Travel Photos: Outer Island Art and Seafood

Cameras Only Used Indoors

On a beautiful, sunny day, business took us to the south and east on Okinawa, today.

It was almost 2PM by the time I snapped, this first picture.

The primary mission, was to do some shopping on Chinen Peninsula.

Some people, asked me to pick up Okinawan Folk Stories if, I could find any for sale.

Inside the souvenir shop in Nanjo City, I was lucky enough to discover five of them on a shelf. 

Just in case, someone else might need a copy, I purchased took four of them.

Two, are already promised to those who were smart enough, to contact me.

The remainder I hold on to, until some high bidders come along and, they'll get sold.

When's the Sanguacha Came Next

For those who don't know, Sanguacha is a festival, held annually on Henza Island.

It's an unusual sort of, off the main road event, worth seeing and, I wasn't sure of the dates .

The entire matsuri, covers about 3 days but, the best part will happen March 31st this year.

Adventurous sorts of people, walk at low tide, to perform some rituals offshore on some rocks.

My body, has plenty of adventures already. I just go to see my sweethearts.

Ikei Island Was the Last Stop 

While waiting for our order, I walked over and took the photo of the mermaid.

That's when I announced to Doc, "This is the first photo, I shot today."

The image, doesn't show the whole meal. Rice, soup and another salad, came too.

That meal was so large, I couldn't eat it all. And, it was only about seven bucks !

It was time to head home, before I realized, only 3 photos had been taken, all day.

The last one was an image of scarecrows, hanging on the wall.

There's no sense in scaring people so, I'll save that for some other time.

Should you ever get hungry while visiting Ikei Island, don't pass this place up.

It's the restaurant at Ikei Beach and, prices are unbeatable.

Okinawan Folktale: A Mermaid and the Tsunami Warning

When a Mermaid Speaks Pay Attention

 

 

This photo was taken at Moon Beach, far from the Yaeyama Islands.

The story comes from Ishigaki and a place called Nohara Village.

On moonlight nights youngsters would sing and dance at a beach.

From out at sea, music and singing could sometimes be heard.

An old man fishing with nets was surprised by his extraordinary catch one night.

One toss of the nets, gave him an unusually heavy load to haul ashore.

When he raised his torch to see what was caught in the nets, he spotted this beauty.

She cried, begging the fisherman to release her.

To the man, she looked like a young maiden but, she explained, she was a mermaid.

The gal had to be released to live in the sea.

She had come to warn the villagers of Nohara about a tragedy about to happen.

The fisherman untangled her from the nets and promised to let her return to the ocean.

But, he wanted her to tell him about what terrible event was about to occur in the village.

A tsunami would hit the island, the next day and, destroy everything, she told him.

She warned him to go to the mountains before morning.

The fisherman released her and, she swam away, singing once again.

The villagers were warned and, went to the mountains.

They dispatched someone to warn the people in the adjacent village.

The villagers in the next town, didn't believe the tsunami story and refused to evacuate.

The next morning, from the mountaintops, the villagers of Nohara watched.

The waves, reached high into he skies and, ripped the villages from the island.

People from Nohara lost their homes but, their lives were saved.

Those who didn't believe the mermaid's story were washed out to sea with their homes.

The 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami hit Ishigaki and Miyakojima Island and

 killed a total of 12,000 people.

From the OnlineLibrary -- G3 -- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems:

 "The chronicles of the Ryukyu Kingdom describe at least four coastal inundation events

 at Ishigaki Island during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries."

REFERENCE:

 Okinawan Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0



MORE FOLKLORE

Photo Essay: A Day at the Dragonboat Races

           These photos were taken Jun 5th 2011 at the Onna Son Seaport in Okinawa, Japan

     The boats, called sabani, may have almost anything painted on them (even boobs), not just dragons.

The dragonboat races would start around 9AM. I got there early to catch some of the opening events. 

          A procession of the teams participating in the annual races moves away from the ocean

         and goes to a shrine on a hill.  Packed into a small yard in front of the shrine, they pray.

       The first time you see dragonboats in the water, all three teams are dressed in traditional clothing.

             The rest of the day most of the dragonboat crews are wearing their team t-shirts.

Three boats race, each time, starting at the north end of the port.  They turn at a flag that marks their lane on the southern end and paddle with all their might to be the first boat to complete the round trip.

                     These guys were doing really well, taking the lead on the way home, but

                               took on a little bit too much water and wound up in the drink.

     I know what those dudes passing them were thinking but, can't tell you.  Rhymes with boozers !

     The guys with the rescue team came and got the unfortunates out of the water and saved the boat, too.

 Around noon, there was a break in the routine so, dragonboaters could eat lunch.  These kids put on a show for the crowd and they were amazing.

The west coast of Okinawa has several resort hotels and each one put on some sort of demonstration.

 Then, it was back to dragonboat races and eliminations to see which three teams would make the finals.

           Closing ceremonies consisted of awarding certificates and a case of beer to each team.

This Dragonboat Festival was like no other I have seen on the island Okinawa.  Rather than a big commercial event where everyone is hawking their games and festival foods, there was nothing for sale here, to my knowledge.  It was like a community picnic.  Everyone brought their own tents, grills, coolers and food and shared with everyone else.


The few times I came down off the roof of the building I was shooting from, people who didn't know me were offering food and drinks.


After the closing ceremony, I stopped by the tent of a contact I had made during a previous visit. 

I took a few family photos for him, had a bite to eat and made a customary "kanpai" (cheers) with sake.


Then, I excused myself  because I had to go home and download 375 photos and start developing.


One of my favorite shots, so far, (not done, yet) was a closeup shot I took of the mermaid on the dragonboat above filling the entire frame. But, I'm not sure it's safe to post here because of the boobs. It's like art !

Maybe Facebook, huh?