Ainu language. The Tragedy of the Mysterious Ainu

A bit of history

The Ainu came to the Japanese islands, as well as to the Kuriles and Sakhalin about 15 thousand years ago. Whether someone lived there before them is a secret hidden by the darkness of millennia. In one source, I came across that they were the first people who settled Japan, and in another - that archaeological artifacts indicate that the Japanese islands were inhabited by people over the past 100 thousand years (it is not yet a fact that the human species, in general, exists so much). Here is such a paradox. Well, be that as it may, 15 thousand years is the age of the oldest Ainu remains found in Japan. For many millennia they lived in harmony with nature in small distributed groups and obtained their livelihood by hunting, fishing and gathering. At least, no archaeological finds have been made to suspect the ancient Ainu in the creation of a highly developed civilization. There are no ancient ruins a-la Mohenjo-Daro, no samples of writing, no signs of agriculture. Only ceramics, weapons, and so on, every household small thing. Well, as usual. But on the other hand, Ainu ceramics is the oldest found ceramics in the world! And also, by the way, they have the most reduced dentition of all the peoples now living on Earth - this means that they chew thermally processed food longer than anyone else.

However, around 3000 B.C. Ainu pottery has become much more whimsical and much more aesthetic than before. Have there been any shifts in pottery in internal social reasons or did the cultural influence of immigrants from the mainland affect? Or maybe it was the settlers who made it, and the Ainu only bought it? Oh yes! About immigrants. It was at this time that the second wave of immigration (or intervention?) swept the Japanese islands from somewhere in the southwest, that is, from southeast Asia. The newcomers, apparently, were Australoids by race and rice growers-farmers by way of life. It is no longer possible to establish how peacefully the newcomers got along with the locals.

Finally, 1000 B.C. e. the third wave of immigrants arrived on the Japanese islands from Central Asia - the people of the Yayoi culture, it is they who are mainly the ancestors of modern Japanese. Actually, the migration flow was divided - part of the Yayoi people turned to the Japanese islands, and some moved further, to the Korean peninsula (in the future I will call the Yayoi settled in Japan simply Japanese). By race they were, of course, Mongoloids, and by way of life, again, rice growers-farmers. Initially, the Japanese occupied only the southern part of the islands and their advance to the north was long and difficult - the Ainu were by no means going to give up their positions without a fight. Until the 20th century, in Hokkaido - the northernmost of the three largest Japanese islands - the Japanese practically did not meddle. And even in the first half of the 20th century, the Ainu were by no means a disappearing ethnic group. And only during the Second World War, the Japanese managed to almost completely destroy them. The cleared territories were naturally settled by the Japanese and the few surviving Ainu assimilated. At present, purebred Ainu, in fact, do not exist; out of several tens of thousands of citizens of Ainu origin, only a couple of hundred can speak the language of their ancestors. But the Ainu did not disappear without a trace. They have contributed to Japanese culture, and in the Japanese gene pool. Many Japanese beliefs, myths, ideas about the world, customs - festive and everyday, religious and everyday -, medieval Japanese military art, the Bushido code, and even the word "Bushido" itself, almost all geographical names in Japan are actually of Ainu origin. In addition, almost all Japanese, more or less, have an admixture of Ainu genes ...

But ... to be absolutely certain, the statement that the Japanese destroyed the Ainu is not entirely true. The dividing line passed a little differently ... Not the Japanese - the Ainu, but the state - "savages".

Firstly, the authorities in ancient, medieval and new Japan, having extended their influence to new territories, did not at all seek to physically destroy the Ainu - no, they simply did the same thing that authorities do in any country in the world - they tried to build a "civilized" society and adapt the local population to work "for their uncle" - for themselves, that is. The Ainu, on the other hand, resisted such “cultivation” in every possible way.

Secondly, the state was originally more Ainu than Japanese. Even in the first millennium BC. e. in Chinese chronicles, a certain state is mentioned Ya-ma-ta-i, which in the Ainu language means "land cut by the sea." Mentions are few and vague, but the meaning of the name and the very fact that the name has at least some meaning in the Ainu language with a fairly high probability indicates a geographical location ... And by the way, the very word “I-ma-ta- and" does not remind you of anything? For example, "Yamato"? But this was before the arrival of the Japanese! Medieval Japan, it seems, can be considered the direct heir to the pre-Japanese Ya-ma-ta-i, during the Middle Ages, most of the "Japanese" aristocrats, starting with the emperor, were still Ainu. And even today, in the descendants of the ancient nobility, a much greater admixture of Ainu genes is found than is found on average - in some cases over 50%! How did it happen that the Ainu ruled the Japanese and destroyed their brethren? Well, obviously, the peaceful sedentary Japanese farmers turned out to be much more convenient for the state than the freedom-loving "savages" Ainu. In addition, immigrants are always more vulnerable and, therefore, more dependent on the state than the local population - they are easier to manipulate.

