Kapuhenasa

The Kapuhenasa is the indigenous religion of the Loa people and is followed by almost the entirety of Takatta Loa, with around 70% practicing it exclusively and the remaining 30% practicing it in tandem with Islam. Originating from the writings of the Anahuenna of the 1500s and subsequent Books of Ecdysis and the teachings of Saȳd Kamáv Istiklav, a Kiravian Sufi mystic, it developed throughout the late 1700s and 1800s, and came to be called Kapuhenasa first in 1866. His followers were largely local mystics, philosophers and theologians and after his death they adapted his teachings to their local philosophy of “Ecdysis and Imago” as well as the practices of spirit possession. Eventually the Kapuhenasa came to be developed and thought of as its own distinct and organized religion. During the Takatta Loa Civil War the entomantic orders, or ‘’Ilaseuasa’’, attempted to exert influence against the various warlords and eventually the secular republican and Muslim factions that came to prominence near the end of the war. When the First Incarnate appeared and began to organize, the ‘’Ilaseuasa’’ rallied all their forces behind her, with many peasants also joining the cause. The Incarnate managed to turn the tide of the war and unite Takatta Loa yet again, despite unorthodox wartime strategies and significant disadvantage. From 1897 to 1970, the Incarnate and the ‘’Ilaseuasa’’ she founded ruled Takatta Loa as an absolute theocracy, effectively cementing the Kapuhenasa as the religion of the state and the people, alongside Islam.

The Kapuhenasa is monistic and transtheistic spirit possession religion, with the idea of Imago (called ‘’Oala’’ in Insuo Loa) being the transcendent and divine reality behind all mundane creation ( called ‘’A’ala’’ in Insuo Loa). It is believed that through mystic practices and contemplation on the non-reality of reality allows one to achieve eternal peace. After death, the spirits of the liberated return to the earth via spirit possession in order to guide the living and proscribe spiritual remedies. The clergy consists of diviners and mediums who serve to interpret the will of the spirits and be their voice, and then the monastics who seek to reach “mystery’s end” and provide philosophical and religious discourses. Although there's often a divide between mediums and monastics, mediums belong to the same ‘’Ilaseuasa’’ as their region and often learn from monastics. The laity practice communal worship and consult mediums for spiritual remedies, and meditate on theology and hymns. As the official state religion of the constitutional theocracy of Takatta Loa, the orders receive significant support from the state.

Etymology

Kapuhenasa comes from the Polynesian concept of kapu or taboo. It refers prohibitions of concepts, behaviors and actions that are impure or unclean in the sense that they degrade mana, the universal divine energy. Breaking a kapu is a grave offense, and the Kapuhenasa evolved out of a religious structure designed to enforce the kapu. The term henasa translates roughly to "gardener", and hence Kapuhenasa means "Gardener/Cultivator of Sacred Law". This is in reference to the idea that the precepts and theology are the laws that bind together creation. By living in accordance with the will of nature, the Imago and causality, one is following divine law.

Structure

Ilaseuasa

Further information: List of Ilaseuasa

The Ilaseuasa, or entomantic orders as they are sometimes called, are the primary religious organizations of the Kapuhenasa. They are monastic orders focused on training diviners in their respective philosophical traditions, as well as providing a communal gathering place and allowing the faithful to learn the theology and precepts. The Ilaseuasa are closer to movements than formal organizations, but a system of monastic ranking based on seniority has emerged since the rise of the Incarnate's and their influence on the religion. In modern times, Ilaseuasa have significant administrative power and complexity with systems of tutelage for diviners, schools that teach theology to layfolk and collection of taxes.

One of the fundamental aspects of the Ilaseuasa is their focus on entomantic divination. Most clergy do not regard divination seriously but instead view it as a rite with which one meditates on scripture. For layfolk and diviners, it has very real and manifest importance. As such, the Books of Ecdysis which include divination manuals are of extreme importance, with the Ilaseuasa maintaining programs to teach diviners how to best interpret divinations based on the scriptures and theological principles.

Liturgy

Anahuenna

The Anahuenna is the principle origin of the native components of theology in the Kapuhenasa. It was compiled in the 1670s as a collection of poems in the tradition of Later Polynesian Philosophy. It consists of 12,800 poems, hymns and epigraphs in dedication to philosophical concepts such as "mystery's end", Ecydsis and Imago, charitable retrogression and a love of nature. The number was developed from the Loa calendar, which is centered around a solar eclipse every 800 years. It is believed a solar year consists of 16 of these eclipse, which is 12,800 calendrical years. This focus on eclipse represents the focus on the moon as being the source of natural law and the driving force of life and causality. As such, when the Polynesians and Loa realized the eclipse was the moon overtaking the sun, through charting the moon's path through the cosmos, they took it as a sign of great fortune. Although it was compiled a few decades after the calendar's creation, it was derived from a vast literary tradition, with many poems dating back centuries. It is divided into 800 books, a division of 12,800 by 16.