Obon Superstition

Last Thursday, I had a day off from school because of Obon. Okinawa celebrated Obon, or Kyu Bon (旧盆), this year in September because they follow the lunar calendar. I made an Obon post two years ago, but to do a quick summary, Obon is the time when dead ancestors come visit the homes of their living descendants.

The oldest son of a family keeps a Buddhist altar (仏壇) in their house to pray (うーとーとー) to their ancestors. During Obon, all the family's relatives will come to this house to sit around, eat food, and use the altar to pray. When the oldest son and wife die, the altar is passed on to the next oldest son. I was told it is difficult for a woman to marry an oldest son (長男) because she is responsible for serving and preparing the food for everyone during this time.

There are also many Obon superstitions held by Okinawans, such as the claim that many accidents occur to people who don't show proper respect. For example, a teacher of mine tore a muscle in her calf last week when playing tennis on Obon. She said it was because she hadn't prayed at her family's alter yet at the time. I asked her if she had stretched and she said no.

The biggest no-no during Obon is that one is not suppose to go swimming. I originally thought it was because when the ancestors travel from Heaven to Earth, they go by sea. Then I asked an Okinawan if that means Heaven is in the ocean. The answer is, no, the ancestors that come by sea are only the ones that have died at sea. So if one goes swimming, they have a chance of being dragged down by some angry drowned fisherman making his way to land.

As all my ancestors are wandering around North Carolina, I spent my Obon afternoon riding my friend Vaughn's motorcycle. I really need to get a bike.

I then went down to Nago in the evening to take photos of eisa groups. I learned taking pictures of moving objects at night is quite difficult.

Click on the photo for more pictures!