Hasinaw-uk-kamuy (ハシナウ・ウｸ・カムイ; also Hash-Inau-uk Kamuy, Hashinau-uk Kamuy or simply Hash-uk Kamuy) is the
Ainu
Ainu or Aynu may refer to:
*Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East
*Ainu languages, a family of languages
**Ainu language of Hokkaido
**Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands
**Sakhalin Ainu la ...
''
kamuy'' (''goddess'') of the hunt. She is sometimes called Isosange Mat (''Bringing-down-game Woman'') and Kamuy Paseguru (''Potent Kamuy'').
Depiction
Hasinaw-uk-kamuy is depicted as a woman with long hair who wields a bow and arrows, who often carries a child on her back. She is accompanied by, or sometimes appears in the form of, a small bird, which shows hunters the way to game. She is also represented by the
aconite
Aconite may refer to:
*'' Aconitum'', a plant genus containing the monkshoods
*Aconitine
Aconitine is an alkaloid toxin produced by various plant species belonging to the genus ''Aconitum'' (family Ranunculaceae), known also commonly by the na ...
plant, with which Ainu hunters poisoned their arrows.
[Ashkenazy, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese Mythology''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 161]
Mythology
Hasinaw-uk-kamuy is a deity of great importance to the Ainu, who historically subsisted largely on hunting, fishing, and gathering. She was born from the fire-producing drill, and is sometimes said to be the sister of
Kamuy-huci, the hearth goddess, or of
Shiramba Kamuy
Shiramba Kamuy is the Ainu ''kamuy'' (''god'') of wood, grains, and other forms of vegetation. He is therefore also the ''kamuy'' of many household tools, which contain wood. He is sometimes portrayed as the brother of Hash-inau-uk Kamuy Hasinaw- ...
, god of vegetation. Hunters worshipped her to assure a successful hunt, and fishermen to ensure a full catch. She is also invoked to aid in childbearing.
Notes
References
*Ashkenazy, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese Mythology''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
*Etter, Carl. ''Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan''. Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1949.
*Munro, Neil Gordon. ''Ainu Creed and Cult''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
Ainu kamuy
Hunting goddesses
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