Navašihēna
Navašihēna (without conscience), also known as Navaşēna in Asuaneï, is a form of ecstatic dancing that is an integral part of Ēmandē. It is meant to induce a form of trance, enable the dancer to have visions and to keep them in this state.
The Navašihēna is often seen as one of the most intense elements of Baranxtuan Religion, and also one of its more mystical ones.
It should not be confused with the art of religious dance called Aoram Indalu, which probably has similar or even the same origin, but plays a different role in religion and Baranxtiman culture.
Contents
Terminology
The name Navašihēna is only the most common term used to refer to this dance; there are numerous other names for it, including Hē Āraþ (The Dance), Hefriẽ Hamēxandutu (the Language of the Soul) and Draimanu (The Breaking).
Those who perform the Navašihēna are usually called ārattanī indalī (divine dancer).
History
The Navašihēna is one of the oldest still existing rituals of Baranxtuan Religion; references to it date back to the very first texts about the ancestor faith.
Although no exact descriptions of the form of the ritual back then were recorded, it is generally assumed that the Navašihēna has changed little both in execution and purpose - one of the few elements to remain relatively the same since antiquity.
The major known changes concerned its role in society. Up until the 4th century BCE, it was a public affair in the individual villages, not overseen by any officials. This changed when Mηlηan Religion became more organized, and its traditional structures - again, based in one community - were shattered. State-appointed cleric started to interfere with these public ceremonies, and turned them into private affairs conducted in temples, not on a village's market square.
The situation changed substantially again between the 5th and 7th century CE, when the Ilatemaian Empire fell apart, and the centralized state religion with it.
Subsequently, the Navašihēna became an affair of the common people again, but it did not turn into a public one again. Instead, it remained a relatively obscure procedure, establishing an aura of the occult that persists until today.
Among the Baranxitunis following more closely the organized part of their religion, the Navašihēna plays only a marginal role; as a matter of fact, many of these Baranxitunis have never even heard of the Navašihēna, or at least know only very little of this ritual. The Baranxituni clergy has repeatedly distanced themselves from the Navašihēna, calling it an obsolete remnant of gone times and even a danger to the public.
On the other hand, those who follow the non-organized, more indivudalistic version of the religion, put much more emphasis on the Navašihēna and see it as one of the central aspects of their religion. This does not mean, however, that it is a common practice. Due to its intense, straining nature, the Navašihēna is also a rare ritual among this part of Baranxitunis.
In movies and books, the Navašihēna has long been used to depict life in antiquity. Additionally, in recent times, it also came to be frequently used in Baranxtuan horror movies when the invocation demonic forces, possession or simply an eery atmosphere is needed. This move in particular has been criticized be practitioners of the Navašihēna, as the ritual depicted is highly stereotyped and not very accurate.