Anthropology and genetics

There are exactly three hypotheses for the origin of the Ainu:
1) The Ainu descended from the ancient population of Siberia, which did not yet possess the signs of modern races, and thus they themselves, in fact, are a separate race.

Well, this, to one degree or another, is definitely true, because 15 thousand years of isolation is a serious period, quite enough to stand out in a very isolated group, and whether such a group can be considered a race is a purely terminological question. But this does not prevent us from raising the question of the relationship of the Ainu with other races.

2) Ainu are Caucasians. A feature of Russian national fishing anthropology is the obsessive desire to prove precisely this hypothesis. The reason for this is obvious and comical at the same time. For some reason, Russian jingoistic patriots think that if they manage to find (or falsify) evidence that the Ainu belong to the Caucasoid race, then this will give them reason to claim, if not the Japanese islands, then the Kuriles and Sakhalin for sure. Japanese anthropology, on the contrary, is distinguished by the desire to refute this hypothesis. Apparently, jingoistic patriots are the same everywhere... This hypothesis is usually argued by the fact that the Ainu have light skin, wavy hair, and abundant facial and body hair. But this is all very frivolous. The intensity of pigmentation is just an ecological adaptation, it does not reflect real relationship; wavy hair is not an exclusive feature of the Caucasian race; it is also characteristic of Australoids; the degree of hairiness is a very unstable parameter, even within the same race, it can vary greatly. In fact, there is no reliable anthropological evidence of the relationship (or lack of relationship) of the Ainu with the Caucasoid race.

3) Ainu - Australoids. The Ainu have an admixture of Australoid genes - this is a fact, and this is also guessed in facial features. One can even say more precisely: they are in some relationship with the peoples of the Miao, Yao, etc. (Miao and Yao, live in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and are of Australoid origin). But is this evidence of the common origin of the Ainu and the Australoid race, or was the admixture simply introduced by those same settlers from Southeast Asia? More like the second one.

There is also something else interesting. In one recent study, some genetic relationship was found between the Ainu and ... Indians. The question is whether this is not speculation, because purebred Ainu simply do not exist anymore - everyone has an admixture of Japanese blood. Well, the fact that the Japanese are related to the Indians, and the raccoon understands, respectively, these admixture Mongoloid genes could be common between the Ainu and the Indians.

Language

So what language do the Ainu speak? Imagine, in Ainu. And what language family does it belong to, with what other languages ​​is it related? And it does not apply to any - it is the only one of its kind and unique. And this, in fact, is absolutely not surprising - 15 millennia of isolation is not a joke! In comparison, the Indo-European languages ​​split about 6,000 years ago. Only. However, linguists around the world do not leave attempts to suck from your finger to reveal kinship Ainu language with something else - starting, of course, with Japanese and ending with ... yes, whatever. For example, a feature of the Russian national hunting of linguistics is an obsessive desire to enter the Ainu language into a hypothetical Nostratic linguistic macrofamily (the reason here is the same as for attempts to prove the Caucasoid origin of the Ainu), the existence of which is in itself extremely doubtful.

Meanwhile, the Japanese language itself is very special. It bears little resemblance to any other languages ​​in the world. The reason for this is that it originates simultaneously from two ancestral languages, and the grammatical constructions of both, of course, were greatly distorted during the merger. One ancestral language is obviously that ancient language, which was spoken by the people of the Yayoi culture: Japanese shows some similarities with Korean, and they are both distantly related to the Altaic language family. The second ancestral language is related to the Austro-Asiatic language family, or rather language group miao-yao. Where did this Austroasiatic root come from? There is only one explanation - this language was spoken by the second wave of migrants. It turns out that by the time Yayoi arrived on the islands, they still retained their national identity and the language, and, moreover, were strong enough, since they managed to make such a contribution. It's not clear where they went after that. No, they did not assimilate. Because the Japanese do not have any significant admixture of Australoid genes. Or themselves by the first millennium BC. e. no longer existed, but were the Ainu speaking their language?

The Ainu language (or Ainu so), the language of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, is on the verge of extinction. Only 15-20 representatives of the older generation of the Ainu speak their native language and use it in Everyday life. The reason for the decline of the culture and language of this indigenous people is Japan's harsh policy of assimilation.

Ainu language

Country: Japan (and also until about 1945 Russia, the USSR)
People: Ainu (Utari)
Language: Ainu (Ainu so)
Population: 25000
Number of carriers 15-20
Language family: isolated
Written language: no
Danger level: emergency

Traces of the Ainu (as well as the Japanese) go back to prehistoric times - to the Jomon era (10,000-300 BC). Their homeland was the islands in Okhotsk and Seas of Japan, on the northwestern outskirts Pacific Ocean. Beginning around the 12th century, most of the Ainu lived on Hokkaido, a large island to the north. modern Japan. There were also significant settlements in the southern part of the Russian islands - Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The lifestyle and culture of the Ainu were especially closely associated with bear hunting and salmon fishing. Thanks to the fur trade in the 15th century, the first contacts were made with Japan, China and Siberia.

