Ainu People - of Japan


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Who are they:  The Ainu people of Japan are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.   They were culturally and physically distinct from their Japanese neighbours until the second half of the century.   

Their language:   The traditional Ainu language has a number of dialects and almost completely disappeared by the 21st century.     A language revitalization movement was initiated to revive the language in the 1980s. 

Their culture:  Their traditional dress included bark cloth often decorated with geometric designs.  The Ainu people were mostly a hunting and gathering culture.   

Their religion:  The traditional Ainu religion is animism.   Every seven years they had their most important ritual where they captured a bear cub and then raised it as a member of their family. 

The Ainu people today:  In the modern day,  most Ainu people have intermarried with the rest of Japan but their culture is still alive.   25,000 people of the Ainu decent lived on Hokkaido in the early 21st century. 

My experience with Ainu people:   I have been to Hokkaido to go snowboarding and got an idea of the significance of the culture but did not hear or learned about the Ainu people when I was in Japan.   I have experienced the animalism religion when I travelled in Laos and did a trek to a remote Mong village where a animalism religious ritual took place.   It was very eye opening for me because I had never heard or learned about this religion before.   In this religion,  people believe that all objects,  places and creatures possess a distinct spiritual essence.   

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