Chapter 36: The Master of Life
By your hands these great works are made. –Shaanii Aadizookaan
When Tenskwatawa claimed to see and hear religious instructions from a supreme being, he started a new religion. This new religion is called
Mozism in modern times, after the title of
Moz, or prophet, used by Tenskwatawa. Contemporary non-Shawnee history and literature simply called it the Shawnee religion, though that is considered inaccurate today because of the large number of non-Shawnee converts. Shawnee history and literature refer to their own religious practices as
mishi-debwewin or the Great Truth. This term is still used by some modern day Mozists.
Mozism shares many similarities and had many differences from the Midewiwin religion. Philosophically, Mozism was far more monotheistic. While Midewiwin religion had the idea of an overarching all powerful Manidoo, most of the day to day worship was directed at the expressions of Manidoo, the ojichaag. Mozism, by contrast, focuses all worship on the
Ogimaa bimaadiziwin, often translated as “Master of Life”.
The Symbol of the Master of Life, as well as a symbol for Mozism as a whole
The Master of Life is one form, one mind, and one being. However, Mozists still claim that the Master of Life can appear in many different forms and sometimes chooses to appear in seemingly contradictory ways. They simply state that you should not worship these forms and instead focus all attention on the singular supreme being. The concept of directly worshiping Manidoo or any supreme being is considered blasphemous in Midewiwin religion.
Today, the Master of Life is often (though not always) conflated with Manidoo and even the Christian God. But most religious scholars and philosophers do not consider the religion to be true monotheism because the Master of Life is not the only godly being, just the supremely powerful one and the only godly being that should be worshiped. Most would describe it as “singularism” to contrast “dualist” religions like zoroastrianism or monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
To the average worshipper, the differences between Mozism and Midewiwin religion were more practical. No human sacrifice was allowed. Animal sacrifice was only to be performed in extreme circumstances.
Many Mozists were pescetarians (meaning the only meat they ate was fish), ovo-vegetarians (meaning the only meat they ate was eggs) or even full blown vegetarians. This was a continuation of the Mozist emphasis on the sacredness of life. Nobles and priests were the most likely to have restricted diets, as the average peasant was too preoccupied with getting enough food to survive to worry about moral arguments.
Slavery was also restricted. A Mozist was not allowed to enslave another Mozist. They could, however, enslave non-Mozist people and a slave that converted would not be freed. The Shaanii Aadizookaan explains this rule, as with so many others, with a story. In this story a slave pretends to convert to Mozism in order to get out of labor and then returns to his old religion. The duplicitous slave does this three times and commits crimes against Mozists each time before Tenskwatawa declares that slaves that converted would not be freed. Some scholars suspect that this story is a fabrication and that this rule was only adopted later, during the conquest of the Wasioto Basin, but this is not universally agreed upon.
Many Mozists also tattooed the sun on their hands to symbolize the moment Tenskwatawa was illuminated by the sun. Once again, this was most popular with priests and nobles. Sun tattoos among peasants was fairly common, though they were generally less elaborate than those of the nobility and priests.
The most fundamental difference between Mozism and the other religions of Minisia during the late Classical Period was that Mozism is an evangelical religion. All previous religions in Minisia were ethnic or folk religions, similar to Judaism or Hinduism. This meant that only those of a particular ethnic group or area followed those religious beliefs and practices. Adherents of folk religions do not seek to convert others to their cause. Folk religions allow for a very wide range of acceptable practices and often (though not always) allow for their followers to be members of multiple religious groups simultaneously.
Mozism, by contrast, was a universalist and evangelical religion, similar to Christianity or Islam. This means that anyone can be a Mozist and religious adherents seek to convert people to Mozism. It held that there was a single universal truth that everyone should be told and convinced of. Doctrinal disputes had a right and wrong answer. It was exclusive, meaning you could not be Mozist and Midewiwin at the same time, at least according to Mozism. The rise of an evangelical religion had profound political and religious effects on the Mishigami and Ziibiing, not the least of which was the rise of the Shawnee Empire.
A new class of people also arose from the formation of this new religion. They were called
mashkikiiwi, which literally means “medicine person” but is usually translated as “monk”. Unlike priests, monks were not allowed to accumulate lands or property of any kind. They were not allowed to eat meat of any kind. They were not allowed to drink any kind of alcohol or caffeine tea. They were not allowed to marry or have sex. They forswore their clan connections when they became monks. They wore a thin, simple cloth, rarely washed. They were often seen begging for food on the street. Though most were men, women were also permitted to become monks. Monks were expected to be well educated on Mozism and to evangelize Mozism to others.
In reality, of course, the quality of monks could vary widely. Some monks followed every rule and lived chaste, solemn lives trying to convert others to Mozism. Some used the respected status of monks to seduce women and take advantage of the religious or naive.
Non-mozists often considered monks to be a little more than dirty hobos and a nuisance. They were frequently expelled from city-states whose official state religion was Midewiwin or other folk religions. These expulsions were often a catalyst for conflict with the Shawnee Empire. At other times, the Shawnee trumped up tales of the mistreatment of monks as an excuse to go to war.
Next week, we will discuss the early history of Mozcala and the Shawnee Empire.
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1] Generated using Bing Image Creator. At least this one had the right number of fingers.
Comments? Questions?
. Love the meta-joke, though I don't think the Commonwealth or so on would be butterflied away by the events of here. But then again, it is a fascinating reminder of how weird history would be.
