The Iwor and the Territorial Group of the Saru Ainu

Abstract

The consanguineal kin group of the Saru Valley Ainu has no distinct organizational form such as the sib or clan ; therefore, great importance is attached to the territorial group as a regulator of their social life. The territorial group is based to a great extent on its economic life. Since the 1890s, the Ainu has changed from hunting and gathering to agriculture. In consequence, the old territorial organization has disintegrated so rapidly that it was only with great difficulty that we were able to ascertain the following facts : 1) On the southern coast of Hokkaido, including the Saru Valley, Ainu groups that live along a river are called by the name of the river, and are united by a strong esprit de corps. For instance, those along the Saru River are called Saru un kur (people of Saru). The such-and-such un kur consider the area along a river, from its watershed to the sea and between the two mountain ranges on both sides, to be their own territory and call it such-and-such un kur iwor. 2) The iwor, as the arena of their daily life, is divided among and occupied by a certain number of kotan (villages). These sub-units may also be called iwor, or more precisely, the such-and-such kotan un iwor. 3) The word kotan is used in two ways : as a residential area, and as a territorial group forming an integrated social unit. The kotan in the latter sense had an hereditary chief, called kotan kor kur. He represented the kotan and presided at its ukoram kor, or assemblage of family heads. As a rule, he was not a dictator. A despotic kotan kor kur was called shikesara kur and disliked by the people. A kotan consists of anywhere from several to some scores of families ; a family averages about four members. In a kotan, there are one or more patrilineal kin groups, called ekashi ikir. The kotan kor kur was at the same time the head of a powerful ekashi ikir. A man who does not belong to any of these kin groups may become a member of the kotan, but unanimous agreement of the ukoram kor is necessary. He usually enters one of the ekashi ikir, presenting them with some valuable gift (lacquerwares, swords, etc.) ; in return, he is granted the itokpa (ancestral crest) and the right of the pase onkami (principal worship) of the group. This procedure is called itokpa kikiraye (to compensate for the itokpa). 4) Within the iwor occupied by a kotan, each family has certain exclusive rights, which are transmitted from father to eldest son. (a) In the kim un iwor, or hunting and collecting area, there are the following rights to : the iramante ushi (arrow-trap location) ; the kuteki (fence for deer hunt) ; the bear's den ; the shikina (site for collecting certain plant) ; etc. (b) In the pet iwor, or river fishing grounds, the rights to : weir sites ; the site for lodges used when spearing fish ; etc. (c) In the rep un iwor, or ocean fishing grounds, the right to the site for sakusui chise (fisherman's hut). The monopoly lasts during the season when these places or objects are used for hunting, fishing or collecting in the specified way. 5) It is prohibited to enter the iwor of any other kotan than one's own without permission, except the ru (public way). But as each kotan's iwor is not favored with equal kinds of natural resources, one is permitted by the kotan kor kur to hunt or gather in the iwor of the latter's kotan, if a definite amount of imek or iwai (compensation) is paid for the take. In the case of entry without permission, an ashimpe (penalty) is demanded. On the other hand, if a person dies a violent death in another iwor, the kotan kor kur in whose kotan's iwor the accident occurred has to compensate the family of the victim for his death. This compensation is called kewepuni. 6) Giving and receiving of a part of the iwor seems to have been practiced occasionally between different kotan for some reason or other. This practice is called iwor kikiraye. 7)

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