Today, I went on an outing to several historical sites in the southeast with a few of the other doctor’s wives. After an indoor day of sweeping and scrubbing our hardwood floors, venturing out into the bright sunshine and breezy (but still scorching) Okinawa air was a pleasant change. Our destination was Chinen, which is located on a peninsula that is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. It was a very important location in the ancient history of the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is a part), but faded in significance at the end of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The first place we visited was Sefa Utaki, an ancient prayer site that is listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. All of the Ryukyu kings visited Sefa Utaki for a special ceremony performed by high priestesses when they ascended to the throne. The kings also returned yearly to pray for the wealth and strength of their kingdom. The site was considered to be so sacred that it could only be visited by the high priestesses and members of the Ryukyu royal government.
Though the site has long been ruins, it is still possible to see evidence of several altars, a stone corridor and kitchen quarters. The design relies heavily on natural stone formations and linked by well-worn limestone walkways. Another natural phenomenon incorporated into the sacredness of the site is the water that drips to the ground from stone formations that look like stalactites. The water was considered holy by the high priestesses and collected in stone jars for use in religious ceremonies and prayer rituals.
Next, after a little creative navigating, we visited the ruins of Chinen Castle. Not much remains besides carefully constructed stone walls surrounded by jungle-like vines and trees. However, we were able to get a sense of the former majesty of the castle from the size of the foundation and its amazing cliffside views of the ocean. We had to be careful while we explored – there were many gigantic spider webs spread between the trees along our path with equally as gigantic, fuzzy spiders. A little more pleasant were the vividly colored butterflies fluttering around the multitude of large pink hibiscus.
My favorite part of our tour was lunch at Cafe Kurukuma, a restaurant located on the mountain top. The cuisine is considered some of the best on the southern part of the island and the owners season the food with herbs grown in the adjacent gardens. The food was outstanding – I had a lunch special of a cabbage-like soup, steamed whitefish and vegetables glazed with herbs and garlic and iced lemongrass tea. A post-lunch stroll through the garden revealed many stone statues and unique plants and trees. This spot is definitely on my list for places to take Matt when he gets home.
Stone pots for collecting holy water, Sefa Utaki
Castle Wall, Chinen Castle
Shisa Statue, Cafe Kurukuma Gardens
5 comments:
Looks awesome! Bet it had a great atmosphere.... what kind of priestesses were they? Shinto? or something older....
They would have worshipped the indigenous Okinawan religion which was pre-Shinto and aspects of which have blended with Shinto and Buddhism to create the religion which is practiced today. It involved animism, ancestor worship and was female-led (i.e. the priestesses possesed the spiritual power).
I think it was too scorching hot to get much atmosphere, though!
LOL.... Good to see another matriarchal society! :-)
Well, almost. The society was not matriarchal in any way shape or form, just the religion and only when it came to the priestesses. Your average, everyday woman in the Ryukyu Kingdom didn't have much standing. In fact, they were the ones who had the task of going to a tomb a year after a death and cleaning their relatives bones before they were cremated - not sure I would count that as appealing - blech!
hmmmm I supose it's like it is everywhere else in the world... we 'let' men think they run it :-P
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