Ainu Ceremony @ Aterui's Grave 10/22

http://lifeartmastery.com The last surviving Ainu Shaman Grandmother, Lela, leads this ceremony on the grave of a legendary Ainu warrior, Aterui, The ceremony included a feast for the spirits offered to the fire and at the grave, At the end of the ceremony all participants were required to eat ALL the food, not leave even one bite behind. That was a challenge for sure! Then the Shaman Lela asked Maureen to dance for the group. This is film contains a short bit of that dance--the camera was full--as was momo's belly! The warrior Aterui has been demonized for centuries by the ethnic Japanese or "Wajin" who subjugated the Ainu. Ainu are the indigenous people who lived on this land before the "Wajin" immigrated there from mainland Asia before 700 AD. There are various theories about this story.. One website with interesting information is http://www.seapcp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&am...

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• ainu
• ceremony
• butoh
• dance
• japan
• japanese
• shrine
• grave
• fire
• feast
• maureen freehill
• aterui

[kaindrg]

absolutly beautiful. does the japanese govt take part in cultural preservation of these ppl ?

[MrLantean]

Aterui was a great leader of the Emishi people. The Emishi people are the ancestors of the Ainu people. He managed to defeat a Japanese army in 787 sent to subdue his people. Then a new shogun was sent to subdue him. Aterui and his warriors peacefully surrendered to shogun but Aterui was later executed. Aterui was demonized as a red-headed demon by the Japanese. He was fighting for the freedom of his people and their way of life.