Sacred shaved sticks, "sutu-inaw"
date: label: Accession Date
content: 16 Jun 2005
name: label: Donor Name
content: National Museum of Natural History
notes: label: Notes
content: Long stick, carved to a point at one end. Other end has been shaved down, with curly shavings still attached. According to Chisato Dubreuil, in ritual ceremonies, the men set several inaw in front of the altar or other area. They would dip the "ikupasuy" (prayer stick) in sacred sake and sprinkle it over the inaw while praying. The Ainu believe that the inaw turns into a bird after receiving a message, and then flies to the gods to make the offering. Made for the 1999 NMNH exhibit "Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People" using traditional Ainu materials and techniques.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 1 Dec 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Japan, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Ainu
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2026093
label: USNM Number
content: E430583-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Sacred Stick
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 123.2 cm
label: Diameter - Object
content: 1.9 cm