ik heb ooit eens een klein verhaaltje (in het engels, dat wel. heb 't op een of ander msgboard gepost) verzonnen wat misschien ook de oorzaak zou kunnen zijn - en daar heb je nog niet eens de dood voor nodig. alles wat je nodig hebt is iemand die niet met conventionele middelen (fysieke kracht) leider van een stam kan worden.
oom yoozer's verhalenhoekje gaat open. waarschuwing : 'tis wel een flinke kluif (nee echt?) en ik had het gerust op m'n ftp willen zetten als ik er bij kon zodat je niet langs de hele lap tekst hoeft te scrollen, maar 't was niet anders.
let's start with a primitive tribe. in order to survive, they have to hunt, so everyone can be fed. naturally, the best hunter will get the most honor. if he says something, other people will take it as the law, because based on previous decisions, he was right. apparently he will be right in the future too.
of course, becoming the best hunter is not all. when they meet another tribe who has the guts to raid 'm, steal all their food, and women - because the other tribe was near starvation, and their numbers have gone down, the chief has to do something. since warfare is not different from hunting - it's the enemy that differs, and the means one uses - they follow their leader again. but this time, there's some resistance from the next best hunter. he doesn't want to chase 'm - in the meantime, he wants to go elsewhere, and see if their luck turns.
hm, someone's doubting the orders of the chief. what happens? a fight. to see who's the strongest - and therefor the most fit to be the leader of the tribe. our first hunter wins, the opponent dies, and they chase the other tribe and get their food and women back.
a few years later. the leader of the tribe is still the best hunter, and still the strongest one. naturally, he gets the best food, and the most women. one might envy that. okay - but that one has to prove he's better than the chief - and what other means are there but a fight? (no, they didn't have chessmatches back then. that's something you do when you're in the agricultural stage, not in the hunter/gatherer stage.). that one is not strong enough, and he knows he's no good for hunting, let alone for mortal combat with the chief.
so, he decides otherwise.
that primitive man didn't know what the stars were. that primitive man was afraid of lightning. that primitive man knew that in the dark, he would be helpless. after all, he couldn't see, and every predator could attack him.
let's add the factor 'slyness' here. and let's call that envious man "shaman".
instead of battling the chief, he decides to wait for the right moments, when he can clearly predicts what happens. he'll take some paint, and tell the chief if he gets to draw a sign on his chest, his hunt will be successfull and the tribe will have a big meal that night.
the chief thinks "well, if it works.. why not? and if it won't, nothing will be lost." because the shaman has mumbled some words when he drew the paint, and stresses that it is necessary for a good hunt, the chief knows he'll have a good hunt.
self confidence. doesn't hurt anyone, right?
okay, the hunting party goes out and happens to find enough animals. due to a trick of the chief, they're rounded up, and the members of the hunting party return that night with more than enough food for everyone.
the point is - the shaman has told everyone he has foreseen that the hunt would be successfull. and when they return, the shaman gets extra food, because he predicted it would be a good hunt, and because he has given the chief that sign on his chest which made it a success.
was the shaman a good hunter or a fighter? no. by doing nothing but merely painting a sign and mumbling a few grunts, he made the hunt a success. did he? or did the chief, being experienced, and strenghtened by his self-confidence make the hunt a success?
a few days later, the food reserves from the successfull hunt are depleted. again, the shaman comes to the chief, and paints the same sign on his chest. a few other hunters have seen this, and they want that same sign. it'll make 'm strong, it'll give them a good hunt, and maybe they'll inherit some of the strength of the chief, which will give 'm more status in the tribe. the next hunt goes pretty well too, and when they return, they have enough food for a few other days.
in the meantime, the shaman knows he has status. because of his predictions of the good hunts, and drawing the signs, he decides to change his appearance to differ from the rest. he takes an animal skull, and puts it near him where he sleeps. he draws the same sign on the animals skull as he did on the hunters. and he realises he's in a powerful position - his self-confidence has grown too. he feels like he can control the hunt, and decide on the outcome of it. and then he ponders back to a few years ago when some of the other boys teased him for not being strong or fast enough. he knows one of 'm is in the chief's hunting party. and he still feels the humiliation.
so, the hunting party goes out again, everyone gets the mark, except one. the shaman looks him deep in the eyes, refuses to draw the sign, and mumbles more grunts, while wielding his animal skull. the chief asks what's going on and why this hunter won't get the sign, so the hunt will be successful. the shaman tells the chief that this hunter is cursed. "why?" asks the chief. "a few days ago when we went hunting he has slain slightly less animals as i have! he's a good hunter, and he deserves the sign!".
whoops. how can the shaman explain something he experiened? the humiliation from back then - probably nobody remembers it anyway. he cannot risk a fight with the chief. he cannot risk a fight with the hunter he refuses to draw the mark on. yet, he likes it that he gets an extra part of the food the hunters bring to thank him for putting the mark on him. he likes it that in spite of his lesser physical condition, he gets attention from possible candidates for mating.
so he decides to make one brilliant move, and says "he who cannot be seen decided otherwise."
the chief shrugs, and the hunter looks at the shaman with hate. now *he* won't have a successful hunt, and he will not be like the chief - strong, leading the tribe, and being honored for his great deeds of providing a future for the tribe.
