Human spirit - Hitodama

Also called fireballs, they are the spirits of the dead. They are said to appear when a person dies, and when they appear at night, they emit a blue light and fly through the air. If you see one that has fallen to the ground, it is said to be like konnyaku. It is said that if a hitodama crosses a river, the person will revive and can live for about three more years. In the former Ono District of Oita Prefecture (currently Bungo Ono City, etc.), a bird called "Nue" is called "Hitodama" because when it sings, it means that the person will die. In the Ogawara area of ​​the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, hitodama that come to the homes of relatives and acquaintances before or at the same time as a person dies are called "tamashi" or "tamanko". Some people can see "tamashi" while others cannot. It is also said that the hitodama of a person who has died before will come to welcome a sick person. It is said that the hitodama of an elderly person who is sick and weak is weak, while the hitodama of a young person who died in an accident is strong. The practice of calling upon the soul of a person at the end of their life is based on this belief in the soul. In the Utano district of Uda city, Nara prefecture, a ritual called "Tamayobi" is performed to wake the terminally ill and give them water, and when they die, their clothes are thrown onto the roof.

[Oto Tokihiko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

火の玉ともいい、死者の霊をいう。人が死ぬときに人魂が出るといい、夜分に出ると青色の光を発して空中を飛ぶという。地上に落ちたものを見ると「こんにゃく」のようなものという。人魂が川を越すと本人はよみがえり、あと3年ぐらい生存できるともいう。大分県旧大野郡（現、豊後大野(ぶんごおおの)市など）では、「ぬえ」という鳥が鳴くと人が死ぬのでこの鳥を「ヒトダマ」とよんでいる。青森県下北(しもきた)半島の小川原(おがわら)地区では、人の死ぬ前か死と同時に肉親や知人のところへくる人魂を、「タマシ」または「タマンコ」という。「タマシ」は人によって見える人と見えない人とがある。また前に死んだ人の人魂が、病人を迎えにくることもあるという。病み衰えた老人の人魂は弱々しく、若い者の事故で死んだときなどの人魂は勢いがよいという。人の末期(まつご)に際して魂(たま)呼びということをするのも、この人魂信仰に基づいている。奈良県宇陀(うだ)市菟田野(うたの)区では「タマヨビ」と称して末期の病人を起こして水を与え、死ぬと死者の着物を屋根の上にほうり上げるという。

［大藤時彦］

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