#mythology

[lorena-276s]

[nogetron]

Kinmamon, the light of Ryukyu. In the beginning, the earth was unmade, and all that existed was the sun god in the sky of Obotsukagura and Nirai Kanai beneath the abyssal sea.

This transcendent sun called upon the goddess Amamikyu and the god Shinreikyu, ordering them to descend from Obotsukagura and create land. Amamikyu requested materials like rocks, earth, trees and plants, the sun god pleased with her eagerness grants her the materials she requested. Amamikyu and Shinreikyu proceeded to form the lands with the materials given to them, with Amamikyu also creating the sacred Utaki sanctuaries. Their creativity begat the lands of the earth, and specifically, the Ryukyuan islands.

Without any physical interaction, Amamikyu became pregnant with Shinreikyu’s children, giving birth to three sons and two daughters. Their eldest son, Tenson, established his dynasty, his children being the rulers of Ryukyu. The middle son became the first of the local chiefs, and the youngest being the first of the farmers. The elder daughter became the first Kikoe-ōgimi, while the younger was the first of the Noro priestesses beneath the Kikoe-ōgimi.

When the first king of Ryukyu was coronated, the supreme sun god appeared as the goddess Kinmamon, traveling across the five mountains of Okinawa. The goddess blessed the king and possessed the Kikoe-ōgimi to guide his rule. Each generation, when a new king is crowned, Kinmamon descends upon the earth to bless the new king, with the next generation of Kikoe-ōgimi will drawing upon the goddess’s power to oversee his rule.

—————

Despite how little Kinmamon is mentioned within Ryukyuan mythology, her role and presence in the religious landscape is incredibly confusing and fascinating. The goddess is only mentioned towards the end of accounts of the Ryukyuan creation myth, in which she’s said to have appeared from the sea and offered oracles to the Noro. In the Ryukyu Shintoki, it’s mentioned that Kinmamon has “Yin and Yang” aspects to them, with Obotsukagura Kinmamon descending into Nirai-Kanai and Nirai-Kanai Kinmamon rising into Obotsukagura. The name Kinmamon when written in its original form in Chinese characters, translates to “The Best or Ultimate Spirit”.

The goddess Kimitezuri is more widely known to the Ryukyuans. First mentioned in the Chuzan Seikan, it’s said that Kimitezuri blesses every newly coronated Ryukyuan king and possesses the Kikoe-ōgimi. Kimitezuri was affiliated with the sun and the sea.

These two gods, Kinmamon and Kimitezuri have been heavily conflated throughout Ryukyuan history and are considered synonymous with one another.

The primary sun god was referred to under a multitude of different names, like Teda, Tedako, Tida, the Heavenly Emperor, and Agarikata-Ufunushi. This sun god seemed to have been seen as the deification of the totality of Seiji, Ryukyuan spiritual energy. This god was believed to be in charge of the whole cosmos, including Nirai Kanai and Obotsukagura, being the one who ordered Amamkiyu and Shinreikyu to create Ryukyu. The sun god was the foremost worshipped deity in the Ryukyuan religious landscape, with much of their culture revolving around its reverence. For example, since the sun rises to the east, many Ryukyuan homes, castles and Utaki were positioned in accordance with the east, with this tradition epitomized in the sun god’s name Agarikata-Ufunushi, meaning “the lord of the east”. The sun god was also deeply connected with the Ryukyuan king, with the king having often traced their lineage to the sun god, as well as being called by the name Teda, a name also used by the sun god.

According to some sources the sun god was also occasionally paired with a moon god named Chichiya-Upunushi. Nowhere near as prominent as the sun god, Chichiya-Upunushi is infrequently spoken of, primarily in Yudaka Island.

It’s seemingly common for Japanese sites to conflate the sun god with Kinmamon and Kimitezuri, I’ve even seen a Japanese academic posit the idea that the three were the same entity as well. Personally, I do believe that both gods were conflated and intrinsically connected with one another. All three are connected to the sun, sea and sky, both were deeply associated kingship, and both were intimately tied with Nirai-Kanai and Obotsukagura. It’s possible that Kinmamon’s dual aspects represented the sun’s journey, rising into Obotsukagura from the ocean in Nirai-Kanai before descending from the sky back into Nirai Kanai. This interpretation has roots within Ryukyuan tradition, as the sun’s journey across the sky and into Nirai Kanai was greatly revered, even to a philosophical point. Ultimately, while contestable, I do believe that these goddesses were identified and possibly synonymous with one another, with Kinmamon and Kimitezuri theoretically serving as manifestations or hypostases of the sun god, but again this is only my interpretation.