In 1869, Japan declared Hokkaido its colony, and without further ado, the natives became Japanese. They were forced to do agriculture, as well as doing menial jobs in the growing Japanese economy. So the foundations of the Ainu culture began to collapse, and their language was banned. Rigid assimilation was tightly intertwined with Japanese nationalism, which led to the mixing of the Ainu with the Japanese, and Japanese became the main language for all the Ainu.

At the end of World War II, the Ainu were deported from the Soviet territories of Sakhalin and the Kuriles. Most of them settled in Hokkaido. The few remaining Ainu lived in great poverty. Now these indigenous people are no longer on the Russian islands.

The Ainu language is considered isolated. Attempts by linguists to establish a connection with the Altaic languages ​​of Eurasia, the languages ​​of the Indians or the Australian-Asiatic natives have not been successful.

Due to the geographical isolation of the Ainu groups, about 20 dialects of their language were formed, some of which had significant differences from the rest; the most common were on the main islands - Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuriles. Many place names in Hokkaido come from Ainu, such as Sapporo, the island's capital. A feature of the Ainu language is the wealth of terminology associated with life cycle salmon, as well as seals, whales and other game animals.

It was only in the 1980s that politicians and society in Japan began to realize that the endangered culture of the Ainu needed support, that it needed to be saved. The writing of the Ainu language was created, which historically did not have it, thus, it became possible to preserve numerous Ainu epics about gods and heroes. For this, the Latin alphabet was used, as well as Japanese (katakana), a 45-syllable system with which non-Japanese words are usually transcribed in Japanese. Currently, there are several Ainu-Japanese-English dictionaries, a newspaper is published in the Ainu language.

Now there are 25,000 people living in Hokkaido who consider themselves Ainu or have Ainu roots. They have merged into Japanese society, speak Japanese, and in the language of their ancestors they can say at best a few words. Discrimination against the natives of Japan is still very strong. Outwardly very different from the Japanese, the Ainu intermingled with them over several generations in order to provide their descendants with better living conditions. However, the Ainu are harder to get higher education And skilled work, so many of their descendants live modestly, if not poorly. Many of them hide their origin from the authorities, do not even initiate their children into it in order to save them from this burden. In reality, the number of Ainu or half-breeds is approximately 200,000.

Many modern young Ainu are trying to find their roots, get to know their culture and revive it. There are many Ainu courses, a radio broadcast in Ainu. Thanks to the Internet, as well as music (Ainu Rebels, Oki Ainu Dub Band), Ainu youth have the opportunity to discover their language, realize cultural identity and to shape the identity of the indigenous people of Japan.

Text in Ainu:

(excerpt from the epic of the gods Kamui Yukar)

Sinean to ta petetok un sinotas kusu payeas awa, petetokta sine ponrupnekur nesko urai kar kusu uraikik neap kosanikkeukan punas=punas.

The same text written in katakana:

Translation:

One day, as I was setting out traveling towards the source of the (river "s) water, the walnut wood post was struck as at the water" s source a little man all by himself was erecting a walnut wood plank. He was standing there now bent over at the waist and now standing up straight over and over again.

Once, when I was about to travel to the source of the river, I heard blows on the trunk of a walnut tree, this is at the source small man single-handedly built a raft of walnut wood. He leaned over, then straightened up again and again.

Ainu(Ainu) - mysterious tribe, due to which scientists different countries many copies were broken. They are white-faced and straight-eyed (men are also distinguished by strong hairiness) and in their appearance are strikingly different from other peoples. East Asia. They are clearly not Mongoloids, rather they gravitate towards the anthropological type. South-East Asia and Oceania.

Ainu in traditional costumes. 1904

Hunters and fishermen, who for centuries had almost no knowledge of agriculture, the Ainu nevertheless created an unusual and rich culture. Their ornament, carving and wooden sculpture are amazing in their beauty and invention; their songs, dances and stories are beautiful, like any genuine creations of the people.

Every nation has its own unique history and original culture. Science is more or less familiar with the steps historical development one ethnicity or another. But there are peoples in the world whose origin remains a mystery. And today they continue to excite the minds of ethnographers. These ethnic groups primarily include the Ainu - the natives of the Far East region.

It was the most interesting, beautiful and naturally healthy people who settled on the Japanese Islands, southern Sakhalin and the Kuriles. They called themselves various tribal names - "soy-untara", "chuvka-untara". The word "Ainu", which they used to call them, is not the self-name of this people. It means "man". These natives are identified by scientists as a separate Ainu race, combining in appearance Caucasoid, Australoid and Mongoloid traits.

