Hash-inau-uk Kamuy
Hash-inau-uk Kamuy — 'the kamuy who holds the hunting-inau', also Isosange-mat ('game-bringing-down woman') and Kamuy Paseguru ('potent kamuy') — is the Ainu goddess of the hunt, a deity of the first importance to a hunting-fishing people. Ashkenazi (Handbook of Japanese Mythology) records that she was born from the fire-producing drill and is named a sister of Kamuy-huci the hearth-goddess (and of Shiramba Kamuy the vegetation-god); that she protects hunters and appears to the worthy to show them the game; that she is also the deity of the full catch; and that she mediates between humans and the masters of the animals, freeing the deer and salmon in time of famine. Authored as a deity whose attested kinship is the sibling-bond to Kamuy Fuchi.
Domains
- hunting
- wild game
- fishing
Powers
- Appear to a worthy hunter and show him where the game is
- Mediate between humans and the masters of the game animals
- Free the game from concealment to end famine
- Grant the fisherman a full catch
Relations
- sibling: Kamuy FuchiMichael Ashkenazi, Handbook of Japanese Mythology (Oxford, 2003): Hasinaw-uk-kamuy said to be a sister of Kamuy-huci, the hearth goddess (secondary)
- ally: Wakka-us KamuyReciprocal of ainu_wakka_us_kamuy.ally — Hasinaw-uk joins the water-goddess's feast of the kamuy to secure the release of the game in time of famine.Ainu kamuy-yukar of the famine-feast (Philippi, Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans, 1979) (primary)
- sibling: Shiramba KamuyBatch-1 alphabetical sweep: reciprocal/correctness wiring.
Sources
- existence: Michael Ashkenazi, Handbook of Japanese Mythology (Oxford University Press, 2003) (secondary); John Batchelor, The Ainu and Their Folk-Lore (1901) (secondary); N. G. Munro, Ainu Creed and Cult (1962), on the inau-cult of the hunt (secondary)