Ungami

On the 15th, I drove my 5th and 6th grade Tsuha Elementary boys up to Shioya, one of the small districts within Ogimi. It was that time of year again: where some old fishermen carry an enshrined sea god down to the sea and some old ladies pray for a good harvest of fish. The festival is called Ungami, which I'm going to go out on a limb and say means 'sea god'.

But as the earliest party planners of Okinawa learned long ago, the reason to have a festival/party is nothing more than an excuse to have fun. My kids weren't excited about praying for this year's harvest of fish, they were excited to watch the awesome hari (canoe) races!



I raced in a hari two years ago, and I have to say, there is a reason they are used for ceremonial races only...they easily sink.


But the colors and designs are beautiful, and as they race, the women wade out into the water beating drums and chanting to cheer their men/team on.



During the race, there was a separate hari carrying the sea god. The god had been brought down from Yakko and taken across Shioya Bay . Then the old men (oji) got out of the boat, all dressed in their finest drinking clothes, and continued to make their way to the beach where the old women could finish the ceremony. At the beach, the women, dressed in all white ceremonial robes, prayed for a good harvest of fish for the year.



Not too sure what everything meant, but the oldest looking lady poured water (sake?) onto the ground, and then when the tide came up, some dude with a wooden spear ran to the water and stabbed it. Take that Poseidon!



The spear thing surprised me because of its quickness and randomness. At first, I thought the man had spotted dinner and went to stab an octopus. But then I realized that was the closing of the ceremony, and everyone was walking back back to where people were preparing for the Okinawa sumo tournament.

In Okinawa sumo, one grabs their opponent's belt with both hands and is not allowed to let go. His job: to throw his opponent to the ground.


First were the elementary students, then the junior high kids, and finally, the giant Shioyan fishermen. These guys were huge, but I had to drive my students back before I got to see them wrestle.