The historical problem that arises in connection with the Ainu is the question of their racial and cultural origin. Traces of the existence of this people were found even in the places of Neolithic sites on the Japanese islands. The Ainu are the oldest ethnic community. Their progenitors are the carriers of the “jomon” culture (literally “rope ornament”), which is almost 13 thousand years old (on the Kuril Islands - 8 thousand years).

The beginning of the scientific study of the Jomon sites was laid by the German archaeologists F. and G. Siebold and the American Morse. Their results varied considerably. If the Siebolds asserted with all responsibility that the Jomon culture was the creation of the hands of the ancient Ainu, then Morse was more careful. He did not agree with the point of view of his German colleagues, but at the same time emphasized that the Jomon period differed significantly from the Japanese.

But what about the Japanese themselves, who called the Ainu the word "ebi-su"? Most of them did not agree with the conclusions of archaeologists. For them, the natives were always only barbarians, as evidenced, for example, by the entry of a Japanese chronicler made in 712: “When our exalted ancestors descended on a ship from the sky, on this island (Honshu) they found several wild peoples, among them the wildest were the Ainu.

But as archaeological excavations testify, the ancestors of these "savages" long before the Japanese appeared on the islands created a whole culture there, which any nation can be proud of! That is why the official Japanese historiography made attempts to correlate the creators of the Jomon culture with the ancestors of modern Japanese, but not with the Ainu.

And yet, most scholars agree that the Ainu culture was so viable that it influenced the culture of its enslavers - the Japanese. As Professor S. A. Arutyunov points out, Ainu elements played a significant role in the formation of samurai and the ancient Japanese religion - Shintoism.

So, for example, the Ainu warrior - dzhangin - had two short swords, 45-50 cm long, slightly curved, with one-sided sharpening, and fought with them, not recognizing shields. In addition to swords, the Ainu carried two long knives (“cheiki-makiri” and “sa-makiri”). The first was a ritual knife for making sacred shavings "inau" and performing the rite "re" or "erytokpa" - ritual suicide, which the Japanese later adopted, calling hara-kiri, or seppuku (as, by the way, the cult of the sword, special shelves for the sword, spears , bow).

Ainu swords were put on public display only during the Bear Festival. An old legend says: “A long time ago, after this country was created by God, there lived an old Japanese man and an old Ain man. The Ainu grandfather was ordered to make a sword, and the Japanese grandfather was ordered to make money. It further explains why the Ainu had a cult of swords, while the Japanese had a thirst for money. The Ainu condemned their neighbors for acquisitiveness.

The Ainu did not wear helmets. By nature, they had long thick hair, which was tangled into a tangle, forming a semblance of a natural helmet. Very little is currently known about the martial art of the Ainu. It is believed that the pra-Japanese adopted almost everything from them. In fact, the Ainu fought not only with the Japanese.

Sakhalin, for example, they conquered from the "tonzi" - a short people, really the indigenous population of Sakhalin. It remains to be added that the Japanese were afraid of an open battle with the Ainu, conquered and drove them out by cunning. An ancient Japanese song said that one "emishi" (barbarian, ain) is worth a hundred people. There was a belief that they could make fog.

Initially, the Ainu lived on the islands of Japan (then it was called Ainumoshiri - the land of the Ainu), until they were pushed north by the proto-Japanese. They came to the Kuriles and Sakhalin already in the XIII-XIV centuries. Traces of their stay were also found in Kamchatka, in Primorye and the Khabarovsk Territory.

Many toponymic names of the Sakhalin region bear Ainu names: Sakhalin (from "Sakharen Mosiri" - "undulating land"); the islands of Kunashir, Simushir, Shikotan, Shiashkotan (the ending words “shir” and “kotan” mean, respectively, “plot of land” and “settlement”). It took the Japanese more than two thousand years to occupy the entire archipelago up to and including Hokkaido (then called Ezo) (the earliest evidence of skirmishes with the Ainu dates back to 660 BC).

There are enough facts cultural history Ainu, and, it would seem, it is possible with a high degree accuracy to calculate their origin.

Firstly, it can be assumed that in ancient times the entire northern half of the main Japanese island of Honshu was inhabited by tribes that are either direct ancestors of the Ainu or standing very close to them in their material culture. Secondly, two elements are known that formed the basis of the Ainu ornament - the spiral and the zigzag.

Thirdly, there is no doubt that the starting point of Ainu beliefs was primitive animism, that is, the recognition of the existence of a soul in any creature or object. Finally, well researched public organization Ainu and the method of their production.

But it turns out that the factual method does not always justify itself. For example, it has been proven that the spiral ornament has never been the property of the Ainu alone. It was widely used in the art of the inhabitants of New Zealand - Maori, in decorative drawings Papuans of New Guinea, among the Neolithic tribes who lived in the lower reaches of the Amur.