I’d be remiss to not mention the other theories proposed about Kinmamon and Kimitezuri’s origins. On Kinmamon, some hypothesize that the name Kinmamon originally designated generic god who came from either Onotsukagura or Nirai Kanai. Kimitezuri on the other hand has been theorized by some to have not been a goddess at all, instead being the name of a ritual. This comes from potential etymological connections in which they posit that the Kimi is in reference to the Noro priestesses, but the Tezuri/Tema might refer to the action of rubbing one’s hands together, similar to what Noro priestesses do, alongside sources mentioning Kimitezuri as an event. Both of these hypotheses are disputed. While Kinmamon’s is more likely, the term was still conflated and synchronized with Kimitezuri who was treated as her own individual entity in many sources. The mentions of Kimitezuri as an event likely stemmed from a ritual or celebration in honor of the goddess. The use of Kimi etymologically should rather refer to the goddesses connection to the Noro priestesses, whom she’s inextricably connected with.

Kinmamon in particular is worshipped as the supreme god in the modern religious movement of Ijun, centered in Okinawa with various temples across the Ryukyuan islands, alongside their one foreign temple in Hawaii. According to the founder of Ijun, Rokuro Takayasu, Kinmamon appeared to him in 1972. The god stated that it had remained in hiding for 300 years since the conquest and colonization of Ryukyu, and urged Takayasu to find the Ryukyu Shintoki. Takayasu followed the god’s instructions and found that the book did mention Kinmamon. Takayasu would go on to found Ijun (originally named Ryusen), and preached his religion on the radio. While mainly focusing on the modernization of ancient Ryukyuan practices, Ijun also incorporates a number of other easten religious elements as well, such as Buddhism. Within Ijun, Kinmamon was an abstract and metaphysical concept, being the culmination of the cosmos itself and the embodiment of enlightenment, with all the other gods of the world being personifications of its essence. These abstract traits expressed by Takayasu’s writings could compare Ijun’s Kinmamon to the likes of the Hindu Brahman and the Buddhist Dharmakaya seen in figures like Vairocana. Ijun adherents in Hawaii conflate the native gods Pele and Lono with Kinmamon.

The Ryukyu shintoki was authored by the Jodo Buddhist Taichu Ryotei. In this book, Ryotei conflates Kinmamon with his own Buddhist deity Benzaiten.

Ryukyuan tradition was greatly influenced by Chinese culture, from their buildings and writing, so too was their religion. While a majority, if not, the entire structure of Ryukyuan religion most likely developed natively, Chinese philosophy and religion still became intertwined with the Ryukyuan mythos. For example, in the Chuzan Seifu account of the Ryukyuan creation myth, the text borrows parts from the Taoist cosmogony, using terms like Taiji and Yin and Yang, and incorporates it into the preexisting Ryukyuan creation myth. However, the most important influence the Ryukyuans gathered from Chinese culture is the concept of “Heaven” otherwise known as Tian. Tian is the supreme force above all others within Classical Chinese mythology, directly evolving from Shangdi and giving rise to the likes of the Tao, the Yellow Emperor and the Jade Emperor. The Ryukyuans completely synchronized Tian, and to a lesser extent the Tao, with their sun god. Ryukyuan rituals most often conflated the two gods and commonly used terms associated with Tian for the sun god, considering the two as synonymous. This is primarily seen in names like Tentei and Tenson, the Ten within them being synonymous and coming from Tian. The name Tentei, translating to “Heavenly emperor”, draws parallels with the Jade and Yellow Emperor. While the name Tenson, referring to the ancestor of the Ryukyuan royalty, translates to “Heavenly Grandchild”.

Similarly, the sun god alongside Kinmamon and Kimitezuri have been commonly conflated with the Shinto Amaterasu. I’ve even seen some suggest that the goddesses were directly pulled from Amaterasu, however is this isn’t likely whatsoever. While I could see a possible connection with a speculative Jomon sun goddess, similar to the Ainu Tokapcup-Kamuy, I’m unsure. While the sun goddess is typically seen as a high member of the pantheon and is paired with the moon god, Ryukyu’s sun god goes further and is the supreme god among all others, which is unique to Ryukyu. This could be a result of a Jomon sun goddess focused cult in prehistoric Ryukyu that absorbed the qualities of a hypothetical primordial creator god, something like the a Jomon ancestor to the Ainu Kotan-Kar-Kamuy. However this is merely personal conjecture.

