Answer #1

Scholars have advocated various theories about the origin of the Ainu people. The theories include the Caucasoid Caucasian Theory the Mongoloid Theory the Oceania Race Theory the Old Asian Race Theory and the Solitary Race Theory. Some scholars have recently advocated the following hypothesis into which the Mongoloid Theory has developed. Mongoloid peoples once were of two types : Southern Mongoloid and Northern Mongoloid. Before the Jomon Period several tens of thousands of years ago the Southern Mongoloid started moving northward and settled the Japanese archipelago including Okinawa over a long period of time. Later the Southern Mongoloid played a major role in the Jomon Period throughout Japan. However in the Yayoi and Tumulus Periods the Northern Mongoloid came across the sea to Japan in great numbers. The ethnic Japanese nonAinu are the people who have evolved rapidly through the strong influences of these migratory processes. On the other hand the Ainu in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region and the Ryukyu people in Okinawa are the ones who have hardly affected by this process.

The Ainu people originally did not have an alphabet. Therefore they have orally transmitted literature such as tales Iegends experiences and morals for everyday life from generation to generation.

Yukar are the tales of heroes. They are also called yayerap sakorpe or haw in some areas. Yukar are called hawki in Sakhalin. The hero is an orphan boy called by various names including Poiyaunpe Ponshinutapkaunkur Ponotasamunkur and Yayresupo depending on the area. The narrator of yukar sits at the fireside and recites the adventure stories of this boy all night beating the fireside with a stick called repni.
The oral literature of the Ainu is not only recitative as described above but also narrative uepeker which is usually translated as an old tale is called tuitak in some areas and uchashkuma in Sakhalin. Although uepeker is translated as an old tale it is not a fictitious one but a real one with experiences of those who lived in olden times. Tales called ikopepka or upashkuma more closely resemble legends than do those called old tale.

Yaysama is oral literature in which a woman sings an impromptu song of her emotions. Most words have been handed down from generation to generation. This is why it can be said to belong to oral literature.

Upopo is a festival song sung by women who sit in a circle beating the lid of a container called shintoko. The words are not long and are sung repeatedly in a round or a chorus.

Answered By: I am L [ ]