What is it - a coincidence or traces of the existence of certain contacts between the tribes of East and Southeast Asia in some distant period? But who was the first, and who adopted the discovery? It is also known that the worship of the bear and its cult were spread over vast areas of Europe and Asia. But among the Ainu, it is sharply different from similar ones among other peoples, for only they fed the sacrificial bear cub with the breast of a female nurse!

Ainu and the cult of the bear

The Ainu language also stands apart. At one time it was believed that it was not related to any other language, but now some scientists are bringing it closer to the Malayo-Polynesian group. And linguists have discovered Latin, Slavic, Anglo-Germanic and even Sanskrit roots in the Ainu language. In addition, ethnographers are still struggling with the question - where did people in these harsh lands come from, wearing swing (southern) type of clothing.

A dressing gown made from wood fibers and decorated with traditional ornaments looked equally good on men and women. Festive white robes were sewn from nettles. In the summer, the Ainu wore a loincloth of the southern type, in winter they sewed fur clothes for themselves. Salmon skins were used by them to make knee-length moccasins.

The Ainu were alternately ranked among the Indo-Aryans, and among the Australoids and even Europeans. The Ainu themselves considered themselves to have flown in from heaven: “There was a time when the first Ainu descended from the Land of Clouds to the earth, fell in love with it, took up hunting, fishing in order to eat, dance and procreate children” (from the Ainu legend). Indeed, the life of these amazing people was completely connected with nature, the sea, the forest, the islands.

They, being engaged in gathering, hunting, fishing, combined the knowledge, skills and abilities of many tribes and peoples. For example, as taiga dwellers, they went hunting; collected seafood, like southerners; they beat the sea beast like the inhabitants of the north. The Ainu strictly kept the secret of mummification of the dead and the recipe deadly poison, extracted from the root of the plant aconite, which was impregnated with the tips of their arrows and harpoons. They knew that this poison would quickly decompose in the body of the slaughtered animal and the meat could be eaten.

The tools and weapons of the Ainu were very similar to those used by other communities of prehistoric people who lived in similar climatic and geographical conditions. True, they had one significant advantage - they had obsidian, which is rich in Japanese islands. When processing obsidian, the edges were smoother than those of flint, so that the arrowheads and axes of the Jomons can be attributed to the masterpieces of Neolithic production.

Of the weapons, the most important were the bow and arrows. High development reached the production of harpoons and fishing rods made from deer antlers. In a word, both the tools and weapons of the Jomon people are typical of their time, and the only thing that is somewhat unexpected is that people who did not know either agriculture or cattle breeding lived in fairly large communities.

And how many mysterious questions have been generated by the culture of this people! The ancient Ainu created ceramics of amazing beauty in a hand-modeled way (without any device for spinning dishes, and even more so potter's wheel), decorating it with a bizarre rope ornament, and mysterious figurines of dogu.

Jōmon pottery

Everything was done by hand! And yet, jōmon ceramics have a special place in primitive pottery in general - nowhere is the contrast between the polishedness of its ornament and the extremely low "technology" more striking than here. In addition, the Ainu were perhaps the earliest farmers Far East.

And again a question! Why did they lose these skills, becoming only hunters and fishermen, essentially taking a step back in development? Why do the traits of different peoples, elements of high and primitive cultures intertwine in the most bizarre way among the Ainu?

Being a very musical people by nature, the Ainu loved and knew how to have fun. Carefully prepared for the holidays, of which the most important was the bear. The Ainu deified everything around them. But they especially revered the bear, the snake and the dog.

Leading a seemingly primitive life, they gave the world inimitable examples of art, enriched the culture of mankind with nothing comparable to mythology and folklore. With all their appearance and life, they, as it were, denied established ideas and habitual schemes. cultural development.

Ainu women had a smile tattoo on their faces. Culturologists believe that the tradition of drawing a “smile” is one of the oldest in the world, it was followed by representatives of the Ainu people for a long time. Despite all the prohibitions from the Japanese government, even in the 20th century, the Ainu were tattooed, it is believed that the last “correctly” tattooed woman died in 1998.

Only women applied tattoos, it was believed that the ancestors of the Ainu were taught this rite by the progenitor of all living things - Okikurumi Turesh Machi, younger sister The creator god Okikurumi. The tradition was passed along the female line, the drawing on the body of the girl was applied by her mother or grandmother.

In the process of "Japanization" of the Ainu people in 1799, a ban on tattooing girls was introduced, and in 1871 a second strict ban was proclaimed in Hokkaido, because it was believed that the procedure was too painful and inhumane.

For the Ainu, the rejection of tattoos was unacceptable, since it was believed that in this case the girl would not be able to marry, and after death find peace in the afterlife. It is worth noting that the ceremony was really cruel: for the first time, the drawing was applied to girls at the age of seven, and later the “smile” was completed for several years, the final stage on the day of marriage.

In addition to the characteristic smile tattoo, on the hands of the Ainu one could see geometric patterns, they were also applied to the body as a talisman.

