basic concepts of Ainu religion: ramat and kamuy

Ramat and kamuy are the basic concepts of Ainu religion (Though it is important to note that when we speak of Ainu religion it is a kind of conventionalism 'cause really it is impossible to distinguish faith from other aspects of traditional Ainu culture).

Ramat is the first and the main concept

Explaining the meaning of this concept of ramat Neil Gordon Munro quotes the explanations that he received from Ainu elders (ekasi):  "KotanPira said ramat was the backbone of Ainu religion. Rennuikesh, eighty years old, very active and intelligent, who came from the north of Hokkaido, said: 'Whatever has no ramat has nothing'. Nisukrek and other elders agreed with this: 'ramat is all-pervading and indestructible'. Uesanash said: 'ramat is everywhere'." Munro: 8

Word ramat consists of two morphemes: ram which means "soul"/"mind"/"heart" and at which is similar to such verbs as an/oka and oma which mean "to be"/"to exist". So the concept of ramat can be interpreted as "soul exists"/"vital ebergy exist". (It is notable fact that many verbs of Ainu language designating mental activity, are formed from ram root: ram/ramu – to "think", e-ram-an/e-ramu-an – to "understand", e-ram-iskari – "not to understand", e-ram-as – “to rejoice to something", e-yay-ram-at-te – to "maintain", "suffer"; at – to "exist": at-te – to "increase", "produce", - te – a suffix сausativator.)

Every thing and every being has ramat. One thing has a lot of ramat another has little but nothing can exist without ramat. Ramat cannot be annihilated.
When beings die or when things are broken their ramat leaves them but doesn't disappear and goes to another place. Because of it tools and weapon buried with a dead person often were broken for their ramat could follow the dead person .

Following to Neil Gordon Munro it is possible to state that ramat is very much alike to the Polynesian mana.

Kamuy is the second basic concept of Ainu creed.

First of all it should be noted that concept kamuy differs seriously from European concepts deus / god / Gott / dios / deux because European god (God of christianity) is a transcendental being opposite to this world while kamuy exists in the neighborhood of people and people can easily get kamuy mosir (island of kamuy) and also people can become kamuy. Because of it, the word kamuy should not be translated as dew /god / Gott / dios / deux into European languages. I think the best way is to leave the word kamuy without any translation at all and explain its meaning with a certain context.

Kamuy has a lot of ramat and can endow or take away ramat to other beings. Kamuy which endows ramat is good, kamuy which takes ramat away is bad.

As far as Ainu word kamuy sounds much alike Japanese word kami and Japanese concept kami designates almost the same phenomenon as Ainu word kamuy so there are four versions of etymology of word kamuy and its possible relationship with Japanese word kami:

1) kamuy and kami are true cognates i.e. they have originated from a word of a language which is common ancestor of Ainu and Japanese. but this is impossible because Ainu and Japanese a completely genetically unrelated.

2) kamuy and kami are completely unrealted. this is also pretty impossible. these words sound so alike and designate very similar concepts. this version can possibly be true if Ainu and Japanese were not neighboors.

3) kamuy is originally Ainu word and Japanese kami is derivative from kamuy.

and here exist versions of etymology:

John Batchelor stated that word kamuy consists of three morphemes: : ka + mu + i  and interpreted its meaning as 'something over us" or a "super human being".
Following to John Batchelor I believe that the word kamuy consists of three morphemes: ka+mu+i. According to my interpretation the meaning of these morphemes is the following: ka is similar to "kurka"/"ka ta"-"over"/"above"; suffix i/hi is often used as a verbal substantivator ex.: pirka-hi, itak-i, an-i; though now I a bit misunderstand the meaning of the middle morpheme mu, cause I have never met it in the Saru dialect. But I have met such morpheme is Sakhalin Ainu. In Sakhalin Ainu mu means "spread" and it is equal to imakare, pirasa of the Saru dialect. Because of it I think that mu in kamuy has the similar meaning. So I think ka-mu-i/ka-mu-y means "spread over thing", "a thing above people". And my interpretation is similar to the interpretation of Batchelor.

Objection against this version are the following:

a) The fact that in such interpretation word kamuy is very metaphysical which is very unsuall for Ainu names of thing and phenomena. All Ainu names of thing and phenomena are usually very material and concrete.

b) Uniqueness of this term is also very notable cause usually Ainu names for things and phenomena end with -pe/-p suffix (literary "thing") but not with -i/-hi suffix forming abstract nouns.

the second version is that Ainu word has originated from the root with the meaning of 'meat' - kam so according to this version kamuy means just "rich with meat"
This point of view is usually explained in such a way: kamuy is often used in connection with bear because bear has a lot of meat, i.e. kamuy originated from kam+us/kam+un which later became kam+uy.

Objection against this version are very strong:

a) According to Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney kamuy should be distinguished from other beings. And it is important to know that the word kamuy is often used to name some beings and things, which real names are tabooed.
Here it is important to note that kamuy has no realtion to meat and it is used in connection to very different phenomena and things which can't be ssosiated with meat or even food anyhow (for exmaple volcanoes or earthquacke or wind and so on) and I seriously believe that such a transfer of meaning hardly could be possible.

b) If we by the way assume that the version of kamuy <- kam-'us/kam-'un is right then in modern Ainu language we would have *kamus/*kamusu or *kamun, but we know that transformation of 'un locative/genetive particle into 'uy can happen only if it is in a very special position, i.e. is always followed by a syllable which begins with sound [j] but in the case of kam-us/kam-un we see that it is not so bacause it is in a free variation so it can be followed by any syllables.

The fourth version is that Ainu kamuy has originated from Old Japaese kamɯ (this word  kamɯ possibly had the same meaning i.e.: 'super human being' and originated from a word *kam ~ "shaman" of an Altai stock langauge. It is notable fact that the smae transformation is seen in Ainu word for chopstics: Old Japanese pasɯ - Ainu: pasuy.

Thus we have two rather possible version but none of both has been proved yet.

At least it is possible to state the following: ramat is the basis. But ramat itself cannot make anything. It can just exist or not exist, but it cannot act. Instead of it kamuy can act. Kamuy has a lot of ramat and can endow or take away ramat to other beings. Kamuy which endows ramat is good, kamuy which takes ramat away is bad. If we turn to the certain concepts of mathematics we can state that ramat is a scalar and kamuy is a tensor. Having picked up the essence of ramat and kamuy, having understood their meaning we can interpret every thing and every act of the Ainu tradition. Every event of Ainu traditional life can be described in terms of ramat and kamuy. Any act of Ainu tradition is intended to save and to magnify the existing ramat. Because of it a thing which has much ramat and which can magnify ramat is good thing; while thing which takes ramat away is bad. Because of it people should escape things and beings which take ramat away. And every act of Ainu tradition (carving inaw or bear feast) is performed in order to save and magnify the existing ramat.