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Loa Luni-Ecdysial Calendar: Difference between revisions
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The ecdysial new year's is a far larger holiday, taking place over a 15 day long week. It consists of a series of rites, festivals and household gatherings specifically timed out over the week. The holiday is officially announced at midnight on what is the eighth of November in the Gregorian Calendar by the temples sounding out on metal conch horns 15 times. This continues for each night, with the soundings decreasing as the days wear on. CONTINUE LATER, DON'T HAVE MENTAL ENERGY TO ADEQUATELY FINISH THIS | The ecdysial new year's is a far larger holiday, taking place over a 15 day long week. It consists of a series of rites, festivals and household gatherings specifically timed out over the week. The holiday is officially announced at midnight on what is the eighth of November in the Gregorian Calendar by the temples sounding out on metal conch horns 15 times. This continues for each night, with the soundings decreasing as the days wear on. CONTINUE LATER, DON'T HAVE MENTAL ENERGY TO ADEQUATELY FINISH THIS | ||
===Aiasin-sekkin=== | ===Aiasin-sekkin=== | ||
Taking place on January 12th of the Gregorian Calendar, Aiasin-sekkin is known as the grave tending holiday and is the day that the Loa clean the bones of their ancestors. Aiasin-sekkin has roots in ancient Polynesian customs, with many references found of how they performed jungle burials by allowing the jungle fauna to clean the bones of the deceased before collecting them and keeping them in jars. Today, most Loa do not perform jungle burials except in the case of rural groups where it is both possible and less of a public health hazard. Instead, the Loa have medical professionals deflesh the body and then have it cleaned by dermestid beetles. In the end, the result is the same. Every year on the holiday, Loa return to ancestral tombs in order to take the bones out of their jars and perform a ritual cleaning. This cleaning is unnecessary as far as actuall cleaning is needed and largely consists of anointing the bones with fragrant oil applied to a golden silk cloth. This rite is only performed by adults, while the elderly watch over children. At dusk, the family has a meal in the tomb with the jars and reminisce on the lives that have since passed. | |||
Although most Isi Loa can perform this with ease, many mainland Loa only perform this ritual for the generations of their family dating to the 1920s or 30s due to the incredible cultural destruction caused by the [[Loafication]] period and the resulting civil war. As such, there are tens of thousands of 'abandoned' tombs. The Ministry of Rites has enacted two programs since the late 1980s and 2010s aimed to address this. One consists of having civil servants and volunteers go to tombs to perform rites for the dead there, though this is limited by the number of government workers and volunteers and as such not every tomb can be attended to. Tombs receive attendance on a rotating basis. The second program aims to perform genealogical testing to determine the descendants of the dead in abandoned tombs. Since 2014 when this was implemented, 231 tombs have been 'adopted' by families who have moved their recent ancestors into the tombs and now attend the once forgotten dead. | Although most Isi Loa can perform this with ease, many mainland Loa only perform this ritual for the generations of their family dating to the 1920s or 30s due to the incredible cultural destruction caused by the [[Loafication]] period and the resulting civil war. As such, there are tens of thousands of 'abandoned' tombs. The Ministry of Rites has enacted two programs since the late 1980s and 2010s aimed to address this. One consists of having civil servants and volunteers go to tombs to perform rites for the dead there, though this is limited by the number of government workers and volunteers and as such not every tomb can be attended to. Tombs receive attendance on a rotating basis. The second program aims to perform genealogical testing to determine the descendants of the dead in abandoned tombs. Since 2014 when this was implemented, 231 tombs have been 'adopted' by families who have moved their recent ancestors into the tombs and now attend the once forgotten dead. | ||
===Huehuekaso-sekkin=== | ===Huehuekaso-sekkin=== | ||
Taking place on January 7th of the Gregorian Calendar, Huehuekaso-sekkin celebrates the life and death of the Kiravian mystic Saȳd Kamáv Istiklav. His teachings were assimilated into the [[Kapunehasa]] and so he holds a special place for both Kapuhenasa and Muslim Loa. A less widely followed holiday, it nonetheless is still celebrated by most Loa as it is tradition to go out and eat halal food to honour him, with Loa restaurants serving special halal menus for the holiday specifically. In particular, hashed potatoes served in gravy with cheese, served with coffee which is a traditional [[Kiravia|Kiravian]] dish. Temples also put on traditional shadow plays detailing his life, usually followed by offerings of prayer to his spirit. These are generally popular and viewed as occasions to wear traditional dress. | |||
===Akaru'a-sekkin=== | ===Akaru'a-sekkin=== | ||
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===Toua-sekkin=== | ===Toua-sekkin=== | ||
Holiday celebrating the birth of the Second Incarnate. Held on 12 | Holiday celebrating the birth of the Second Incarnate. Held on 12 April, very popular. | ||
[[Category:Takatta Loa]] | [[Category:Takatta Loa]] | ||