Kenash Unarabe

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Kenash Unarabe is an Ainu kamui (god). She is a blood-drinking monster who preys upon hunters. However, she is sometimes called upon to assist in childbearing.

[edit] Mythology

Kenash Unarabe is said to have emerged from the decomposing tools the gods had used in their making of the earth. She is a monster with a thirst for human blood, and a sister to various poisons and diseases.

She often takes on the appearance of Hash-Inau-uk Kamui, the goddess of the hunt, in order to deceive hunters. She employs this trick to lead a hunter deep into a swamp; when he tires, she turns on him, killing him and drinking his blood. Her likeness to Hash-Inau-uk Kamui is not perfect, however, and she is forced to conceal her face with her long hair. By this, a wary hunter can recognize Kenash Unarabe and avoid this fate.

Kenash Unarabe's association with blood makes her important in childbearing. She is sometimes invoked to deal with the pollution of pregnant women by blood or disease, and myths hold that she is a very powerful, though potentially dangerous, counterforce in such cases.^[1]

[edit] Notes

^ Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 197

[edit] References

Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
Etter, Carl. Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan. Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1949.
Munro, Neil Gordon. Ainu Creed and Cult. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.