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 various 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" which corresponds to the function of the Loa religious organization as the arbiters of divine will. Maybe Keep

Structure

Ilaseuasa

Further information: List of Ilaseuasa

WIP