英語訳
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The content is almost the same. However, while Otakabe is chanted by a single Noro priestess, Koina is a chorus by village women, who sing while dancing, emphasizing the purpose of Otakabe and aiming for its effect.
Incantations (Majinai-goto): These are from the ridge-clearing (abushi-harai), or pest removal, performed in the old third month. When rice was forming ears, ridge grass was cut, mud was plastered to block mouse holes, and on an auspicious day the Noro cursed harmful insects, put them on straw boats and floated them to sea, while all villagers went down to the beach to play. From this day until the rice ear festival, music and singing were stopped, even mountain trees were not cut, and they maintained quiet abstinence to avoid wind and rain.
The structure of Majinai-goto is: first, expose and shame the correct origins of those being cursed; second, describe and condemn their evil deeds; third, array curse words to seal their evil actions.
Only one Majinai-goto remains in the "Nakazato Kyūki" (Old Records of Nakazato), but there are six Majinai incantations among those titled Otakabe-goto, making seven total. When the "Nakazato Kyūki" was compiled (1703), there were fewer tradition bearers, so they were probably gradually absorbed into Otakabe.
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Incantation for pest removal and ridge clearing
(Tradition bearer: Gusuku Noro)
1. Children of night visits of the heavenly sun, mad children, descended to the great island, to the great country, becoming fools, becoming field mice, becoming echo-houses, becoming long-tails.
(Translation) The children of night visits (illegitimate children) of the heavenly sun, mad children descended to this island, becoming fools, becoming field mice, becoming long-tails.
Rice pure ones, Buddha ears, those who harm, those who curse,
Because they harm rice ears (Buddha flowers), because they bring curses,
Both echo-houses and long-tails, if they grab with hands and pull, let them die from grabbing; if they bite and pull, let them die from biting; bitter insects and spicy insects too, if they embrace, let them die from embracing; if they bite, let them die from biting; bitter crawlers, spicy crawlers, blighted rust too, let their vines fall, let their wings fall, so they cannot fly in mid-air, cannot fly in the blood-space.
If field mice grab with hands and pull, let them die from grabbing; if they bite and
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pull, let them die from biting; bitter insects and spicy insects too, if they embrace, let them die from embracing; if they bite, let them die from biting; bitter crawlers, spicy crawlers, blighted rust (?) too, let their vines fall, let their wings fall, so they cannot fly in mid-air.
1. Nigamosha, Karamosha - what kind of insects these are is unclear.
2. Nigasai, Karasai - Sai are small river shrimp; in other Majinai-goto they become □idzucha, that is, □□□ grasshoppers.
3. Fukusabai - Sabai are like □□□. Fuku is a color name, but which color is unclear.
After finishing the curse as above, regarding the aftermath, it says:
"These fools, from now on, put on small boats and driven far away, delivered to Niruya and Kanaya, when Niruya head official and Kanaya head official attach preferences and store them in crossed-leg □□, from today the rice ears will flourish luxuriantly, and the villagers' hearts will be joyful and peaceful."
Unlike Otakabe, no honorific language is used at all, but the six Majinai-goto mixed into Otakabe use honorific language because they are appeals to gods.
In Nakazato district there were four Noro: Gusuku Noro, Une Noro, Higa Noro, and Gima Noro. Only Gusuku Noro remembered Majinai-goto,
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but the other three each performed Otakabe in two places: before the fire god and at the beach. While it's acceptable to perform Otakabe before the fire god, since there are no gods at the beach, they call upon sea gods and immediately begin speaking ill of harmful insects. The gods must have been bewildered by this. All the Omoro that current Noro sing are like this.
Regarding the origins of field mice too, while Gusuku Noro said they were night-visit children and mad children of the heavenly sun as mentioned above, the other three called field mice "children born of the heavenly sun's brother moon, children born defectively, becoming echo-houses, etc." There are differences between the two accounts, but essentially, they just needed to somehow shame the field mice.
Notes (1) Iha Fuyū "Ancient Ryukyu" p.□□□
(2) My work "New Interpretation of Omoro" p.□□□
(3) Iha Fuyū "The Southward Spread of Japanese Culture" p.□□□ and following describes the contents of "Nakazato Kyūki" as "24 blessing-curse pieces, 3 divine songs, 13 kuwainiyas, 1 miseseru, 1 majinai-goto," and classifies the seven pieces related to fire gods into two old and new categories based on form and content: Type A, 4 pieces (old ones), Type B, 3 pieces (new ones).
Okinawa Oral Literature
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