Sefa Utaki was the most sacred official site of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the place tradition holds the goddess Amamikyu descended to. Along with the utaki of nearby Kudaka Island, considered Okinawa's most sacred site, it anchored royal and community ritual and remains a living pilgrimage and worship site today rather than a preserved ruin. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Status
UNESCO World HeritageInscribed on the World Heritage List 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountSefa Utaki was inscribed by UNESCO in 2000 as one of nine component sites making up the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu World Heritage listing, the only one of the nine that is a sacred site rather than a castle, grouping it formally with Shuri Castle and the other Ryukyuan royal monuments even though it served a religious rather than a governmental function. Site
Type of Site DetailSourced to the subject's own accountThe site was traditionally closed to men altogether, with the King of Ryukyu the one recognized exception; when he visited, custom held that he did so in women's dress, a mark of the female-centered ritual authority the site embodied, historically headed by the kikoe-ogimi, the highest ranking priestess in the kingdom's ritual hierarchy. 1 Connections
Associated With
This source names Sefa Utaki directly: "religion, covering the sacred site Sefa Utaki and Kudaka Island, the Unjami/Ungami festival, the noro priesthood and the onarigami belief in women's spiritual precedence over their brothers."
Source Ryukyuan Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Belongs to Tradition
Source Ryukyuan Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Contained In
Source Ryukyuan Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Ryukyuan Religion (Wikipedia)
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