Religion & Temples

1. うぐゎん さびらさい

   U-gwan sa-bi-ra-sai

   Please let me pray

   Usage

   Used to ask permission to pray at a sacred site or utaki (sacred grove)

   Grammar Note

   "Prayer" is ugwan (?ugwaN), the word for a household petition to the gods, offered with rice and awamori on an auspicious day by the woman of the house. Utushi (?utusi) means "solar plexus" and has nothing to do with prayer. Sabira is the polite volitional of sun "to do", and sai is the polite particle men add when addressing a superior (women say tai). Utaki are sacred Okinawan groves where the noro and yuta priestesses officiate

2. うたき まーかい やいびーが?

   u-ta-ki maa-kai ya-i-bii-ga

   Where is the utaki (sacred grove)?

   Usage

   A polite way to ask the location of an utaki, Okinawa's sacred natural site

   Grammar Note

   "Utaki" are included in the UNESCO World Heritage "Gusuku Sites of Ryukyu Kingdom". Sefa Utaki is the most sacred, where the high priestess performed royal ceremonies

3. かんさま うがみやびらー

   kan-sa-ma u-ga-mi-ya-bi-raa

   Let's worship / pay our respects to the divine

   Usage

   Used to invite reverential prayer to Okinawan deities or ancestors

   Grammar Note

   Okinawan traditional religion is "Ryukyuan Shinto" centered on nature and ancestor veneration. Female shamans ("noro" = official, "yuta" = popular) serve as spiritual intermediaries

4. うやふじぬ うぐゎん さびーん

   u-ya-fu-ji nu u-gwan sa-biin

   We are honoring the ancestral spirits

   Usage

   Used during Obon or ancestral ceremonies to describe honoring the spirits of ancestors

   Grammar Note

   "Ancestors" is ?ujahuzi "forefathers, ancestors", and the act of honouring them is ?ugwaN "a petition or prayer offered to the gods and buddhas". Okinawan Obon falls on the 13th to 15th of the seventh lunar month, when Eisa is danced

5. とーとーがなしーめー うむうとー

   too-too-ga-na-shii-mee u-mu-u-too

   I am thinking of the moon deity

   Usage

   Used to express reverence to the moon deity, central to Ryukyuan lunar calendar observance

   Grammar Note

   Chuu (cuu) is "today" and the moon is Cici. The honoured moon is tootooganasiimee. The suffix -ganashii is the honorific 加那志 (as in ?aziganasii "my lord the aji", ?usjuganasiimee "His Majesty"), and -mee 前 adds a further layer of respect. Okinawa follows the lunar calendar for many traditional events.

6. ふーちばー かでぃ まじむんはらい

   fuu-chi-baa ka-di ma-ji-mun-ha-rai

   Eating mugwort for spiritual purification

   Usage

   Used to explain the Okinawan tradition of using mugwort (fuuchiba) for spiritual protection

   Grammar Note

   "Eat" is ka=nuN and its connective form kadi (かでぃ). Kamiti means "bearing/receiving above", as in tiN kamiti, and is not the verb "eat". Fuuchibaa is Okinawan mugwort and majimun is an evil spirit.

7. うみぬ かんさま にふぇーでーびる

   u-mi-nu kan-sa-ma ni-fee-dee-bi-ru

   Thank you, god of the sea

   Usage

   Used by fishermen or divers to thank the sea deity for safe passage or a good catch

   Grammar Note

   Okinawan fishermen (uminchu) have deep traditions of thanking the sea deity. "Nirai Kanai" is the mythical paradise beyond the sea — source of blessings in Ryukyuan cosmology

8. にらいかない ぬ ちからー わったーにあてぃ

   ni-rai-ka-nai nu chi-ka-raa wat-taa-ni a-ti

   The power of Nirai Kanai is with us

   Usage

   Used to invoke the spiritual power of Nirai Kanai, the Okinawan mythical paradise

   Grammar Note

   "Nirai Kanai" is the divine realm beyond the sea in Okinawan cosmology, sending fertility and life blessings. This belief is reflected in Eisa and many Okinawan festivals

9. ぬーぬ うきてぃん うみぬ かんさまんかい あじきやびーん

   Nuu nu u-ki-tin u-mi nu kan-sa-man-kai a-ji-ki-ya-bii-n

   Whatever happens, I leave it to the sea deity

   Usage

   Used to express trust and surrender to the will of the sea deity

   Grammar Note

   "To entrust" is ajikiyun (?azikijuN), polite ajikiyabiin. Sudi means "sleeve" and carries no sense of entrusting. Nuu is "what", and ukiyun (?ukijuN) "to happen" takes the te-form plus -n for "even if it happens". Devotion to the sea deity is the core of Okinawa's uminchu fishing culture

10. ぶんぬ まちり ちゅらさん どー

    bun nu ma-chi-ri chu-ra-san doo

    The traditional Obon festival is beautiful

    Usage

    Used to express the beauty of Okinawa's traditional Obon celebrations

    Grammar Note

    Hijuru has no sense of "lunar calendar": hwizuru- is the stem of hwizurusaN "cold". Obon is buN "Bon, the Ullambana festival, also called ?usjooroo", and "festival" is maCiri, i.e. machiri. Matsuri is the Japanese form, and Okinawan has no /tsu/. Okinawan Obon follows the lunar calendar, so the date shifts yearly; there are ?usjooroo?uNkee, the welcoming of the spirits on the 13th of the seventh month, and ?usjooroo?uukui, the sending-off late on the 15th. Eisa is performed throughout the Obon period

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