A2Z 2026 Yushkep

Yushkep Kamuy (Ainu)

No images found of her, but this one looked like I would imagine her to look

Yushkep Kamuy is the kamuy (goddess) of the spiders in Ainu mythology. She is also known as Ashketanne Mat (Long-fingered Woman.) She is the familiar of female shamans and is called upon to aid in childbirth.

Yushkep Kamuy is a benevolent and wise figure in Ainu mythology. Although Ainu women were, traditionally, generally subordinate to men, they held power in some domains, most notably in marriage, where they controlled the choice of partners. One of Yushkep Kamuy’s most prominent myths reinforces this autonomy:

According to the legend, Yushkep Kamuy was pursued by Poronitne Kamuy, a demonic being who lived beyond the horizon. A friendly deity warned Yushkep Kamuy of her unwelcome suitor, and she prepared a trap for him, setting her servants to ambush him. She then transformed herself into a reed. When Poronitne Kamuy appeared, he found her home apparently empty and began to search for her. While he searched among the coals of the hearth, her servant Chestnut Boy, who had hidden there, jumped up and struck his eye. When he fell backwards in surprise, he was jabbed by another servant, Needle Boy. Subsequently, his other eye was stung by Hornet Boy, his hand bitten by Viper Boy, and, as he was trying to escape, Mortar Boy and Pestle Boy fell onto his head. The badly injured demon fled, never to be heard from again.

Yushkep Kamuy is said to assist Nusakoro Kamuy (he represents the dead and serves as a messenger to the other kamuy) in his duties. She is also called upon by women during childbirth, because her long fingers allow her to safely extract the baby.

Ainu | Wiki Golden Kamuy | Fandom
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About the Ainu People

The Ainu (/ˈaɪnuː/) are an indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai. They have occupied these areas, known to them as “Ainu Mosir” (Ainu: アイヌモシㇼ, lit. ’the land of the Ainu’), since before the arrival of the modern Yamato and Russians. These regions are often referred to as Ezochi (蝦夷地) and its inhabitants as Emishi (蝦夷) in historical Japanese texts. Along with the Yamato and Ryukyuan ethnic groups, the Ainu people are one of the primary historic ethnic groups of Japan and are along with the Ryukyuans and Bonin Islanders one of the few ethnic minorities native to the Japanese archipelago.

Official surveys of the known Ainu population in Hokkaido received 11,450 responses in 2023, and the Ainu population in Russia was estimated at 300 in 2021. Unofficial estimates in 2002 placed the total population in Japan at 200,000 or higher, as the near-total assimilation of the Ainu into Japanese society has resulted in many individuals of Ainu descent having no knowledge of their ancestry.

Question: if you were a goddess
and your people were under attack,
what would you do?

Sources:
wikiwand
wikiwand

7 Comments Add yours

  1. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    Librarian Lore (by Erin Penn) – Libraries have long been sanctuaries, from noise and danger. The buildings have also been burned with the people seeking sanctuary still inside. Most of the Librarian’s powers relate to preparation, actual attack is not a strength. Others in her pantheon do better – Ethics and Justice-keeping are better at direct confrontation.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Erin, thank you for your Librarian Goddess wisdom yet again.

      Like

  2. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    Sucks they’re forgetting their own history.

    Tony (Danab Cycle)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      They not only forgot, they willfully tried to extinguish their culture. Sounds vaguely familiar to other places and times in the world.

      Like

  3. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:

    So much has been lost culturally by assimilation. One would hope it would at least make people more tolerant, as they themselves come from many different peoples, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.
    I would assume a goddess would have a way to weave a protective spell around her people. But of course the other side might have magic too. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar Lisa or Li says:

      Well said on all counts, K.

      Liked by 1 person

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