Again, the solemn participation in his
flesh and blood, and particularly the Aino custom of sharing the
contents of the cup which had been consecrated by being set before
the dead beast, are strongly suggestive of a sacrament, and the
suggestion is confirmed by the Gilyak practice of reserving special
vessels to hold the flesh and cooking it on a fire kindled by a
sacred apparatus which is never employed except on these religious
occasions. Indeed our principal authority on Aino religion, the Rev.
John Batchelor, frankly describes as worship the ceremonious respect
which the Aino pay to the bear, and he affirms that the animal is
undoubtedly one of their gods. Certainly the Aino appear to apply
their name for god (_kamui_) freely to the bear; but, as Mr.
Batchelor himself points out, that word is used with many different
shades of meaning and is applied to a great variety of objects, so
that from its application to the bear we cannot safely argue that
the animal is actually regarded as a deity. Indeed we are expressly
told that the Aino of Saghalien do not consider the bear to be a god
but only a messenger to the gods, and the message with which they
charge the animal at its death bears out the statement.
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