The Narrative of the "Root of the Islands" : Spirituality, Body, and Community(<Special Issue>"Spirituality" of Ancient Literature)

Abstract

Studies on the shamanism of the Ryukyu Islands were generally based on a clear distinction between the community ("noro") and individuals ("yuta"). But recently such dichotomy has been challenged and revised. The aim of this paper is to find the communal and spiritual possibilities of individual bodies or "yuta" with the new concept of "spirituality" which is more broadly and comprehensively defined.