The deity of the hearth. In the very diffuse system of Ryukyuan beliefs is generally considered a female and the point of access to the world of the kang (deities). Fii Nu Kang is probably the most frequently addressed of the Ryukyuan kang, and there is usually both a household hearth and a communal hearth through which she can be addressed. Very similar to, but far less personified than, the Ainu deity Kamui Fuchi.
The difficulties of lighting and maintaining a fire, and the centrality of the hearth, are not too apparent to modern life. They are, however, critically important to technologically simple people, and many religions have extolled and preserved the sanctity of the hearth. It is not surprising to find that the hearth deity is of paramount importance to both Ainu and Ryukyuans. This importance is overshadowed in complex polities such as the Yamato state by deities who support the Great Tradition and are supported and maintained by the state apparatus.
SEE ALSO:
REFERENCES:
- Herbert, Jean, 1980. La religion d’Okinawa. Paris: Dervy-Livres. Collection Mystiques et religions. Série B 0397–3050.
- Lebra, William P. 1966. Okinawan Religion: Belief, Ritual, and Social Structure. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
- Sered, Susan Starr. 1999. Women of the Sacred Groves. Divine Priestesses of Okinawa. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
SOURCE:
Handbook of Japanese Mythology written by Michael Ashkenazi – Copyright © 2003 by Michael Ashkenazi