Bear Sending-Back Ceremonies
Sending-back ceremonies are central to Ainu culture. They are community-wide rituals held to thank a kamuy (spirit-deity) for its gifts and return its spirit to the realm of spirit-deities. Kamuy visit the human world in various forms: as animals, plants, natural phenomena, tools, and more. Iomante, sending-back ceremonies for bears, are among the most formal rituals.
Bears are prominent symbols in Ainu mythology and are referred to as spirit-deities of the mountains (kimunkamuy). They sustain communities with their meat and furs, and ceremonies for bears reflect the importance the mountain kamuy play in the Ainu way of life.
Iomante are held for bears found as newborn cubs. To be entrusted with the care of a cub is one of the greatest honors that can be bestowed by kamuy. The community nurtures the cub accordingly, raising it in the home and later housing it in a pen, ensuring it is healthy and well-nourished. When the bear reaches one or two years of age, preparations begin for the sending-back ceremony.
These preparations can last several weeks and involve weaving ceremonial mats and carving ritual tools and gifts for the kamuy, such as decorative arrows. Alcohol is also brewed as an offering to the spirit-deity. The ceremony lasts several days and typically begins with prayers, songs, dances, and feasts. Many rituals follow, and the bear is eventually sacrificed to release the spirit of the kamuy. The kamuy is thanked with offerings and entertained with festivities through the night in the hope it will return to the human world again.