... thrive [naku ko wa sodatsu]" and consists in a staring contest between infants, the winner being the one who cries first (27). An even more interesting example of ritual sumo is hitori-zumo (one-man sumo), performed at the Oyamazumi Shrine on the island of Omishima right off the northwest coast of Shikoku. Usually performed in conjunction with a rice planting ceremony ... , hitori-zumo symbolizes a struggle with the spirit of the rice plant and "it is a foregone conclusion that the human will lose to the spirit" (31). Although such various forms of ritual ... ...

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• Approx Pages: 27
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate