So Saturday we did just that.
Benny, Olivia and I have been to Shuri Castle before. We took my mom when she was here in March 2009. The castle, which was rebuilt in 1992, is the only standing castle on island and is the cultural and historical center of Okinawa. The building is a token tourist destination. Shuri Castle is even pictured on the 2,000 yen bill.
For New Years, Shuri Castle has a 3-day celebration starting at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1.
We attended the three-part New Year's Ceremony on Jan. 2 (mostly to avoid the large crowds of Jan. 1.) Here was the crowd we were a part of:
The first part of the ceremony is called Ninufanuunufe. According to the English information I was handed at the castle, this is a ritual to pray to the gods. In this re-enactment, the ceremony is attended by the Ryukyu (which is now known as Okinawa) king, and royal family. There are high-ranking officials, ministers and community leaders.
A prayer for peace was solely in Japanese, so we couldn't understand anything they were saying.
But Benny DID notice and comment to me many times that the king and queen walked awful slow during the procession.
The second part (Chounuunufe) is a ritual for the people to celebrate the longevity of the King and the prosperity of the Ryukyu Kingdom. In this part, the king and queen were seated on the second story of the castle looking out, so Benny wasn't bored by their slow walking.
There was this guy who I assume was someone important, reading something important in Japanese.
And finally, during the ritual of Otori, the king and royal officials drank awamori, an Okinawa liquor. In our special re-enactment, the officials also offered sips of awamori to the crowd. Benny was bummed to not be in the front row during this part.
Each section lasted 25 minutes and there was a 25 minute break between each part. Luckily it didn't rain on us, so we enjoyed the time outside, listening to the traditonal Okinawa music.
Olivia listened for a while before deciding to chew on Benny's shoelaces. Apparently these shoelaces are more interesting than the re-enactment.
She took a nap during the second part of the ceremony.
And woke up in time to go to a yummy Indian curry restaurant with us. She had peas. We stuffed ourselves in rice, spinach curry and nann. But we did let her sample the mango ice cream.
Overall, I'm super happy that I checked this event off my list. I thought it was very interesting, even though I couldn't understand any word that was said at the ceremony.
But it raised all kinds of questions in my head. Who are the people who participate in this re-enactment? Who acts as king? How long do they practice for this?
Oh, my poor co-workers on Monday. They are definitely going to be bored with all my questions about Shuri Castle's New Year's Ceremony.
3 comments:
Fun! The list idea is a great one, because sometimes times just flies by. I can't wait to read more about checks on the list!
"There was this guy who I assume was someone important, reading something important in Japanese." I think this is the best bit of writing you've ever done! laughed my face off. can we get yummy indian food when I come visit? that'll be in the fall we think.....
It's poetry, Melinda. Pure poetry. Or the reason why I need to keep writing, so I don't lose all my creative writing skills.
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