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==Deities==
==Deities==
In addition to the creator deities Shinerikyo and Amamikyo, the sun ([[Okinawan language|O]]: ''tiida'') was also of great significance, and the king was considered "the son of the sun" (太陽子, ''tedako''). A sacred [[hearth deity]] was also maintained, at Shuri castle by the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' for the whole kingdom, for each individual village by the local ''noro'', and in each individual home as well.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42759-storytopic-121.html Hinokami]." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Gregory Smits. ''Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999. p165.</ref>
In addition to the creator deities Shinerikyo and Amamikyo, the sun ([[Okinawan language|O]]: ''tiida'') was also of great significance, and the king was considered "the son of the sun" (太陽子, ''tedako''). A sacred [[hearth deity]] was also maintained, at Shuri castle by the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' for the whole kingdom, for each individual village by the local ''noro'', and in each individual home as well.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42759-storytopic-121.html Hinokami]." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Gregory Smits. ''Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999. p165.</ref>
A great diversity of deities or spirits are worshipped additionally in many Ryukyuan communities, in ceremonies, rituals, and festivals which differ, sometimes quite considerably, from place to place. A few examples of these ceremonies or festivals include the [[Tanadui festival]] and other planting and harvesting-related observances, performed most famously on [[Taketomi Island]], but taking distinctive forms in communities throughout the [[Sakishima Islands]]; ceremonial [[boar]] hunts performed in [[Yanbaru]] in connection with the ''[[ashibigami]]'' of land and sea; festivals welcoming back the ancestral ''[[uyagan]]'' spirits in the [[Miyako Islands]]; and various ceremonies christening new boats or praying for safe voyages.<ref>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.</ref>
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