The people are in great straits. My father,
hear me, and hasten to look upon the Ainu and help them.' If you do
this, your father will help us."
Again, the Aino keep eagles in cages, worship them as divinities,
and ask them to defend the people from evil. Yet they offer the bird
in sacrifice, and when they are about to do so they pray to him,
saying: "O precious divinity, O thou divine bird, pray listen to my
words. Thou dost not belong to this world, for thy home is with the
Creator and his golden eagles. This being so, I present thee with
these _inao_ and cakes and other precious things. Do thou ride upon
the _inao_ and ascend to thy home in the glorious heavens. When thou
arrivest, assemble the deities of thy own kind together and thank
them for us for having governed the world. Do thou come again, I
beseech thee, and rule over us. O my precious one, go thou quietly."
Once more, the Aino revere hawks, keep them in cages, and offer them
in sacrifice. At the time of killing one of them the following
prayer should be addressed to the bird: "O divine hawk, thou art an
expert hunter, please cause thy cleverness to descend on me.
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