Mana
Mana is a term used by Fijian healers/shamans[1] to refer to what on the LP, we call Force.
Syncretic Terms
Force > Imagination, Mana, Miwi, Nu Shug, Orenda, Perspective, Prana, Wakan, Will, Yang, Zaki
Notes
The term is of Melanesian and Polynesian origin.[2]
Rogers notes the following syncretic terms: 'hasina in Madagascar, bakara in Morocco, manngur' among the Kabi of Queensland.[3]
"Mana is the fundamental spiritual force that is recognized in cultures throughout the world, akin to the n/ um of the Kalahari Zhu/ twasi or the wakan of the Lakota people or the chi of the traditional Chinese. But as with these other concepts, mana is hard to define. “Mana,” said one Fijian elder paradoxically, trying to explain it, “is mana.” Others say mana is the “power to effect,” or “what makes things happen.” One chief likened its action to that of electricity; it is something unseen but nevertheless powerful, even devastating."[4]
"The more powerful and sacred the site or person, the stronger the mana attached to it. Mana is a direct expression of the power of the Vu — the more powerful the Vu, the more powerful the mana."[5]
Mana is a "supernatural force that pervades the universe..."[6] Mana can be controlled by will, focussed through the use of various forms of Magic.
Footnotes
- ↑ Katz, Richard. The Straight Path of the Spirit: Ancestral Wisdom and Healing Traditions in Fiji. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1999
- ↑ Rogers, Spencer L. The Shaman: His Symbols and His Healing Power. Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers, 1982. p. 51.
- ↑ Rogers, Spencer L. The Shaman: His Symbols and His Healing Power. Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers, 1982. p. 51.
- ↑ Katz, Richard. The Straight Path of the Spirit: Ancestral Wisdom and Healing Traditions in Fiji. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1999 p. 20. Emphasis added.
- ↑ Katz, Richard. The Straight Path of the Spirit: Ancestral Wisdom and Healing Traditions in Fiji. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1999. p. 21.
- ↑ Rogers, Spencer L. The Shaman: His Symbols and His Healing Power. Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers, 1982. p. 50
