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Ahmenoh-Uzuumay - The Goddess Of Dawn And Dance

Shintoism talks about a goddess who rules over dawn and dancing. She is a deity that has a positive and energetic personality, and always tries to bring joy to the world. The goddess has resolved many disputes between other gods with her joyous nature. She is famously related to the tale of the missing sun deity Ahmaterasu. This goddess is identified as Ahmenoh-uzuumay. The complete name used to address the goddess is “Ahmenoh-uzuumay-no-Mikoto”.

The goddess is said to be very beautiful and serves the sun goddess Ahmaterasu. Ahmenoh-uzuumay was Ahmaterasu"s most trusted companion since she aided the sun goddess many times. She is also known as "the Great Persuader" and "the Heavenly Alarming Female", and is often considered a representative of female power. The goddess is considered the patron goddess of the dawn, merriment and revelry, meditation, and arts, specifically dancing. The goddess is known for her joyous and creative personality, so these attributes are often related to the dawn.

Because of this nature, the goddess is often portrayed with a smile on her face. Ahmenoh-uzuumay is venerated for saving the world from utter darkness when the sun goddess hid in a cave. Often, stories highlight the rivalry between Ahmaterasu and her brother "Susanoo", the god of storms. Susanoo is frequently portrayed as a mischievous god, who always tried tricks on his sister. Over a dispute, Susanoo destroyed the entire rice field that belonged to Ahmaterasu, and even brutally killed one of her maidens. Ahmaterasu was devastated by her brother"s actions and turned her back on the world by hiding herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave.

Because she was the goddess of the sun, with her disappearance, the light of sun also disappeared from the world. The world went into never-ending darkness and cold. Disturbed by the disappearance of the sun, the kami, who are usually referred to the deities, divinities, and spirits in Shintoism, assembled every day to find a way to persuade Ahmaterasu to return. So every day a kami visited her cave and pleaded the sun goddess to come out of the cave. Soon as time passed by, since none of the gods managed to persuade Ahmaterasu to return, life on earth started to wither. Soon demons from the underworld started to roam the human land.

So Ahmenoh-uzuumay, who is one of the closest deities of the sun god, devised a plan with other gods to get Ahmaterasu out of the cave. She hung a huge mirror decorated with diamonds in front of the cave opening and also placed Ahmaterasu"s jewelry. The mirror was so beautiful and magnificent and it glittered beautifully when the light was shed upon it. The goddess then overturned a tub near the cave entrance and began to dance on it. As she danced, the goddess started to tear off her clothing in front of the other gods. Amused by her performance all the other deities started to laugh.

They laughed so loud and caught the attention of the hiding sun goddess. She got curious to see what was happening outside the cave. Ahmaterasu gave in to her curiosity and opened the cave entrance. As soon as she got out of the cave, she saw her glorious reflection and the jewels that were hung on the tree. She saw a bright figure as she emerged, and thought the kami has found a replacement to light the world. As she moved closer to the mirror to have a better look, she realized that it was not a new god but her own reflection. A kami hiding near the cave entrance, immediately closed the cave entrance, so Ahmaterasu couldn"t hide back in.

The other kami bounded the entrance with sacred "Shimenawa rope", which is a special type of rope made out of straw. She was then convinced by the kami including Ahmenoh-uzuumay to return to the divine and they finally managed to persuade Ahmaterasu. With her return, the light was restored on the land. There onwards, Ahmenoh-uzuumay was respected among all other deities as a savior. After this heroic act, she was also known as "The Great Persuader". Since then, Ahmenoh-uzuumay was associated with the mirror and dawn. Her performance inspired many traditional dances in Japan. Especially the music and dancing used in Shinto religious ceremonies known as "Kagura".

This isn"t the only time Ahmenoh-uzuumay manage to persuade a god. Once Ahmaterasu"s grandson "Ninigi" became an adult, Ahmaterasu tasked Ahmenoh-uzuumay to journey with him to the earth. To get to earth, the two gods had to pass the Floating Bridge of Heaven which is called "Ahmenoh-ukihashi". As they were about to cross it, they were stopped by the earthly god "Sarutahiko". So it was Ahmenoh-uzuumay who managed to convince Sarutahiko to let them pass through the bridge. Sarutahiko got captivated by the beauty of the goddess and offered to journey with them to the land. By the time they reached the land, Sarutahiko and Ahmenoh-uzuumay were in love. After safely guiding Ninigi to earth, the two gods Sarutahiko and Ahmenoh-uzuumay got married. But the goddess remained to serve the sun goddess, and so she became the goddess of Dawn.

Ahmenoh-uzuumay could be considered as the most cheerful goddess found in Shintoism. So the goddess is worshiped to bring joy to one"s life. Her aid could also be used when one needs to persuade other powerful gods and goddesses. Ahmenoh-uzuumay is still worshiped today as a Shinto kami. There are many shrines dedicated to the goddess including the Chiyo shrine, Tsubaki America Shrine, and Tsubaki Grand Shrine.

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