In a word, over time, there were more and more mysteries, and the answers brought more and more new problems. Only one thing is known for sure, that their life in the Far East was extremely difficult and tragic. When, in the 17th century, Russian explorers reached the "farthest east", their eyes opened up to the boundless majestic sea and numerous islands.

But more than bewitching nature, they were amazed at the appearance of the natives. Before the travelers appeared people overgrown with thick beards with wide eyes, like those of Europeans, with large, protruding noses, similar to anyone: peasants from Russia, residents of the Caucasus, gypsies, but not Mongoloids, whom Cossacks and service people are accustomed to to see everywhere Ural ridge. The explorers dubbed them "hairy smokers."

Russian scientists learned about the Kuril Ainu from the “note” of the Cossack ataman Danila Antsyferov and Yesaul Ivan Kozyrevsky, in which they informed Peter I about the discovery of the Kuril Islands and about the first meeting of Russian people with the natives of those places.

This happened in 1711.

“Leaving the canoes to dry, we went along the shore at noon and in the evening we saw either houses or plagues. Keeping the squeaks at the ready - who knows what kind of people are there - went towards them. Fifty people dressed in skins poured out to meet them. They looked without fear and were of an unusual appearance - hairy, long-bearded, but with white faces and not slanting, like the Yakuts and Kamchadals.

For several days, the conquerors of the Far East, through the interpreter, tried to persuade the "hairy smokers" under the sovereign's hand, but they refused such an honor, stating that they did not pay yasak to anyone and would not pay. Only the Cossacks found out that the land to which they sailed was an island, that at noon other islands lay behind it, and even further - Matmai, Japan.

Stepan Krasheninnikov visited Kamchatka 26 years after Antsyferov and Kozyrevsky. He left behind the classic work "Description of the land of Kamchatka", where, among other information, he gave detailed description Ainu as an ethnic type. It was the first scientific description tribe. A century later, in May 1811, the famous navigator Vasily Golovnin visited here.

The future admiral spent several months studying and describing the nature of the islands and the life of their inhabitants; his truthful and colorful story about what he saw was highly appreciated by both lovers of literature and scientists. Let us also note the following detail: Golovnin's translator was a Kurilian, that is, an Ain, Alexei.

We do not know what name he bore "in the world", but his fate is one of the many examples of Russian contact with the smokers, who willingly learned Russian speech, converted to Orthodoxy and carried on a lively trade with our ancestors.

The Kuril Ainu, according to eyewitnesses, were very kind, friendly and open people. Europeans who visited different years the islands, and usually boasting of their culture, made high demands on etiquette, but they noted the gallant manners characteristic of the Ainu.

The Dutch navigator de Vries wrote:
“Their behavior towards foreigners is so simple and sincere that educated and polite people could not have behaved better. Appearing before strangers, they dress in their best clothes, pronounce forgiveness their greetings and wishes, bow their heads.

Perhaps it was this good nature and openness that did not allow the Ainu to resist the harmful influence of people from the mainland. Regression in their development came when they found themselves between two fires: pressed from the south by the Japanese and from the north by the Russians.

Modern Ainu

It so happened that this ethnic branch - the Kuril Ainu - was wiped off the face of the Earth. Now the Ainu live in several reservations in the south and southeast of the island. Hokkaido, in the Ishikari river valley. Purebred Ainu practically degenerated or assimilated with the Japanese and Nivkhs. Now there are only 16 thousand of them, and the number continues to decline sharply.

The life of the modern Ainu strikingly resembles the picture of the life of the ancient Jomons. Their material culture over the past centuries has changed so little that these changes can not be taken into account. They leave, but the burning secrets of the past continue to excite and disturb, inflame the imagination and nourish an inexhaustible interest in this amazing original and unlike any other people.

"All human culture, all the achievements of art,
science and technology that we are witnessing today,
- the fruits of the creativity of the Aryans ...
He [the Aryan] is the Prometheus of mankind,
from whose bright brow at all times
sparks of genius flew, kindling the fire of knowledge,
illuminating the darkness of dark ignorance,
that allowed a person to rise above others
creatures of the earth."
A. Hitler

I start myself difficult topic, in which everything is confused, discredited and deliberately confused - the spread of the descendants of immigrants from Mars across Eurasia (and beyond).
While preparing this article in the institute, I found about 10 definitions of who the Aryans, Aryans are, their relationship with the Slavs, etc. Each author has his own view on the issue. But no one takes it wide and deep in millennia. The deepest is the self-name of the historical peoples of Ancient Iran and ancient india, but this is only the II millennium BC. At the same time, in the legends of the Iranian-Indian Aryans there are indications that they came from the north, i.e. expanding geography and time span.
Where possible, I will refer to external data and the R1a1 y-chromosome, but as observations show, these are only "approximate" data. Over the millennia, the Martians (Aryans) mixed their blood with many peoples on the territory of Eurasia, and the y-chromosome R1a1 (which for some reason is considered a marker of true Aryans) appeared only 4,000 years ago (though I already saw that 10,000 years ago, but it’s still has not yet beaten with 40,000 years, when the first Cro-Magnon appeared, he is also a Martian migrant).
The most faithful are the traditions of the peoples and their symbols.
I'll start with the most "lost" people - with the Ainu.

