Itako Japanese GrandMothers, Obasama ..

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Who are the Itako?

 

 

 

" Itako -- Blind, shamanistic female mediums who perform Kuchiyose (speaking to

the dead) on behalf of the living. Forbidden by the Regent, but many quietly

remain in defiance of law. Are usually found in mountain villages, although some

practice their art at the western gates of cities or towns. "

 

 

 

" What is Shinto? Shinto is the animistic tradition that understands the

numinous, called Kami in Japanese, as the living force residents in mountains,

trees and animals. Folk Shinto practices revolve around seasonal festivals. A

common practice in towns and villages across Japan is to lead the Kami down from

the mountains to the rice paddies in spring and guide them back to the mountain

after harvest time. Shinto practices have two aspects, the communal and the

personal. The Matsuri, or festival, is the most obvious community expression of

life in harmony with nature, when hundreds or thousands of people gather to

celebrate her bounty. During the festivals, portable shrines, vehicles for the

Kami, are carried through the town in a ritual to work the will through the

intercession of the Kami. On the personal level, families establish a Shinto

shrine in their homes where they can honor the seasonal changes and ask for help

from the ancestors in their day

to day endeavors. "

 

 

 

" Recent observations of the women priestesses in Shamanism include the Korean

Son-Mudang (more 'politely' known as Mansin by those who participate in such

rituals), the Aboriginal Japanese Ainu Tsusu, the Ryukyu Island Yuta, all

indicate there was once a global Shamanism in which spiritual power was the

proper domain of women, and where women were recognized to be the NATURAL

intermediaries between the two worlds (Blacker, 1999, p.28). In fact, one of the

oldest shamanic figures we have any record of is the Shinto Miko, also from

Japan -– a powerful sacral woman who served in shrines throughout the land

during the late prehistoric period and to have acted as spokepersons for all the

species of Numina (Blacker, 1999, p.104). We also learn from Blacker that in the

Ryuku islands (a string of tropical islands that runs from Japan to Taiwan)

magic power, similar to that said to be possessed by the Kami, could be

controlled and invoked only by women. And any

man who required such power to carry out the duties of his office, could only

acquire it indirectly through a woman relative (Blacker, 1999, p.113). "

 

 

 

" A very superficial introduction to international mystic vocabulary ... in Japan

the OnMyoji, a Shinto diviner or fortuneteller; the Itako, She who can summon

and talk with the dead; the Miko, a shrine priestess; in China the Doshi, the

Taoist zombie herder ... and comparative animal spirits ... in Japan the tanuki

and fox, in North America the coyote, in Australia the kangaroo ... "

 

 

 

While male shamans are still common in China and Southeast Asia, female shamans

are very prevalent in India, North and South Korea, and Japan. Modern Japanese

witness the spirits offering mercy to those in misery, especially Kannon, the

Buddhist goddess of mercy. She is one of the most commonly called goddesses

among contemporary Itako, Ichiko, Miko and Yuta.

 

 

 

A noseless Yuta (or Kaminchu) shaman is well known in Okinawa Prefecture. Such

seeming physical defects used to be interpreted as symbolic of supernatural

stigmata. The oldest written reference to female shamans in Japan appears in the

Wei Zhi, a Chinese chronicle of the third century. The priestess Himiko, who is

widely attributed as a shaman, ruled an early Japanese political federation

known as Yamatai using a divine power to converse with the spirit world. Other

references to female shamans in Japanese writing date back to the 11th century.

 

 

 

In the 20th Century, the Japanese priestess Kitamuro Sayo, who was called

Ogamisama, established the Tensho Kotai Jingukuyo or 'Dancing Religion'. She was

renowned for her miracles and is still revered today, long after her passing in

1967. She was associated with the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, and the Shrine of Ise.

 

 

 

Shamanism is based on animism, the practice of honoring the spirits of nature.

In the case of Itako, they acknowledge deities from may differing eras and

culture, including animist, buddhist and shinto. Rather than mixing these

ancestral traditions, the contemporary and emerging perspectives superimpose on

top of older practices, enabling the most ancient wisdom and personas to

maintain strong identities. During an initiation ceremony, each Itako will come

into contact with the spirits that will possess them. They will also learn which

spirit or ancestor is most powerful in a variety of different circumstances.

 

 

 

In training for initiation, Itako dress in a white kimono 100 days before the

ceremony. They pour cold dragon water over themselves from a well, river or pond

-- usually this takes place in midwinter -- and practice chanting. Three weeks

before the ceremony they stop taking grain, salt, and avoid artificial heat.

This helps to create the state of mind to facilitate their entering a trance.

 

 

 

During the ceremony itself, the Itako trainee is dressed as a bride to indicate

that she is to marry a deity. Repetitive drum and bell sounds are produced to

help raise concentration levels and prepare the mind while older Itako sit in

the circle of power to assist the chanting. The session will continue for days

or weeks until the Itako finally enters a trance. That is when the HeadPriestess

Itako determines which ancestor has possessed the trainee Itako. During this

tough ritual trainees are not allowed to sleep and their consumption of food is

kept to a minimum. Because many Itako suffer from some kind of visual

impairment, trainees must learn by heart the may scriptures. In this way, the

GrandMother Itako can know the scriptures better than the less-motivated Shinto

priests.

 

 

 

The difference between Priests and Priestesses, Itako, lies in the fact that

Itako go into a trance while priests simply ask 'the gods' for mercy. Priests

often come from privileged backgrounds while the GrandMother shamans are

generally lower-class people or social outcasts. Before Buddhism and

Confucianism entered Japan, various emperors made use of the wisdom of the

Priestesses. But as patriarchal doctrinal religions were introduced, animism

became vilified as the superstition and heresy of primitive culture. The same

abomination is seen in essentially all 'civilizations' around the world today,

in which aboriginal and folk spiritual practices, our relationship with nature,

is eliminated by patriarchal cults such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity or

Islam. Eventually, the honoring ceremonies once performed by female shamans in

Japan in ancient times were taken over by male priests of later industrial

religions.

 

 

 

http://www.freewebs.com/alalay/miko.htm

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=b7KbLLjzuRgC

 

http://www.folkscene.hu/magzines/shaman/2.html

 

 

 

" Danse Ainu "

 

Dance of the Aboriginal Ainu People of Japan

 

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual & videoid=3840788

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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