The exact Genealogy of Tenson varies occasionally from telling to telling. While Amamikyu and Shinreikyu are occasionally accredited as the parents of the first humans, other tellings differ from this. The amount of generations between them and even number of children vary, although the vast majority of tellings stick to 5 children. In some accounts the couple that gave birth to the first humans are instead said to be separate from Amamikyu and Shinreikyu, called the children of the Heavenly Emperor (although I have seen some sources give the same designation to Amamikyu and Shinreikyu).

The spirit world was an important concept within Ryukyuan culture. Ryukyuan cosmology contained two of these realms, Nirai Kanai and Obotsukagura. Nirai Kanai was a world eastward beneath the sea, sometimes said to be beyond the horizon or beneath the earth as well. Nirai Kanai is the origin from which all souls come from, the dead’s souls depart for Nirai Kanai while the new souls of the living come from Nirai Kanai, a number of deities also dwell within Nirai Kanai. After seven generations, dead ancestors within Nirai Kanai become guardian deities for their respective families. Obotsukagura is the world of the sky, in which the great sun god travels through during the day, occasionally portrayed as the god’s throne. Ryukyuan studies often describe these worlds on a vertical and horizontal axis, Obotsukagura being the vertical world and Nirai Kanai being the horizontal world. The gods’ presence is usually restricted to the Utaki, but during festivals the gods emerge from Nirai Kanai to visit the human world. In Ryukyuan thought, it was understood that the sun arose from Nirai Kanai in the morning and traveled throughout the sky during the day, in the evening the sun would dive back into Nirai Kanai in the west, the west was commonly associated with death and evil for this reason. Obotsukagura wasn’t as important in the general mindset of Ryukyu, often times the distinction between Obotsukagura and Nirai Kanai being muddy. Obotsukagura was primarily reserved for royal worship, while Nirai Kanai was widespread across all of Ryukyu, among commoners and royals alike, likely pointing to its historical roots and popularity.

Women held a VERY important position within ancient Ryukyuan society. While often accredited as a Matriarchal society, ancient Ryukyuan culture is more aptly described as being Egalitarian. Men, like in most patriarchal cultures, held most official positions within society. However, women held supreme control and authority in the religious sphere. Women were believed to have an innate connection with the supernatural, with high amounts of Seiji, the tradition commonly referred to as Onarigami. Not just husbands and wives, but also brothers and sisters as well as sons and mothers held close Spiritual connections with one another. As such these women were celebrated and honored by men, sought after for religious rights as Noro, believed to communicate directly with the gods. Noro held significant influence in the community and government of Ryukyu, with the Noro and Kikoe-ogimi having more of a presence within state rites than the king. But once the mainland Japanese conquered and colonized Ryukyu, much of their culture and feminine freedoms were abolished and erased. Their new rulers took control of the Ryukyuan religious community away from the women, barring women from state official positions and participating in religious ceremonies, effectively gutting the entire Noro tradition. Viewing the Ryukyuans as an inferior culture, the Japanese government attempted to push other religions such as Shintoism, Buddhism and Confucianism onto the population with little success as most common people still worshipped their traditional religion despite its disconnection from governmental authority. The holy Utaki groves were stripped of their Ryukyuan presence and defaced, repurposed into Shinto shrines. Ryukyuan culture and customs were gradually and strategically outlawed in order to forcefully integrate the Ryukyuan people into Japanese culture. Maltreatment of the Ryukyuan indigenous identity continues to this day.

[kadostratify]

The Bound Keepers

“We do not wear the crowns to rule. We wear them to keep the threshold closed.”

Beyond the mist and deep within the subterranean roots of the ancient world, the Keepers maintain their silent vigil. Rooted in ritual, bound by obsidian tendrils, and guided by ancestral sight, they guard secrets the surface was never meant to unearth.

[nina-colemannn]

[mila-evansw]

[mythallia-ai]

Echoes of Camelot: Unveiling Britain’s Arthurian Tapestry

The Whispers of Tintagel: Where Legend Takes Form The Arthurian legend, woven through centuries of British history and folklore, continues to resonate...

Read more (Full Article) »

[lila-fisherv]