Mana: Encyclopedia - Mana

Mana

Mana is a traditional term and a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians and Māori. It is an impersonal force or quality said to reside in people, animals and inanimate objects which provide an observer with a sense of wonder or respect. In anthropological discourse, mana as a generalized concept has attained a significant amount of interest; often understood as the precursor to genuine religion. It has commonly been interpreted as "the stuff of which magic is formed," although this view has been challenged by later researchers.

Modern fantasy fiction, computer and role-playing games, has adopted mana as a term for magic points – an expendable resource out of which magic users form their magical spells.

Mana should not be confused with the Biblical manna (also spelled mana or mannah) which, according to the Bible (Exodus, chapter 16), provided sustenance for the Israelites. However, some believe its mystical definition can also serve as an alternative interpretation for the substance described in Exodus.

Mana - Mana in Oceanic culture

The word originates in Polynesian religion, and its modern use is a result of the popularization of the concept by anthropology and, to a great extent, by certain varieties of fantasy fiction. In Polynesian culture (e.g., Hawaiian, Māori), mana is analogous to respect, but it combines elements of respect, authority, power, and prestige. To have mana is to have influence and authority. This property is not limited to persons—peoples, governments, places, and inanimate objects can possess mana. In Hawaiian, mana loa means great power or almighty.

Melanesian mana is thought to be a sacred impersonal force existing in the universe. Mana can be in people, animals, plants, and objects. Similar to the idea of efficacy or sometimes better known as luck, the Melanesians thought all success was traced back to mana. You could acquire or manipulate this luck in different ways (for example through magic). Certain objects that have mana can change a person’s luck. Examples of such objects would be charms or amulets: If a very prosperous hunter used a charm that had mana, and he gave it to another person, people believed that the prosperous hunter’s luck would transfer to the next holder of the charm.

Mana - Universal archetype

The concept of mana has been, in various other cultures, the power of magic; however, it was not the only principle, and others included the concept of sympathetic magic and seeking the intervention of a specific supernatural being, whether deity, saint, or deceased ancestor.

The magic of mana was embedded into all talismans and fetishes, whether devoted to ancient gods, Roman Catholic saint relics, the spirits of the ancestors, or the underlying element that makes up the universe and all life within it. The concept of mana has been used in various cultures to justify human sacrifices, as the lives or blood of sacrificial victims might contain supernatural powers whose offering would please a deity.

Mana - Similar cultural concepts

The concept of a life-energy inherent in all living beings seems to be a fairly universal archetype, and appears in numerous ancient religions and systems of metaphysics (in addition to having been borrowed by George Lucas's science-fiction films).

Analogies to mana in other societies include:

• Australian Aboriginal mythology : maban
• Egyptian mythology : ka
• Greek mythology : ichor
• Inuit mythology : inua, sila
• Leni Lenape mythology : manetuwak
• Norse mythology : seid
• Yoruba mythology : oloddumare

Also related are the philosophical concepts of:

• Chinese philosophy : qi (or chi), Tao
• Japanese philosophy : ki
• European alchemy and philosophy : aether, (or ether), quintessence
• Hindu philosophy : prana

Mana - Mana in anthropological discourse

Mana came to the attention of the anthropological community with the English missionary Robert Henry Codrington's (1830-1922) work The Melanesians (1891). It has since been discussed by anthropologists such as Emile Durkheim (1912), Marcel Mauss (1924), Claude Lévi-Strauss (1950) and Roger Keesing (1984).

Mana - Mana in fantasy

Fantasy writer Larry Niven in his 1978 novella, The Magic Goes Away, describes "mana" as a natural resource which is used or channeled by wizards to cast magic spells. Mana is a limited resource in Niven's work, a fact which eventually will lead to the end of all magic in his antediluvian fantasy setting when all mana is depleted.

Many subsequent fantasy settings (role-playing games in particular) has followed Niven in his use of mana. One of the first computer games to adopt mana as a term for magic points was the god game Populous (1989), where mana is the resource used by gods (such as the player) to make divine interventions. The regeneration rate of mana in this setting is proportional to the god's number of followers. Other later games to include mana as a source of magical power include Secret of Mana (Squaresoft) and Diablo (Blizzard) as well as their sequels. Mana is also a key resource in the card game Magic: the Gathering.

The article about magic points lists more games, and examples of the use of mana in games.

See also

• Mythology and religion: Inua, Sila, Polynesian mythology, Honor, Animatism, Egyptian soul, Elemental, Sacrifice, Great Apostasy, Oloddumare, Illam

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Mana", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki