오키나와 가미우간 ‘아가리우마이’의 변용과 그 현재적 의의

Abstract

‘Agariumai' is a sort of Kamiugan distributed on the main island of Okinawa and its neighboring islands. Volume 6 of KYUYOU, a history book of the Ryukyu Kingdom, records the revision in regulations that show the choice of an auspicious day of Eoijigyongyujinje which would be held in CHINENNㆍTAMAGUSUKU in the 20th year of the King(1666) would be reported by the court. This is the report where this agricultural ceremony where liquor made from unripened grain would be presented to ancestors occurred in Agarikata, and it is believed that Agarikata is an ancient form of ’Agariumai.‘ Although its function has changed repeatedly, it has been passed down as a traditional part of the culture in Okinawa. ‘Agariumai’ was an ancestral ritual in MUNCHYUU and in villages, a tourist attraction used for the regional promotion of NANNJO City, and a rite for religious worship and self-development. Also, as seen in the case hosted by NPO MACHIZUKURIIKEMENREN, ‘Agariumai’ is used as a field of exchange for modern people. Meanwhile, there are cases where family successors are compelled to perform the ‘Agariumai’. This indicates that ‘Agariumai’ is a rite of passage. It is assumed that such a tendency will be expanded further and its modern meaning will be expanded.