沖縄住民における祖先崇拝行動と保健医療行動の関連性に関する質問紙調査

概要

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Okinawa prefecture is remote 500 km from southern tip of mainland Japan. The unique characteristics of the traditional culture in Okinawa are ancestor worship which includes various kinds of ceremonies, folk therapy, the "Yuta" (shairman and traditional healing practitioner) and the great burial tombs. In this study, to clarify how ancestor worship is related to the health/medical behavior of the people in the prefecture, a questionnaire survey was carried out on 176 mothers of students in 4 classes of 6th grade in 2 elementary schools in Urasoe city and in Yomitan village. The frequency of participation of each respondent in anniversaries concerning ancestor worship was used to indicate the magnitude of belief in ancestor worship. The mean of this frequency was higher for Yomitan village than for Urasoe city. The mean was also related to bio-social parameters such as family size, fertility, an extended family household, and the dependency on folk therapy such as the "Yuta". It was also revealed that people prefer thinking according to traditional beliefs about ancestors for solving various distress problems such as a serious illness.