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This song was collected in Nikazetani, Hiratoricho, Saryugun, Hidaka, Hokkaido. "Ainu Traditional Music" is the original book, and it is recorded in a musical note. This song is included in "Nursery songs in Hokkaido" published by Yanaihara Shoten. [foot note] is shown below.
【注釈】
1. ウシシキナ
アイヌ語でミズバショウ（水芭蕉）のこと。詳しくは、下の４.を参照。
2. 詩について
「フワ ハエン」というのは、「気をつけなさい」と言う親グマの警戒の声。春、冬眠から覚めて食糧をさがしに山の麓におりてくるとき、毒の草を食べないように、子グマに歌ってきかせるもので、それを人間が真似して自分の子どもに歌って注意したと言われている。ウシシキナ（水芭蕉）には毒分がある。この歌は、人々が輪になってすわって歌われる子守歌で、南太平洋のマオリ族などでも、こうして集まって歌う子守歌があるそう。
3. 音楽について
「フワ ハエン」というクマの鳴き声と「ウシシキナ」という危険なもののところが、８度の音程（オクターブ）になっている。そう思って歌うと、この独特の大きな音の跳躍が、とても魅力的に感じられる。構成音はレ・ソ・ラの三音で、旋法らしいものは見当たらない。
4. 日本と北米の水芭蕉について
ウシシキナを英訳する際、ランダムハウスの電子辞書で引いたところ、skunk cabbageとあった。これには２種類あってどちらも北米産だが、一つはその名のとおり強い悪臭のするもので日本名が座禅草。もうひとつは西部の湿地帯に生育し、日本名がアメリカミズバショウ。多分こちらの方に日本の水芭蕉は近いと思われる。上の水芭蕉の写真を貸していただいた北海道、女満別町役場の方に、日本の水芭蕉の臭いについて問い合わせしたところ、「今は季節でないので確かめに行けませんでしたが、どちらかと言えば青臭いにおいで、そんな強烈な臭いではないと研究者の人は言っています」というていねいな解答メールをいただいた。確かに。これを書いている今は11月。水芭蕉は早春に芽を出す植物で、クマが冬眠明けに腸内の脂肪を吐き出すために下剤として食べるらしい。日本産、北米産ともにサトイモ科。
(水芭蕉の写真提供/女満別町役場)
＊北海道マクンベツ湿原の水芭蕉の風景が雄大なパノラマ写真（QTVR)で見られます。「パノラマジャーニー」というサイトを主宰する太田和美さんからご連絡いただきました。
[footnote]
1. Ainu
The Ainu people is a tribe which lives in the Hokkaido area from ancient times. They have their own language and culture, which is hunting, weaving, use of medicinal herbs, and oral literature. "Ainu" means human in their language. Their gods are fire, wind, water, thunder, bears, apotted owls, grampuses, aconite, mushroom, mugwort, boats, and pots......etc. The word "Ainu" refers to the opposite of these gods.
2. u-si-s ki-na
A plant name in Ainu language, it is called "mizu basho" in Japanese and it is the same kind of a skunk cabbage in the west of North America. More details about "usis kina" are below, footnote no.5.
3. About the lyrics
"huwa haen" is a warning call of a parent bear which tells her cubs know "pay attention". The spring, when bears wake up from their winter sleep and go down to the foot of a mountain looking for food, they sing it to warn their cubs not to eat poisonous grasses. It is said that human beings imitated the bear's song, and sang it for their children. This song is a lullaby, and the Ainu people sing it sitting in a circle together. The Maori people of the South Pacific Ocean do the same thing.
4. About the music
Both a warning calls, "huwa haen" and "u-si-s ki-na", which means poisonous grass, have a long interval of 8 tones(an octave). When we sing it consciously, the unique big jump of tones is very primitive, and very attractive. The song is constructed with only 3 tones, re, so and la(d, g and a), and there is no mode.
5. More details about usis kina(mizu basho)
Yes, basho is the same as Japanese haiku poet Basho in Kanji(a Chinese character). And mizu means water. Mizu basho(usis kina) grows in wetland, just like skunk cabbage. Mizu basho and skunk cabbage are both poisonous and belong to the araceous family. One kind of skunk cabbage(this one is more famous than the other) smells bad as the name implies, but skunk cabbage in wetlands in the west of North America(Amerika mizu basho in Japanese) doesn't, I suppose. As for Japanese mizu basho, it doesn't smell bad, but smells rather grassy. I heard about it from the town office of Memanbetsu, Hokkaido by their e-mail in reply to me. They said "I'm sorry not to confirm the smell virtually because now it is out of season of mizu basho". Actually, it grows in early spring.
* Usis kina in Makunbetsu, Hokkaido: you can see the landscape of beautiful usis kina wetland in panorama photos (QTVR) on this website by Kazumi Ota.
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