Mano (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Mano, Manno, Aske or Manna, the Sami
mythology god of the Moon. In Sami mythology Mano is a female deity. Mano personified the Moon
. The Sami world view was animistic by nature, with shamanistic features. Important places had their divinities. Every force of nature had its so called god and sources of livelihood were guarded by beings in spiritual world which could be persuaded to be more favourable. Like other natural
-deities, Mano was quite unpredictable and dangerous. She was worship
ped in the time
about new moon
, especially in the Christmas season, and during that period it was taboo
to make any kind of noise
.
Christian missionaries and priests normally didn't understand these Sami concepts, but regarded them as satanic or polytheistic. Sami people were converted to Christianity by force and shamanic practices were forbidden. Sami spirituality brought unearthliness; the spirit world to the Sami. The shaman was intermediary between our world and the spirit world. Some Sami shamans had a Noaide drum and there have been at least a drum with the Mano Moon symbol discovered. Severe violations have been commitet by Church in the past. There are Sami people who have wished to return to the Sami shamanistic religion. It has been compared to neo-shamanism or neo-paganism, but the Sami shamanistic religion does not necessarily have to be polytheistic.
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
mythology god of the Moon. In Sami mythology Mano is a female deity. Mano personified the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. The Sami world view was animistic by nature, with shamanistic features. Important places had their divinities. Every force of nature had its so called god and sources of livelihood were guarded by beings in spiritual world which could be persuaded to be more favourable. Like other natural
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
-deities, Mano was quite unpredictable and dangerous. She was worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
ped in the time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
about new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...
, especially in the Christmas season, and during that period it was taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
to make any kind of noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
.
Christian missionaries and priests normally didn't understand these Sami concepts, but regarded them as satanic or polytheistic. Sami people were converted to Christianity by force and shamanic practices were forbidden. Sami spirituality brought unearthliness; the spirit world to the Sami. The shaman was intermediary between our world and the spirit world. Some Sami shamans had a Noaide drum and there have been at least a drum with the Mano Moon symbol discovered. Severe violations have been commitet by Church in the past. There are Sami people who have wished to return to the Sami shamanistic religion. It has been compared to neo-shamanism or neo-paganism, but the Sami shamanistic religion does not necessarily have to be polytheistic.