some Ainu are reported to have accepted the Christian faith.<ref>[http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/lcs/kiyou/19-1/RitsIILCS_19.1pp.43-55Fumoto.pdf 北千島アイヌの改宗政策について] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192133/http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/lcs/kiyou/19-1/RitsIILCS_19.1pp.43-55Fumoto.pdf |date=March 4, 2016 }} – [[立命館大学]]</ref> There have also been reports that the Russian Orthodox Church has performed some missionary projects in the [[Sakhalin]] Ainu community. However, there are only reports of a few conversions to Christianity. Converts have been scorned as {{transliteration|ain|"Nutsa Ainu"|italic=no}} (Russian Ainu) by other members of the Ainu community. Reports indicate that many Ainu have kept their faith in their traditional deities.<ref name="Potapova">{{cite journal |last=Potapova |first=Н. В. |script-title=ja:樺太における宗教活動 |title=Karafuto ni okeru shūkyō katsudō |trans-title=Religious activities in Sakhalin |journal=日本とロシアの研究者の目から見るサハリン・樺太の歴史 |publisher=[[Hokkaido University]] |url=https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no11/potapova.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200935/http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no11/potapova.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>

According to a 2012 survey conducted by [[Hokkaido University]], a high percentage of Ainu are members of their household family religion, which is Buddhism (especially {{transliteration|ja|[[Nichiren Shōshū]]|italic=no}} Buddhism). However, it is noted that, similar to the Japanese religious consciousness, there is not a strong feeling of identification with a particular religion, with Buddhist and traditional beliefs both being part of their daily lives.<ref name="Potapova"/>

Another religious-based practice was the Kamuy Puyara or Sacred Windows. Ainu homes, called chise, contained a special window through which sacred offerings were made. Excavations of Pre-Modern Ainu settlements (13th–17th century) show burials and house orientations aligned with spiritual beliefs.<ref name=":0" />

====Rituals====
The Ainu religion consists of a pantheistic animist structure in which the world is founded on interactions between humans and {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}. Within all living beings, natural forces, and objects, there is a {{lang|ain-Latn|ramat}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Burial Practices of the Ainu {{!}} TOTA |url=https://www.tota.world/article/65/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=www.tota.world}}</ref>(sacred life force) that is an extension of a greater {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}. {{lang|ain-Latn|Kamuy}} are gods or spirits that choose to visit the human world in temporary physical forms, both animate and inanimate, within the human world. Once the physical vessel dies or breaks, the {{lang|ain-Latn|ramat}} returns to the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} and leaves its physical form behind as a gift to humans. If the humans treated the vessel and {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} with respect and gratitude, then the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} would return out of delight for the human world. Due to this interaction, the Ainu lived with deep reverence for nature and all objects and phenomena in the hopes that the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} would return. The Ainu believed that the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} granted humans objects, skills, and knowledge to use tools, and thus deserve respect and worship. Daily practices included the moderation of hunting, gathering, and harvesting to not disturb the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}. Often, the Ainu would make offerings of an {{lang|ain-Latn|inau}} (sacred shaved stick), which usually consisted of whittled willow tree wood with decorative shavings still attached, and wine to the {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}. They also built sacred altars called {{lang|ain-Latn|nusa}} (a fence-like row of taller Inau decorated with bear skulls), separated from the main house and raised storehouses and often observed outdoor rituals.<ref name="Prayer to Kamuy – Religion">{{Cite web |title=Prayer to Kamuy – Religion |url=https://www.akarenga-h.jp/en/hokkaido/ainu/a-03/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=AKARENGA |language=en}}</ref>

The Ainu observed a ritual that would return {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}, a divine or spiritual being in Ainu mythology, to the spiritual realm. This {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} sending ritual was called Omante. A bear cub would be captured alive during hibernation and raised in the village as a child. Women would care for the cubs as if they were their children, sometimes even nursing them if needed. Once the bears reached maturity, they would hold another ritual every 5 to 10 years called [[Iomante]] (sometimes Iyomante). People from neighboring villages were invited to help celebrate this ritual, in which members of the village would send the bear back to the realm of spirits by gathering around it in a central area and using special ceremonial arrows to shoot it. Afterwards, they would eat the meat. However, in 1955, this ritual was outlawed as animal cruelty. In 2007, it became exempt due to its cultural significance to the Ainu. The ritual has since been modified; it is now an annual festival. The festival begins at sundown with a torch parade. A play is then performed, and this is followed by music and dancing.<ref name="Prayer to Kamuy – Religion"/><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Ainu Beliefs {{!}} TOTA |url=https://www.tota.world/article/853/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=www.tota.world}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=History |first=HWYN |date=April 26, 2019 |title=HWYN |url=https://hwyn.org/2019/04/26/bears-and-their-importance-in-ainu-culture-and-religion/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=hwyn.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

