American Priestess

Kay Goldsworthy becomes first female Anglican archbishop in the world The first female Anglican archbishop in the world, Kay Goldsworthy discusses the challenges ahead. After all she is taking the Perth diocese because Archbishop Roger Herft resigned after admitting he mismanaged sexual abuse cases while bishop of Newcastle.

On Japan's Fire Priestesses

Noro kumoi of Okinawa, one of the fire priestesses of the community hearth whose office was inherited matrilineally. "From legendary times until the present day the noro priestess has exercised a powerful influence in the Ryukyuan community. until 1879 a daughter or sister of the king at Shuri usually assumed the role of the chief high priestess as intercessor between the spirit world and the king’s household, and was often an important counselor in royal affairs.

"A daughter in each household was assigned the task of conserving and feeding the hearth” fire. Fire was a communal treasure, in itself a living thing, handed on from generation, to generation. A taboo system grew up around the office of the fire-custodian. She was expected to remain a virgin and was thought to be in close communication with the ancestors from whom fire descended. When new households were establishes, fire was transferred from the family home to the new dwelling or kindled anew with ceremony. In this way the continuity of the fire came to represent blood relationships and family continuity as well. The custodian of the fire upon the oldest hearth in the community assumed an official distinction; her office was hereditary, passing usually to a female child of the noro’s brother. A plot of land was set aside for he support. Thank offerings from the community enlarged her income. Within her house, three hearthstones served as a center of worship, for these formed the locus of the root deity (ne-gami) of the village.

[Three hearthstones were also important in Maya culture, including as a constellation name. Of course three is the most stable configuration for placing pots.]

"It is noteworthy that the stones are brought from the seashore, no matter how far inland the house or village altar may be, and that among the pantomimic seasonal dances performed by Okinawan villagers, there usually is one which tells a legend of the “fire-bringing visitors.”

"Vestments of white cloth (symbolizing ritual cleanliness) and a string of beads (including the magatama or curved jewels) have been symbols of the noro’s office since prehistoric times. Her duties require care of the hearth fire, worship of the ancestors through ritual devotion, and divination to settle upon auspicious days for marriage, burial, travel, or the simple tasks of the agricultural community.

"While the noro has all but disappeared at Naha and Shuri, the institution still commands respect as diviner and intercessor for the common man in the country villages and in the outlying islands, where she guards the ritual objects on the sacred heath and attends springs and sacred groves associated with the welfare and protection of the village life."

from George H. Kerr in “Okinawa, the history of an island people” at https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/noro-the-virgin-fire-custodian-and-the-legend-of-ancestr/