Settlement Composition and Actual Condition of Grave Festivals in Aso Caldera Settlements

Abstract

Using customs such as grave festivals, we analyzed the composition of settlements in Aso Caldera, and the following results were obtained. (1) Although the Aso religion is now rare, many expressions that originated in settlements that refer to the back of the outer rim of the volcanic crater are used in Aso Valley. (2) Although grave festivals are rarely performed in Aso Valley, they are still performed by more than half of the Nango Valley settlements. (3) Grave festivals, which consist of cleaning a grave, offering sacred sake and dining together in front of the grave, express gratitude to an ancestor and are considered to be the most important settlement festivals. (4) In Nango Valley, each cemetery is owned by a family, or by a head family and portion family, and no pattern of cemetery positions was observed. However, in Aso Valley, cemetery ownership is designated by place of residence, and cemetery positions are distant from places of residence and have a tendency to be located in a certain direction and on the side facing the outer rim of the volcanic crater. (5) Although the deceased′s house is clearly distinguished from others in Aso Valley as a feature of the space used in the observation of funeral customs, this feature is not observed in Nango Valley.