Inau - Ainu Ceremonial Prayer Wand
Purchased in 1904 at Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Willow
70 cm long
Cat. 88120
© The Field Museum
The inau is one of the most sacred symbols in the Ainu religion and serves as a messenger and sacrifice to the gods and spirits. This particular inau was purchased by Stephen Simms at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 from a group of visiting Ainu.
Like many inau, the inau seen here is carved out of a single piece of willow wood. A special knife (a variation of the one seen here) was used to whittle small strips of willow up to the top. These strips would become curly. It would be done again and again, resulting in a large tuft of curls around the top of the willow stick. The lower part of this particular inau also has some light areas in strips, suggesting that it was tied to something during its use.
Inau came in different styles and were carved out of different woods according to the spirit to whom they were to deliver their message. Some had very short curls, others had long curls that were tied to the main shaft, and still others had two or three areas where curls were centralized. Willow wood was used in order to communicate with spirits who brought good fortune. The above inau was made of willow and tufted in such a way as to deliver messages to a very important spirit.
Inau took a great deal of time to make, and prayers were made while the whittling took place. Ainu believed that they could not speak directly to the spirits and that an intermediary was necessary. An inau, it was believed, would embody the prayer. If the inau was carved in a talented way the spirit would accept the prayer. It was thought that a prayer made by someone not using an intermediary would go unheard (another artifact used for prayer can be seen here). Hunting groups would carve inau at every rest station as they prayed for a successful hunt. Men in canoes would carry along an unfinished inau; if they started to sink they would quickly take up whittling and pray for help. Inau were also placed around the home for protection and as a sign of respect for the spirits present in the house. A collection of inau, called a nusa (seen here), was placed outside of the home and served as an altar for gifts and veneration (the marks on this inau suggest it was used as part of a nusa).
It was believed that when a prayer was heard, an inau would turn into a bird and fly away.
(Commentary by Stev Weidlich)