This is a six part series of short postings of a longer article viewable at this link: Insights to Humanity's "Nature Religions". These shorter periodic postings may make reviewing the article more time efficient for you.
The Ainu classified all souls into three categories. The first consists of the souls of deities. The Ainu concept of deities was different from that of most other forms of animism. Deities in this first group were the souls of creatures having powers and abilities exceeding those of humans, e.g. owls typically have far better night vision than humans; bears have far greater strength than humans; wolves have an endurance, sense of smell, and cunning far exceeding that of humans; killer whales and sea lions operate with ease and ferocity in a watery realm that humans seldom enter; and snakes, though much smaller than humans, still possess poisons that can easily kill. The souls of such creatures were all regarded as deities who wore their animal bodies only temporarily and gave them up to Ainu hunters when they were ready to enter the hereafter and therefore allowed themselves to be successfully hunted.
The Ainu deity of the hearth was named Kamui Fuchi, which means “Rising Fire Sparks Woman.” She is the deity who is the caretaker of the sacred flame. She is the keeper of the world between humans and spiritual beings. This helps to explain why females are responsible for tending the eternal flame of a community's hearth. Females represent the power of creation in brining forth life.
The second group consists of the souls of humans, the middle rank. The Ainu believed that humans needed the deities as much as the deities needed their human dependents. Humans needed the deities for food and clothing, and the deities derived their sanctity by the respect shown to them by the humans. The deities rose and fell in rank depending on the level of worship, appreciation, and gratitude shown by the Ainu as we will see momentarily.
The third group of souls consists of the souls of tools such as ships, knives, bows and arrows, sewing needles, dishes, etc., in other words utility items. The Ainu believed that souls dwelt in them as well. However, it is generally believed that these souls were lower in rank than either the deities or the souls of humans.
The Ainu believed that just as humans and deities were co-dependent, so too were tools and humans dependent on each other. The soul of a tool fulfills its function only as a human fashions an inanimate item into a utility item, namely a tool. This concept helps to explain why the katana was the soul of the Samurai...as he or she used the sword as a utility item it acquired a soul that they in turn cared for, maintained and venerated. On the other hand, humans can’t survive without their tools and equally can’t conduct rituals for displaying their gratitude towards the deities.
Having inherited this ancient belief system, many present-day Ainu still treat their tools with great respect. In traditional Ainu ways, tools that had become worn-out were not disposed of, but kept instead for the appearance of two special periods of the year, namely spring and autumn (times when the heat of the year was beginning to either “wax”, or “wane”), when they were broken apart in order to release their souls. The ceremonies were solemn events at which the Ainu prayed and showed their gratitude to their former tools as they buried the pieces in special places.