the shaman is a bit nervous. of course, if the hunter returns with more food than the chief himself, the whole idea of the mark is futile. he won't have extra food anymore, and he'll probably become an outcast because his word is not what happens.
however, the hunt goes differently. suddenly, a bear attacks, and the hunting party can only have a narrow escape. they don't catch much, and the hunter who didn't get the mark feels like he is to blame. after all, he who cannot be seen decided otherwise, so he must've done something wrong.
when they return, the chief goes to the shaman and tells him: "next time i only want hunters with your mark. the previous hunts have gone well, and todays one went bad. the bear attacked, and we should go out tomorrow again if we want to have enough food."
a little later in the evening, the hunter goes to the shaman and asks him why he who cannot be seen has decided to make the hunt fail. the shaman, feeling triumphant because once more, he had the power to steer the hunt in the direction he pleased, tells the hunter he has sinned. he replaces himself with he who cannot be seen, and tells him that the hunter did not honor the shaman enough.
"what can i do to get the mark again, and to make the hunt good again?" asks the hunter. well, says the shaman. that's simple. tomorrow you'll go out. i'll ask he who cannot be seen to forgive your lack of honor. since i know he who cannot be seen pretty well, he'll do so. i'll give you the mark tomorrow, and you will have a good hunt. but it'll cost you something - bring me some extra food, and try to get me a good mating partner.
glad that this problem is solved by those simple means - after all, claiming some more food is easy because he's a good hunter, and getting a good mating partner is relatively simple too (what holds you back from a polygamous society?) and then being forgiven for his lack of honor solves all the problems.
the shaman in the meantime feels satisfaction. not only can he control the hunt, he can also control those who he does not like. he'll be honored for doing so, even!
the next day the hunting party goes out, and has a good hunt again. the chief looks satisfied as he sees that the hunter gets the sign and the blessing from the shaman.
the hunter, on his part did not forget his promise. and the shaman didn't have to hunt, or be strong and courageous - and he gets the extra food, and a mating partner! of course, the women in the tribe look up to those who hunt, but also to those who take care that the hunt goes well.
the shaman's mating partner is a bit naive. of course, being in the tribe, never having to hunt, and looking pretty can save you some work. she hears in awe as the shaman tells her how well he knows he who cannot be seen (of course, since it is himself), and how he asks him every night to give the hunters a good hunt.
of course, the next few days she lets everyone know that she slept with the man who can control the hunt. she gets request from the women of the other hunters, to ask he who cannot be seen if he can make 'm strong, and good hunters. she gives the requests to the shaman, who is believing so strongly now that he has a direct connection to he who cannot be seen that he gets more skulls, paints the mark on it, and hands 'm out. he tells the women of the hunters that they cannot bother him right now, and should direct their requests to the skull. they will act as a replacement for he who cannot be seen.
of course, the shaman knows very well for what the women are asking. they're asking for a good hunt, for a strong and fertile mating partner. during the next days, he'll go around the village and tell the women that he who cannot be seen has heard their requests, and that he will grant their wishes. the women, staggered because they knew they directed their requests privately, and the shaman wasn't around to hear them, listen in awe to what he has to say.
and then the next hunt comes. the women bring the skulls with the marks, and the shaman draws a mark on every hunter so the hunt will go well.
and the hunt goes well, and they return with the food again.
the rumor has been spreading through the tribe. the shaman decides it would be nice if he would get a bigger hut, and of course he has to feed his mating partner too.
and the next hunt fails. for whatever reason, both the shaman and the chief don't know. the chief asks the shaman - you drew the signs, you asked he who cannot be seen - what went wrong?
and the shaman says "you did not honor him enough". the chief asks, worried, what should be done. the shaman says - i send my questions to he who cannot be seen, and he grants those requests. but of course, he wants something back for it. and you have been giving him something, but not enough!
famine strikes, and a few children die of starvation. the hunting party goes out again - worried, and this time the shaman draws the marks, and shouts the words to request for a good hunt out loud. the hunting party feels much more confident now, and the shaman swears this hunt will be good, and that it'll provide 'm with enough food.
the hunting party returns, and has had a good hunt. sadly, one of the hunters fell down from a hill, and died. but there's plenty of food, and since the dead hunter bears the mark, they give him to the shaman to ask he who cannot be seen to take care of him.
in the meantime, one sly trick, and one small grasp of looking what the future has to bring, plus making himself exclusive, giving him the ability to curse, giving those who are near him enough honor, and distributing skulls have made the shaman important. despite that he's not doing anything to hunt, or to be strong, he is well fed, and he has enough choice regarding mating partners.
in other words, he started a religion. and why? because he was envious, but not strong enough. does this story sound like bullshit? i don't think so - it might be the exact way how things have gone back then. of course, after our shaman dies, he has told the tribe enough times that he controls the hunt, and his son is instructed to do so like the shaman did. the line will be continued, and expanded.
and that's probably not the only tribe this has happened to. various people might've gotten that idea, and therefor, religions might not always be the same. but they involve a non-tangible entity, a series of rituals and relics, and a connection between the entity and the tribe.