Mythologies of Lufasa

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Mythologies of Lufasa refer to the various sets of mythological stories traditionally told by Lufasans that together are often collectively referred to "Lufasan mythology", despite several of these sources being shared with other cultures. The main ones are Jutic cultural traditions, held in common with South Jute and Jute to different degrees, various original myths and the more than thousand years of Gfiewic influence, especially through Piir. Finally, in more recent times, modern urban myths have become widespread. Cryptozoological writings are sometimes also labelled as a new form of mythology, however cryptozoologists would dispute this inclusion or in some cases even the very distinction between mythology and science.

Jutic cultural traditions

The first of these three, the Jutic cultural base, is held in common with South Jute and Coastal Jute, from which Lufasans originate. This includes above all the story-telling of oral traditions and the teachings of Saandism, a god-agnostic religion with communitarian and environmentalist teachings. This legacy serving as a connection to other Jutic cultures however has been over time increasingly been obscured by a variety of factors.

The first and most significant one is the very different landscape and way of living of Lufasans. Compared to the homeland of Coastal Juteans, the coasts of a tropical island, Lufasa is a temperate and landlocked country mostly composed of flat river plains. Furthermore, while most of Jute is covered in rainforest, in Lufasa most forests had been cleared centuries before writing arrived in the 1300s and replaced with fields and meadows after pressure by Gfiewish nobility.

As a result, many myths ended up changing and adapting to the new environment, the agricultural and pastoral lands next to wetlands full of reeds with long meandering rivers rather than the rainforest gardens and fields of jute near beaches alongside a deep sea. The life as farmer or shepherd, rather than as gardener and gatherer. The animals and beasts they might encounter. Rivers came to be seen as the "natural, nourishing mothers of the country" in mythology and collective consciousness, while the ocean and forests largely lost their importance. Certain hills and boulders became important sites, signs of the power of the spirits of nature.

Nonetheless, while the mythological beings and location changed, key themes and morals often remained, such as the emphasis on the value and importance of community, respect for the elderly, environmental protection and the building up of settlements and society.

For example, Tahi a nihamode nav netude, myths of wise elders living at the border of civilization, i.e. where the rainforest began, fighting snakes and owl-monsters, became myths of crafty elders living in remote locations at the edge of the known world, far away from any village, hunting elks, and using natural resources sustainably.

Original myths

Some entirely new myths also arose out of the new, initially very unfamiliar terrain and vegetation, building on the same familiar themes. Rivers, due to their importance for e.g. irrigation, transport and a source of food came to be seen as the natural mothers of the country and there were many myths associated with them that have no equivalent on the island of Jute.

Wolkre aaxmu tacone, or The Catcher in the Reeds, talks of a river spirit that catches careless reed harvesters who attempt to harvest too much or otherwise disturbs the wetlands and pulls them down into the river, drowning them, but rewards those that attempt to maintain and preserve the landscape and is not greedy when taking reed. The noteworthy thing here is that oral tradition has it that there are many people who have seen it with their own eyes, heard it, and even smelled it.

The myth of this sighting eventually spread to reed-growing regions of Gfiewistan as well, and after having undergone changes came to be known as the myth of Degkebbz Gemd, or Reed Man. A man with a body of reed that stalks reed thieves and other people who try to hide from their obligations near the river, and if they don’t leave, uses a high-pitched cry sounding as if from a flute, accompanied with an overwhelming smell of the river bottom soil, to paralyze them, making it easy for them to be brought back to their duties, or, if necessary, prison. Another version has Reed Man pursue outlaws to the next village himself, but disappearing before anyone can see him.

Gfiewish influence

See also Piir § Cosmology and mythology

But Gfiewish culture has in turn also influenced Lufasan mythology a great deal, especially following the conversion of Lufasans to Piir, the native Gfiewish religion that predominated before the arrival of Iovism from overseas. Aspects that were adopted did not just include various rites and rules, but also a variety of myths, such as of the Gfiewgjknsior Beast, trolls and other spirits and cosmological beliefs.

Piir involves a kind of panentheistic animism, where everything is animated by a single entity, life, which exists within the mostly uninvolved creator god, putting all life on one level and demanding a life of peaceful coexistence with other parts of nature, which overlapped with existing environmentalist beliefs and so could be accepted as their extension.

The idea that everything is equally alive might be what led to myths such as those surrounding the Walking Mirror Monsters and Pigeon Tower, although the latter may have originally been more funny stories not meant to be taken seriously.

Furthermore, a fundamental idea of Piir is that living beings and celestial bodies collectively are responsible for everything that happens in the natural world, including the weather, the seasons and the passage of time, and that hence manipulation of the natural world through shortcuts such as magical spells is possible under trance.

Attempts to drive out Piir beliefs by later Iovist missionaries from Gfiewistan were unsuccessful, and so the first king of a unified Gfiewistan who had tried to force the entire land to submit to this religion from overseas had to contend with these beliefs still remaining widespread, and since they had mostly disappeared in Gfiewistan, they became a marker of national identity for Lufasa.

After gaining independence in 1852, Lufasan mythology continued to develop in its own way, attempting to return to its Jutic base again, emphasizing everything from before the beginning of Gfiewish influence, such as myths involving Lufasan villages, their origin, life in it and more.

Modern urban myths and cryptozoology

Later, myths surrounding the larger cities appeared as well, in particular following the first wave of industrialization in the 1930s with its rapid boom-bust cycle. Much of these center around certain locations of human activity rather than natural features as with mainstream Lufasan mythology. A number of abandoned factories, mines etc. are commonly claimed to have been the site of encounters and experiments involving supernatural forces, that resulted in the creation of devices and materials that can grant superhuman strength or any number of other special abilities.

Spirit sightings continue as well, although some have taken to calling them cryptids nowadays, to use a seemingly more scientific term, although their scientific validity remains strongly contested. Due to this development and the pre-existing traditon, Lufasa has however become a haven for cryptozoologists, who take great interest in both the traditional and modern varieties of Lufasan mythology, as do treasure seekers and people involved with the occult, all contributing to its further development.

Spread

While oral tradition as well as temple talks historically were the most important ways for myths to spread, after independence in 1852 this changed with books on the subject becoming very popular and book stores specializing in them appearing.

Later, these stores often widened their selection to include any and all writing and objects associated with mythology, the supernatural and paranormal (i.e. the new urban myths and cryptozoology), with those that shifted their focus entirely towards the latter two becoming known as "dark stores". Maps purporting to lead to sites mentioned in these modern myths are nowadays also available on the internet, with the distinctions between genuine belief, scam and parody being blurred.