Ainu ( アイヌ Ainu, lit.: "man", " real man"") - the people, the oldest population of the Japanese islands. Once the Ainu also lived on the territory of Russia in the lower reaches of the Amur, in the south of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. At present, the Ainu have remained mainly only in Japan. According to official figures, their number in Japan is 25,000, but according to unofficial statistics, it can reach up to 200,000 people. In Russia, according to the results of the 2010 census, 109 Ainu were recorded, of which 94 people are in the Kamchatka Territory.

Ainu group, 1904 photo.

The origin of the Ainu is currently unclear. Europeans who encountered the Ainu in the 17th century were amazed at their appearance. Unlike the usual kind of people Mongoloid race with yellow skin, a Mongolian fold of the eyelid, sparse facial hair, the Ainu had unusually thick hair covering their heads, wore huge beards and mustaches (holding them with special sticks while eating), their facial features were similar to European ones. Despite living in a temperate climate, in the summer the Ainu wore only loincloths, like the inhabitants of the equatorial countries. There are many hypotheses about the origin of the Ainu, which in general can be divided into three groups:

• The Ainu are related to the Indo-Europeans of the Caucasian race - this theory was adhered to by J. Bachelor, S. Murayama.

• The Ainu are related to the Austronesians and came to the Japanese islands from the south - this theory was put forward by L. Ya. Sternberg and it dominated Soviet ethnography. (This theory has not been confirmed at present, if only because the culture of the Ainu in Japan is much older than the culture of the Austronesians in Indonesia).

• The Ainu are related to the Paleo-Asiatic peoples and came to the Japanese islands from the north / from Siberia - this point of view is mainly held by Japanese anthropologists.

So far, it is known for certain that, according to the main anthropological indicators, the Ainu are very different from the Japanese, Koreans, Nivkhs, Itelmens, Polynesians, Indonesians, aborigines of Australia, the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, and come close only to the people of the Jomon era, who are the direct ancestors of the historical Ainu . In principle, there is no big mistake in putting an equal sign between the people of the Jomon era and the Ainu.

The Ainu appeared on the Japanese islands about 13 thousand years before. n. e. and created the Neolithic Jomon culture. It is not known for certain where the Ainu came from to the Japanese islands, but it is known that in the Jomon era, the Ainu inhabited all the Japanese islands - from Ryukyu to Hokkaido, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the southern third of Kamchatka - as evidenced by the results of archaeological excavations and toponymy data , for example: Tsushima— tuima- "distant", Fuji - hutsi- "grandmother" - kamuy hearth, Tsukuba - that ku pa- “head of two bows” / “two-bow mountain”, Yamatai mdash; I am mother and- “a place where the sea cuts the land” (It is very possible that the legendary state of Yamatai, which is mentioned in Chinese chronicles, was an ancient Ainu state.) Also, a lot of information about place names of Ainu origin in Honshu can be found in the Institute.

Historians have found that The Ainu created extraordinary ceramics without a potter's wheel, decorating it with fancy rope ornaments.

Here is another link to those who decorated the pots with a pattern, winding a rope around it, although in this article they are called "laces".

The Ainu are a mysterious tribe living in northern Japan. The appearance of the Ainu is quite unusual: they have the features of Caucasians - unusually thick hairline, wide eyes, fair skin. Their existence, as it were, denies the usual ideas about the schemes of the cultural development of nations.

Now there is reason to believe that not only in Japan, but also on the territory of Russia, there is a part of this ancient indigenous people. According to preliminary data from the latest population census, held in October 2010, there are more than 100 Ainu people in Russia. The fact itself is unusual, because until recently it was believed that the Ainu live only in Japan.

The friendliness, affectionateness and sociability of the Maukin Ainu evoked in me desire get to know this interesting tribe better…

Researcher of the peoples of the Pacific region B.O. Pilsudski in his report on a business trip 1903-1905.

Origin of the Ainu

Scientists are still arguing about the origin of the Ainu. Some researchers believe that these people are related to the Indo-Europeans. Others are of the opinion that they came from the south, that is, they have Austronesian roots. The Japanese themselves are sure that the Ainu are related to the Paleo-Asian peoples and came to the Japanese islands from Siberia. Besides, in Lately there were suggestions that they are relatives of the Miao-yao living in southern China.

The Ainu appeared on the Japanese islands about 13 thousand years before. n. e. and created the Neolithic Jomon culture. It is not known for certain where the Ainu came from to the Japanese islands, but it is known that in the Jomon era, the Ainu inhabited all the Japanese islands - from Ryukyu to Hokkaido, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the southern third of Kamchatka, as evidenced by the results of archaeological excavations.

