Difference between revisions of "Okinoerabujima"
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Revision as of 03:13, 12 January 2020
- Japanese: 沖永良部島 (Oki no erabu jima)
Okinoerabu Island is one of the Amami Islands, located south of Tokunoshima and north of Yoronjima in the broader Ryukyu Islands chain.
Consisting primarily of flatland atop a raised coral reef, Okinoerabu was historically one of the chief islands for pasturing horses. The "lord of Okinoerabu" is strongly associated with horses in the Omoro sôshi, which indicates that he has "a herd of horses ... at his disposal," and that "this remote lord attaches a golden saddle and rides down to Yowa harbor." The Ryukyu Kingdom as well as various wakô groups sourced their horses from Okinoerabu, among other locations.
Okinoerabu was also one of four places where the Tsukishiro form of the deity Hachiman was historically worshipped.
In the early 15th century, the island was home to the wakô chieftain Guraru Magohachi (aka Goran Magohatsu), who is also mentioned in the omoro.
References
- Gregory Smits, Maritime Ryukyu, University of Hawaii Press (2019), 71.
