Miko

Miko

Miko are sacred female Shinto shamans. According to Japanese tradition, theater was created to entice the goddess Amaterasu to return from a cave in the earth to bring back the light to the people. To lure the goddess out of the cave, Queen Himiko (a miko), performed kagura. The kagura thus became known as a ritual to entertain the Shinto gods and therefore bring favor. Like in many ancient traditions, specific members of society were entrusted with the knowledge of rituals like the kagura. It is interesting that in Japanese history, it was a female goddess who returned to bring humanity back to the people and also, a female shaman to perform the ritual. This evidence is in line with many cross-cultural anthropological theories of the role of the female as the carrier of humanity. Particularly, horticultural societies such as the Indian tribes of the American mid-west, the ancient Yayoi or even the inhabitants of Mesopotamia in the fertile crescent, tend to feature female deities as the primary bringers of life- the virgin, Amaterasu etc.