Cultural Anthropological Study on the Ecology and Worldview of Yaeyama Islanders in Okinawa
| Project/Area Number |
14510335
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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 |
文化人類学(含民族学・民俗学)
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| Research Institution | KYOTO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
YAMADA Takako Kyoto Univ., Grad.School of Human and Environmental Studies, Professor, 大学院・人間・環境学研究科, 教授 (20293839)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2004
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2004)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
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| Keywords | Yaeyama Islands / Hateruma Island / ecology / recognition of nature / transmission of rituals / idea of deities / identity / 世界観 / 文化人類学 / 神行事の実践 / 豊年祭 / 神行事の変容 |
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| Research Abstract |
Today, with the advent of modernization, not only people's daily lives but also religious practices have been modified. In this research project, the ecology and worldview today among the local inhabitants of Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa were empirically and scientifically analyzed from a cultural anthropological viewpoint. Hateruma Island was selected as a focal field study area, where field data on the ecology and world view were recorded by photos, VTR, and audio tape through participant observations and interviews. Lastly, the idea of deities in Hateruma Islands was compared with that of the Ainu.
The implementation of projects to improve local infrastructure have made people's lives convenient and modernized and the re-division of cultivated fields into larger division makes sugar cane cultivation less painstaking and the area of natural vegetation greatly reduced. Therefore, in particular, the dynamism of traditional religious practices and the ecological knowledge through moderniza
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tion is analyzed and the followings are the findings :
(1)The traditional knowledge on plants has passing away in the point that their vernacular names are replaced by common Japanese or Okinawan, however, the knowledge on those that are utilized during the rituals are still vividly maintained.
(2)Although the sugar cane is the main crop and the annual calendar of cultivation has changed, people still perform rituals 46 times in a year despite a shortage of female priests and helpers.
(3)The performance of the most important thanksgiving ritual for the crop is maintained as a community-based event by the participation of all the local inhabitants, although the procedure has partly been simplified.
(4)The maintenance of ritual performances is not only an expression of faith but also an agency to integrate their sense of belongingness to their island.
Furthermore, it is revealed that the idea of deities of Hateruma people is closely linked with the locality of a certain land and space. Their deities are not embodied by an animal or a plant not similarly as Ainu deities are, but are shown by the very practice of offering water. The idea of deities is thus related with the ecology of cultivation, while Ainu idea of deities with the ecology of hunting and gathering. Less
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Report
(4 results)
Research Products
(24 results)
