2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The View of Life and Death in Long Life Society ; Rethinking of Okinawan Shamanism.
| Project/Area Number |
11610100
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
教育・社会系心理学
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| Research Institution | Tohoku University |
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Principal Investigator |
OHASHI Hideshi Tohoku University, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Professor, 大学院・文学研究科, 教授 (40002927)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2001
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| Keywords | shamanism / shaman / long life society / view of life and death / altered states of consciousness |
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| Research Abstract |
Now, Japan is one of the long life countries. Above all, Okinawa Prefecture is well-known as a long life society, especially women. We have a hypothesis that the longevity of Okinawan women is corelated with their everyday actions of ancestor worship and the indigeneous shamanism. So this project examined the proposition that the view of life and death supported by the indigenous, faith relieve the stress of death and consequently advances the the longevity of Okinawan women. The results are as follows.
1. The previous theoris of the longevity of Okinawan Prefecture neglected the difference of man and woman.
2. The cosmology, of Okinawan shamanism emphasizes the everlasting life after death and influences on the view of life and death of especially older womens.
3. The customary prayer to God and ancestor bring the relaxation to older women.
4. It is found that some of older women of the homes for the aged and hospitals experience a kind of altered states of consciousness periodically which functions as self healing.
5. Older women see their own life as a pont of a continuum from ancestors to descendants. This senses may bring a stable self-concept to older women.
In a word, shamanism is the coping system for many crisises cultivated by local culture, and shaman "Yuta" in Okinawa islands is a kind of "field counseler".
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