Memoir (3) by Professor Joe Watkins, University of Arizona, USA
Over the weekend of October 1st and 2nd, GSI members George Nicholas, Hirofumi Kato, and I visited Biratori and Nibutani to participate in a ceremony by the Nibutani Ainu Association, a fieldtrip associated with the recent opening of the Biratori Dam on a branch of the Saru River, and a symposium detailing the 20-year Ainu Culture Preservation Project in the Biratori Dam area.
Saturday morning, October 1st, the Nibutani Ainu Association had an asircepnomi (asir=new; cep=fish; nomi=ritual) – the ritual to receive the first salmon of the season as they return upriver to spawn. The Ainu used traditional Ainu fishing implements to harvest the salmon obtained from the Saru River for the ceremony and then conducted the ceremony itself. This ceremony is a more specific ceremony than the Kamuinomi held by the Rapporo Ainu Nation in September.
After the Saturday afternoon, October 1, two buses took symposium participants on a tour of the area of the new lake to be formed as the water fills the area behind the new Biratori Dam, with visits to the Dam site, the Biratori Dam Visitor’s Center, the Botanical Garden associated with the Visitor’s Center, and other sites around the area.
On Sunday, symposium participants spoke on topics as diverse as the construction of the Nibutani Dam in 1990, 50 years of the Saur River Basin Plan, and the on-going Program for Conserving the Ainu Cultural Environment. Representatives of various agencies, town of Biratori departments (including the Mayor of Biratori himself), the Biratori Ainu Association and other groups presented papers and offered comments to local community members in attendance. The final part of the day’s events was led by Prof. Kato, as the Moderator, followed by comments from Dr. Nicholas and me. There were a few questions from the audience, but most of the attendees were pleased with the information presented and overall results of the event.