Abstract
The Ainu have the divine ritual called "Iomante". It is the ritual about bears' spirit. The Ainu, aboriginal people in Hokkaido, had been occupied in hunting animals. The animals for the Ainu are not only the food but deified spirit. They hunt and eat animals, but have a feeling of awe towards them. The original form of their "eating manner" arose from the "sacrifice" of animals. In the traditional tales, the animal protagonists spontaneously appear to be sacrificed by themselves. For this reason, they feel animals awesome and place them in the prior position than human beings. By worshiping the spirits of sacrificed animals, the Ainu people hope the continual circulation of this relationship between people and animals. They make use of animals' leather and meat for all the scene of their daily life and express their joyful feelings by eating and singing together. This idea changes from the "eating behavior" to "eating manner". In our modern life, in the crisis of the food culture, it is important for us to reconsider this ritual tradition of the Ainu and the importance of the relation between the "eating manner" and "sacrificed lives".