Other rituals were performed for things such as food and illness. The Ainu had a ritual to welcome the salmon, praying for a big catch, and another to thank the salmon at the end of the season. There was also a ritual for warding off {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} that would bring epidemics, using strong-smelling herbs placed in doorways, windows, and gardens to turn away epidemic {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}. Similarly to many religions, the Ainu also gave prayers and offerings to their ancestors in the spirit world or afterlife. They would also pray to the fire {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}} to deliver their offerings of broken snacks and fruit, as well as tobacco.<ref name="Prayer to Kamuy – Religion" />

=====Dancing in rituals=====
Traditional dances are performed at ceremonies and banquets. Dancing is a part of the newly organized cultural festivals, and it is even done privately in daily life. Ainu traditional dances often involve large circles of dancers, and sometimes there are onlookers that sing without musical instruments. In rituals, these dances are intimate; they involve the calls and movements of animals and/or insects. Some, like the sword and bow dances, are rituals that were used to worship and give thanks for nature. This was to thank deities that they believed were in their surroundings. There was also a dance in Iomante that mimicked the movements of a living bear. However, some dances are improvised and meant just for entertainment. Overall, Ainu traditional dancing reinforced their connection to nature and the religious world and provided a link to other Arctic cultures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Traditional Ainu dance {{!}} Silk Roads Programme |url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/silk-road-themes/intangible-cultural-heritage/traditional-ainu-dance |access-date=March 5, 2023 |website=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref>

=====Funerals=====
When a person dies, their soul is thought to travel through the hearth of Kamuy Fuchi, the goddess of fire, to the afterlife.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foster |first=Samuel |title=She Joins the Ancestral Host: Death, Mourning, and Burial in Ainu Culture |url=https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey/PDF/101/She-Joins-Ancestral-Host.pdf}}</ref> Burial customs included dressing the deceased in ceremonial clothing and surrounding them with their treasured possessions, which were intentionally broken to release their spirits.<ref name=":4" /> Funerals also included prayers and offerings to the fire {{lang|ain-Latn|kamuy}}, as well as verse laments expressing wishes for a smooth journey to the next world. Sometimes a burial would be followed by burning the residence of the dead. In the event of an unnatural death, there would be a speech raging against the gods. The graves were often isolated and were marked by carved poles called "kuwa."<ref name=":4" /> These practices reflect the Ainu's deep spiritual beliefs and their connection to nature and the divine. 

In the afterlife, recognized ancestral spirits moved through and influenced the world, though neglected spirits would return to the living world and cause misfortune. Prosperity of family in the afterlife would depend on prayers and offerings left by living descendants; this often led to Ainu parents teaching their children to look after them in the afterlife.<ref name=":9" />

===== Graves =====
Archaeological excavations have revealed that Ainu graves are typically oval or rectangular, with the deceased primarily buried in an extended dorsal position, though some were interred in a crouched posture. Offerings placed around the head provide insight into its orientation, based on the distribution of burial accessories, even when skeletal remains are absent. Over 1,000 burials from the Pre-Ainu Period have been uncovered and cataloged by Utagawa, with about 400 featuring precisely documented orientations. Earlier excavation reports predominantly referenced magnetic north, according to current Hokkaido data. At the Tohohata Burial site in Shin-Hidaka Town, 75 burials have been excavated, and with only one exception, all exhibited a southeast orientation near the Winter Solstice sunrise point. In contrast, at the Motomonbetsu site in Monbetsu Town, northeastern Hokkaido, burial orientations are more varied, with east, southeast, north, and northwest alignments being present. This variation suggests regional differences in burial orientation mirroring patterns seen in house alignments.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goto |first=Akira  |title=House and Burial Orientations of the Hokkaido Ainu, Indigenous Hunter-Gathers of Northern Japan |journal=Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry |volume=18 |issue=4 |date=2018 |pages=173–180 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.1478670 |doi-access=free}}</ref>