These people are meek, modest, good-natured, trusting, sociable, polite, respectful of property; on the hunt bold and even intelligent.

A.P. Chekhov

Language and Culture

Ainu language by official version was an unwritten language (literate Ainu used Japanese). At the same time, Pilsutsky wrote down the following Ainu symbols:

The Ainu language is also a mystery (it has Latin, Slavic, Anglo-Germanic and even Sanskrit roots). Ethnographers are also struggling with the question of where people wearing swinging (southern) type of clothing appeared in these harsh lands. Their national everyday clothes are dressing gowns decorated with traditional ornaments, festive clothes are white, the material is made of nettle fibers. Russian travelers were also struck by the fact that in the summer the Ainu wore a loincloth.

Hunters and fishermen, the Ainu created an unusual and rich culture (jomon), which is typical only for peoples with a very high level development. For example, they have wooden products with unusual spiral ornaments and carvings, amazing in beauty and invention. The ancient Ainu created extraordinary ceramics without a potter's wheel, decorating it with a fancy rope ornament. Also, this people impresses with a talented folklore heritage: songs, dances and legends.

Dwellings

The legends of the Ainu people testify to countless treasures, castles with fortresses. However, travelers from Europe found representatives of this tribe living in dugouts and huts, where the floor was 30-50 cm below ground level.

All or almost all of them have the shape of a circle or rectangle. The location of the pillars that supported the roof indicates that it was conical, if the base of the building was a circle, or pyramidal, when a quadrangle was located at the base. During the excavations, no materials were found that could cover the roof, so we can only assume that branches or reeds were used for this purpose. The hearth, as a rule, was located in the house itself (only in early period he was outside) - near the wall or in the middle. The smoke exited through smoke holes, which were made on two opposite sides of the roof.

Beliefs

In general, the Ainu can be called animists. They spiritualized almost all phenomena of the natural order, nature as a whole, personified them, endowing each of the fictional supernatural creatures with the same features that they themselves possessed. The world created by the religious imagination of the Ainu was complex, vast and poetic. This is the world of celestials, mountain dwellers, cultural heroes, numerous masters of the landscape. The Ainu are still very religious. The traditions of animism still dominate among them, and the Ainu pantheon consists mainly of: "kamui" - the spirits of various animals, among which a special place is occupied by a bear and a killer whale. Ayoina, cultural hero, creator and teacher of the Ainu.

The Ainu fed the sacrificial teddy bear with the breast of a female nurse!

Unlike Japanese mythology, Ainu mythology has one supreme deity. The supreme god bears the name Pase kamuy ("creator and owner of the sky") or Kotan kara kamuy, Mosiri kara kamuy, Kando kara kamuy ("divine creator of worlds and lands and owner of the sky"). He is considered the creator of the world and the gods; through the good gods, his assistants, he takes care of people and helps them.

Ordinary deities (yayan kamuy - "near and distant deities") embody individual elements and elements of the universe, they are equal and independent of each other, although they constitute a certain functional hierarchy of good and evil deities (see Ainu Pantheon). Good deities are predominantly of celestial origin.

Evil deities are usually of earthly origin. The functions of the latter are clearly defined: they personify the dangers that await a person in the mountains (this is the main habitat of evil deities), and control atmospheric phenomena. Evil deities, unlike good deities, take on a certain visible form. Sometimes they attack good gods. For example, there is a myth about how some evil deity wanted to swallow the Sun, but Pase Kamuy saved the sun by sending a crow that flew into the mouth of the evil god. It was believed that evil deities arose from hoes, with the help of which Pase kamuy created the world and then abandoned it. The evil deities are headed by the goddess of swamps and bogs Nitatunarabe. Most of the other evil deities are her descendants and go by the common name Toiekunra. Evil deities are more numerous than good ones, and myths about them are more common.

Good and evil deities far from exhaust the Ainu pantheon. Deities, and the most ancient, with the help of which fire and the first man were created, were considered trees. Some of them (for example, alder, elm), unlike willow, seemed to be harmful. Tzorpok-kuru (“creatures living below”) were also represented as special deities. In myths, they have the image of dwarfs and live in dugouts. It was believed that the Tzorpok-Kuru lived on earth even before the appearance of the first Ainu, it was from them that the Ainu women borrowed the custom of tattooing their faces.

The so-called "inau" served as an integral attribute of ritual actions. This name refers to a variety of things. Sometimes it is a small stick, more often willow, sometimes a long pole topped with a sultan of curly shavings. Sometimes - just weaving from shavings. Scientists consider "inau" as intermediaries that help a person communicate with the gods. Inau was put in shells of mollusks to the spirit of the road before any journey. Over time, places for inau began to appear along the roads and in especially “spiritual” places.