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Okinoerabu Island is one of the [[Amami Islands]], located south of [[Tokunoshima]] and north of [[Yoronjima]] in the broader [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain.
Okinoerabu Island is one of the [[Amami Islands]], located south of [[Tokunoshima]] and north of [[Yoronjima]] in the broader [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain.
According to divine songs such as ''shima watari nu umui'', Okinoerabu was the first of the Ryûkyû Islands, forming out of a floating mass in the sea and then multiplying in some fashion to spread islands out to the north, and then to the south. A number of legends, songs, and the like from [[Okinawa Island]] and elsewhere suggest an ancestral or legendary origin on Okinoerabu.<ref>Smits, 109.</ref>
Consisting primarily of flatland atop a raised coral reef, Okinoerabu was historically one of the chief islands for pasturing [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]]. The "lord of Okinoerabu" is strongly associated with horses in the ''[[Omoro soshi|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 ''[[wako|wakô]]'' groups sourced their horses from Okinoerabu, among other locations.
Consisting primarily of flatland atop a raised coral reef, Okinoerabu was historically one of the chief islands for pasturing [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]]. The "lord of Okinoerabu" is strongly associated with horses in the ''[[Omoro soshi|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 ''[[wako|wakô]]'' groups sourced their horses from Okinoerabu, among other locations.
