Paper short abstract:

Just after the disasters, two sufferers’ communities attempted to save all the livestock left in their homeland illegally and conducted traditional rituals together with them. This paper argues the possibility of the conduction of traditional rituals, which can change the catastrophic state itself.

Paper long abstract:

How can refugees of great disasters regain their normal life while they have to be in unpredictable situations away from their homelands? Especially for those who are unavoidably out of their lands under evacuation orders because of the devastating damage brought about by the earthquakes, subsequent Tsunami or the nuclear power plant accident, the refugees suddenly become unable to tell where they would be after a year or even a month. They inevitably become ignorant if they can get back their livestock or other belongings left in their homes after the disasters.

However, two sufferers' communities attempt to save all the livestock left in their homeland "illegally" and successfully conduct traditional rituals, which have been performed for a thousand-years, accompanied by the saved horses and bulls. From these cases, this paper argues the possibility of the traditional rituals, which can contribute to the restoration of their community-order and the reconstruction of their community itself at the time of great catastrophe. Also this case study points out the necessity of more culturally diversified security in order to sustain the victims' communities in considering the disaster prevention.