This book presents an ethnographic portrayal of the people of the southern Ryukyu Islands and their world. It explores the mind of the Ryukyu islanders, their relationship with the natural world, their social relationships, and the rituals which represent and give expression to these relationships. The book is based on extensive original research, and includes participant observation. It allows the authentic voices of the Ryukyu island worlds to speak for themselves, and also sets the work in the wider context of anthropology, Japanese studies and Pacific island studies.