\'W MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE AINU LANGUAGE AND FOLKLORE MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF THE AINU LANGUAGE AND FOLKLORE COLLECTED AND PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY BRONISLAW PILSUDSKI EDITED UNDER TlfJS SUPERVISION OF «t*A' J. ROZWADOWSKI, Ph.D. PROFESSOR IN THE JAGELLONIAN UNIVERSITY CRACOW PUBLISHED BY THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (SPASOWICZ FUND „SPOLKA WYDAWNICZA POLSKA11 1912 CRACOW — UNIVERSITY-PRESS — MANAGER J. FILIPOWSKI. PREFACE. i. The Ainus — that enigmatical people who have aroused amongst anthropologists an interest perhaps keener than any other — are a doomed race. Although at present, — that is in the course of the last score of years, they have not been dying out, owing to the generous endeavours of the Japanese Government and of many excellent private members of that nation, still they are perishing as to the characteristics of their race. They are being swiftly and not unwillingly assimilated with their more civilized neighbours, who, inspired with a de­ sire to atone for the wrong done by their forefathers, have systematically done everything to protect them; and since the beginning of the memorable era of the Mej-ji, they have even raised them to a position of fellow - citizenship with themselves. Of that great tribe — possibly the most ancient of all the white races — which formerly played so important a part in the Far East, there is only a remnant left at the present day: about 20,000, scattered over the most northern island of Japan, Hokaido (or Yeso), the South of Saghalien (called in Japanese Karafuto) and one of the Kurile Islands, Shikotan. At present the Ainus are in many places engaged in farming, breeding horses, and fishing on an extensive scale; but till quite lately they were semi-nomads and fishermen of VI a primitive type. The dog was the only domestic animal they had. In Yeso, it aided the hunter; in Saghalien, it was also used as a beast of burden. The huts were made of bark or of reeds; the Ainus of Saghalien and the Kurile Islands alone built (and dug) earth-houses for winter use. As to their religion, it shows traces of fire-worship and the worship of ancestors. There is besides a very distinct cult of animals and of anthropomorphic rulers of nature, upon a basis of primitive animism. A widespread faith exists in the magic potency of certain objects and persons. The Ainus are divided into various territorial totemic groups, amongst which endogamy is the rule, and exogamy the exception. Polygamy is permitted. At present there exists a mixed system of relationship, but the family tie on the female is stronger than that on the male side. The brother of the mother is even at present the head of the family. The sister has, in her own family, more privileges than her brother’s wife. The chiefs in each group enjoy hereditary power; but in any particular case of incapacity, the group has the right to choose a more able chief. The assembly of influential elders has legislative and judicial authority. II. The whole 18 years and more of my sojourn in the Far East was involuntary. Constantly longing to return to my native land, I strove as much as I could to get rid of the painful feeling that I was an exile, in bondage and torn from all that was dearest to me. I therefore naturally felt attracted towards the natives of Saghalien, who alone had a true affection for that country, their immemorial dwelling- place, detested by those who formed the penal colony there. When in contact with these children of nature whom the in­ vasion of an utterly different form of civilisation had bewil­ dered, I knew that I possessed some power and helpfulness, even though deprived of every right, and during the worst T il years of my existence. Besides, having had my schooling at Wilno, in those evil days when cruel attempts were made to force upon the schol contempt of our past and our national culture, and coerce us to speak the foreign intruders’ lan­ guage — I have always endeavoured to live and act so as not to be numbered amongst the hateful destroyers of indi­ vidual and national rights. I have felt deep pleasure in con­ versing with men of another race in their own language — even when that language was Russian. I know by my own heart — what has also been confirmed by many expe­ rience with others — that for the life of the soul, one’s na­ tive speech is what the sun is for organic life: beaming upon it, giving it warmth, feeling, and disposing it to disclose its secret places, and to manifest the treasures hidden away in its depths. It has been pleasant to me to bring some joy and the hope of a better future into the minds of these simple tribesmen, troubled by reason of the hardships of life, which continually increase. The hearty laughter of amused children, the tears of emotion in the eyes of kind women, a faint smile of gratitude on the face of a sick man, exclamations of ap­ proval, or a light tap on the shoulder given by a good friend as a sign that he was pleased: such was the balm with which I willingly relieved the hardship of my fate. When, later, I gradually took interest in ethnographical pursuits, and set with a more fixed purpose to gather mate­ rials, I recognized how important a factor the knowledge of language is to the investigator. Without this, even the ma­ terial conditions of a tribe cannot be well studied; and still less can its beliefs, customs, family and tribal life or its past existence and present aspirations be adequately investigated. It is only by means of conversation in the native lan­ guage — other indispensable qualities being of course sup­ posed to exist — that an atmosphere of friendly feeling can be formed, in which the object — the living M an — is found to answer the Ainu of research; either breaking a command VIII of silence imposed by his fellow tribesmen, or else touching painful wounds which he dislikes even to mention. III. It was in 1896 that I came in contact with them for the first time, when the prison authorities sent me to the south of Saghalien in order to build and fit out a meteorological station, and also to make a small collection of objects ethno- graphically connected with the Ainus. I remained with them, however, too short a time to arrive at any decided result. But even then the outward appearance of the Ainu people, — which strongly recalled types to be found in Europe, now reminding one of Jews, now of Russian peasants, and now of Gipsies, — and still more their language, that sounded very melodious to my ear, with its subtle and (as it were) caressing shades of tone, struck me so powerfully that I fre­ quently found myself desiring to know them at least as well as I know the Ghilyaks who inhabit North Saghalien. In 1902, the desired opportunity came. I was then in Vladivostock. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences desired me to return to Saghalien and make a considerable ethno­ graphical collection amongst the Ainus. I started in the sum­ mer of that year; but when I had accomplished what I had been sent to do, I was so deeply interested that I made up my mind to remain longer in South Saghalien, in order to become more completely acquainted with it, and with Ainu life. I was kindly assisted in realising this intention of mine by the Russian Committee of the International Society for the Investigation of Central and Eastern Asia; to whose President (V. Radloff, member of the Academy) and Secretary (Dr L. Sternberg) I wish here to express my deepest gratitude. In the course of three years, I received through these gentlemen a sum of about £. 225, which materially helped me in my undertaking. My stay amongst the Ainus lasted till the spring of 1905. IX In the summer of 1903, I also visited the Ainus in Hokaido (or Yeso), having got the necessary leave (by the kind intervention of Mr P. Semionoff, the excellent Vice-Pre­ sident of the Russian Geographical Society, in St. Petersburg) to go abroad and join Mr W. Sieroszewski, the well-known explorer of the Yakuts, who was at the time engaged in mak­ ing researches there. The time of our visit happened to be badly chosen; it was just before the war, and much excite­ ment prevailed among the population; so that we were obliged prematurely to interrupt our work, and leave the pur­ pose of our visit unattained. I nevertheless got a good oppor­ tunity of comparing one branch of the Ainu race with the other. Besides, I had now an opportunity, not only of in­ creasing my store of general knowledge of this tribe, by conversation with Mr Sieroszewski — and, as I had started for Saghalien with little previous scientific equipment, that store was of course somewhat scanty, — but also of receiv­ ing cheering encouragement from a fellow-countryman, fresh from European civilisation. But, to return to my Saghalien expedition. When in Yladivostock, I could find in the Geographical Society’s Li­ brary only one book — a dictionary of Ainu, by Davidoff, that was of but little use to me; and on going to Saghalien. I had to spend the first months almost exclusively in study­ ing the language. My experience amongst the Ghilyaks had taught me that there is no better means of learning than writing out legends from dictation, and trying to make out the sense.