- 著者
-
吉田 佳世
- 出版者
- 日本文化人類学会
- 雑誌
- 文化人類学 (ISSN:13490648)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.80, no.1, pp.59-70, 2015-06-30 (Released:2017-04-03)
This paper describes women's status in Okinawan ancestral rituals, focusing on the differences between wives and sisters. I attempt to reexamine the image of female domination in Okinawan rituals, which has been grounded in the traditional concept of onarigami. Onarigami is the belief that a sister's sacred power guards brothers from danger. Anthropologists had paid much attention to this belief, because they regarded it as the basis of kinship systems in Okinawa. That research showed that sisters are ritually more predominant than wives, and that wives gradually become full-fledged members of their husband's family as they move through their life cycles, becoming first mothers and then grandmothers. However, academic curiosity about onarigami created a strong impression that female status in Okinawa is high. In recent research, those studies have been criticized for overemphasizing female domination. In addition, academic interest in women's studies has moved away from measuring the relative position of women, because it leads to a monolithic image of women. In recent studies, researchers have attempted to find differences between women and the causes of those differences. Based on those debates, I would like to pay attention to the real relationship between wives and sisters in ancestral rituals. This paper focuses on whether differences exist between wives and sisters regarding their roles and status, and if so, what actually causes those differences. Also, it asks what significance there is in the handling of rituals by women when it imposes a great burden on them. Four cases of memorial services for ancestors (suko) are presented, collected between 2007 and 2009 in X district in northern Okinawa Island. The paper's findings include the following points: Married sisters continue to play an influential role in the management of rituals as members of their parents' homes. On the other hand, wives, like guests, have no role at the beginning, but gradually begin to play an important role and build a solid position in the husbands' families. These features were nearly identical to those suggested in previous studies on onarigami. However, in fact, some sisters don't play major roles, and some wives don't assume leadership even if they become grandmothers. Understandably, they tend to keep a low profile in their families and do not have much say in decision-making. That indicates that women's status in their families depends on how they contribute to the rituals. In other words, all women are not automatically elevated to positions in their families, but acquire them over time by their own endeavors. By comparing them with men, this paper concludes that this feature is characteristic of women. The significance of women carrying the burden of rituals has changed with the modernization of Okinawa. In the past, it used to mean that women built up a strong position within the family. In recent days, however, it has come to mean that women follow in the tradition of male domination.