Mana
Mana is a traditional term and a concept among the speakers of
Oceanic languages, including
Melanesians,
Polynesians and
Micronesians. 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", as well as the substance in which souls are made of.
Modern
fantasy fiction, computer and role-playing games, have 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.
The concept is important 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 (for example,
Hawaiian and
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. One 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. For instance if a very prosperous hunter used a charm that had
mana and he gave it to another person then people believed that the prosperous hunter's luck would transfer to the next holder of the charm.
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 of 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 because the living-force or
blood of sacrificial victims might contain supernatural powers whose offering would please a deity.
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:
*
Roman mythology :
numina*
Algonquian-Wakashan mythology :
manito*
Australian Aboriginal mythology :
maban*
Egyptian mythology :
ka*
Greek mythology :
ichor*
Inuit mythology :
inua,
sila*
Leni Lenape mythology :
manetuwak*
Norse mythology :
seid*
Salish-Kootenai mythology :
sumesh*
Yoruba mythology :
oloddumare*
Yoga :
KundaliniAlso related are the
philosophical concepts of:
*
Chinese Philisophy :
qi (or chi),
Tao *
Japanese philosophy :
ki*
European alchemy and philosophy :
aether, (or ether),
quintessence*
Hindu philosophy :
pranaMana 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).
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) have followed Niven in his use of
mana. One of the first
[Mana was also used in the FTL game Dungeon Master (1987), and it is likely there were other precedents.] 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),
EverQuest,
World of Warcraft (
Blizzard),
LostMagic (
Ubisoft), 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.
Notes
* Codrington, Robert Henry. 1891.
The Melanesians.**
Relevant excerpt (
PDF).
* Keesing, Roger. 1984.
Rethinking mana. Journal of Anthropological Research 40:137-156.
* Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1950.
Introduction à l'"uvre de Marcel Mauss.* Lévi-Strauss, Claude; Baker, Felicity (translator). 1987.
Introduction to the Work of Marcel Mauss. ISBN 0415151589
* Mauss, Marcel. 1924.
