| In Kojiki, there is a story about creation of Japan islands. An excerpted translation will go like: |
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Izanagi (a male god) and Izanami (a female god) were told by other gods in the Sky to "make up this floating land to shape and solidify". They were given a heavenly sword with jades. As they stirred (the ocean beneath) with the sword and pulled up the sword, the salt water [ciw] dipped down [cirir] from the end of the sword accumulated [u-ka-o] to make an island. It is called ONOKORO-JIMA. Then, the two gods descended and built a heavenly column and a big palace. The two wished to bear [u-kor] or [u-ko ciw] a land by inserting [ciw] a surplus thing to a short place (i.e. sexual intercourse).[ukor] Nihon Shoki tells a supplementary episode which goes like "When the two attempted to make a love, they realized they did not know how. There, a wagtail [o ciw cir] flew and moved its head and tail. Then, the two gods learnt how. |
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As indicated by the Ainu words shown in italics, this myth contains repetitions of [u] [ka] [o] [ciw] [cir] sounds. The appearance of the wagtail [o ciw cir] is overtured by the accumulation of the salt water [ciw] and the sacred marriage [u-ko ciw] or [u-kor]. If we assume that the creation myth was originally told in Jomon language, which was translated into the old-Japanese to be recorded in the document and that Ainu is a descendant language of Jomon, we can understand why the story regains its original shine as interpreted by Ainu language. I should not forget to mention that the Japanized island name ONOKORO is likely to have derived from [u-nu-kar], to marry or a marriage. |