One Hundred Years: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A Cultural Interlude

Religion of the tribes of the Great Alliance
From "A History of the 21st Century", by Zithembe Nkosi
Published by ZuluHeart Press, copyright 2120

The Great Alliance is a largely heterogeneous group with regards to religion and politics. The tribes are held together by a few agreements, which are in fact very similar to the basic functions of the Democratic Republic of Oregon whom they dislike.  The functions of the Great Alliance are as follows: allow the various tribes to explain disputes amongst a larger group to socially enforce the laws of the Great Alliance and to act of a forum to raise support or alarms quickly in the event of large threats to all Alliance members.

The basic laws of the Great Alliance are simple. Do not try to be a king or god. Do not expand into the territory of another tribe. Do not conquer (although raiding to prove strength and reaffirm boundaries is allowed, and even encouraged to help the young warriors compete and stay ready). Control one's population. Follow the Seven Generation Law (do nothing that will negatively affect the environment even seven generations into the future).

The laws of the Great Alliance were drafted by the earliest member tribes and communes, and as such have a largely new age/pseudo-Native American feel with a heavy ecological focus. The makers of the law did not trust large groups, civilization, leaders or hierarchy in general, and sought to create a system of rules that was largely enforced by individual members and did not require the creation of separate organizations such as the police or the military.

Historians are uncertain whether these ideas sprang from the most common religion of the Great Alliance or whether the religion of the Great Alliance sprang from these laws. The rest of the Pacific Northwest tends to be aligned with the Unified Church of Healing, which is am amalgamation of the many immigrant religions of the region, from Shinto to Hindu, from Christianity to Buddhism, from New Age to Sikhism. The religion of the Pacific Northwest is a melting pot, but the ingredients are largely recognisable. The religion of the Great Alliance is less easily de-constructed.

The official religion of the Great Alliance is a naturalistic religion. Called the Way of the Seven Siblings, or simply 'the Way' or even 'the Seven', the religion of the Alliance believes in a naturalistic world with no ghosts, spirits, gods, magic or miracles. Many of the individual members of the Great Alliance do believe in such things, but do so from either personal experience or on the basis of personal spiritual convictions.

'The Way' centers around the exploits of a group of seven explicitly mythical siblings, understood to be archetypal representations of the seven essential roles within a functioning society. The siblings are (from oldest to youngest): Munin, Jatar, Sargas, Martegas, Gygas, Rusinas, Kurnos.

Munin is the eldest, she is represented by a raven and her role is to question authority and to play the role of journalist and fool and trickster. Munin's job is to keep individuals from accumulating too much power, or using authority for corrupt purposes. Her name is almost certainly based upon one of the two ravens of Odin from Norse mythology.

Jatar is the next eldest, she is represented by a serpent and her role is to learn about the world and then to teach it to the next generation. She is researcher and teacher in a single package. Some researchers feel her name is based upon the masculineArabic name Jafar or 'a stream'. Other researchers think that the name derives from the Finnish female devil Ajatar.

Sargas is the eldest brother and he is represented by an owl and his role is to mediate disputes and make certain restitution is made. The practices of Sargas are based heavily of Native American concepts of restorative justice. Sargas is the name of a star in the constellation Scorpio.

Martegas is the second brother and represented by the rabbit. Martegas is the history keeper and the storyteller and traditional Master of Ceremonies. His name is likely based on Mateguas- a rabbit spirit of the Northeastern Native American mythology.

Gygas is the third brother. He is represented by the wolf and his role is the warrior. His name is the name of one of the hundred handed who fought for Zeus and assured that God's victory inGreek mythology.

Rusinas is the youngest sister. She is represented by a stalk of corn and is thus the only sibling not symbolized by an animal. She represents nurturing and healing, as well as their own agricultural practises. Rusinas name is believed by researchers to be based on a Roman harvest goddess name Rusina.

Kurnos is the youngest brother and youngest sibling. He is depicted initially as being represented by a mountain lion, and then later by a locust. His role was initially that of leadership through initiative and daring action, but he succumbed to greed and tried to possess the locust spirit and corrupted the power of that spirit, thus becoming the False King.

The False King is the 'Shaitan' or devil figure of the Great Alliance. Seen not as an individual but as a cultural virus. The False King was described to archaeologist Lwazi Silongo this way: "The False King is the idea that people can expand without limit and without consequence. The False King is the idea that you must follow his one way to be right, and if you do not you may be conquered or exterminated. The False King offers everyone a choice, feast with me and die tomorrow or fight against me and die today."

In one of the earliest stories about Kurnos after he has become the False King, Kurnos murders Rusinas and waters his fields with her blood and uses her body as fertilizer in an echo of the Christian story of Cain and Abel. The other siblings cast Kurnos out of the tribe and he leaves. Kurnos then infects other tribes with the ideology of the False King and returns and conquers his old tribe and forces the siblings into hiding.

Kurnos spreads his power across the land devouring or assimilating all in his path until there is nothing left but the five remaining siblings who are still in hiding. In the end of this story, modern people discover the five surviving siblings who reveal the principles by which people may live in harmony with the rest of the world.

This creation story should make it clear to the modern African reader why the DRO has had such a difficult time making peace with the Great Alliance. the ideology of the Great Alliance in fact sees civilization and much of the resulting progress as evil and in fact equates it with their own devil figure.