Shamanic and Mythic Cultures of Ethnic Peoples in Northern China I by Fu Yuguang

Author:Fu Yuguang [Yuguang, Fu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General, Cultural & Social, Ethnic Studies, Folklore & Mythology
ISBN: 9781000295580
Google: VTkLEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-12-29T05:06:08+00:00

Turkic and Mongol

Aomai – woman’s belly, uterus (Khalkha, Inner Mongolia)

Umai – woman’s belly, uterus (Mongol)

Umai – placenta (Buryat in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia)

Umai – amulet protecting babies from misfortune and evil spirits (Kachin)

Emai – protective deity of children (Beltir)

Umai, Emai, Mai – protective goddesses of infants (Shor, Teleut and Khakas)

According to these names, the basic term “Umai” has been used with diversified phonetic pronunciations and meanings, but it refers mostly to the goddess of fertility who protects babies. Quite reasonable is the early Tungus-Manchu etymological explanation of the term as meaning “nest” or “cave,” referring to the nest of infants, a woman’s uterus or belly. The worship of female fertility grew into the worship of childbearing, which in turn evolved into the worship of a goddess who cares for children’s souls.

Ancient Siberian peoples thus understood “Umai” in terms of female fertility, and this belief evolved among the Ewenki, such that the term “Umai” came to refer to the soul of a tongzi (young child). However, we hold the view that “Umai” originally referred to the worship and celebration of mystic female fertility as being more powerful than that of a man and deserving of great reverence in line with ideas of matriarchal society. Among the Manchu along the Amur, there are still words with a pronunciation similar to “Umai,” in particular the term for the goddess of fertility Umi. Legend has it that Umi was transmitted from mother to daughter as a goddess related to menstruation. The original image and the original concept of Umai have been preserved in folklore, but the meaning and the power have changed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.