Chapter 8 local king of nature

The discussion in the preceding chapters of this book bears witness to the fact that we see the combination of the priesthood and the title of king, such as the lord of the forest at Nemi, the priest-king at Rome, and what Athens called The supreme chief executive of the king also appeared frequently outside of ancient Greece and Rome, and it is a common feature of societies in all historical stages from barbaric society to civilized society.The noble priests were often kings not only in name but in fact, holding both royal and divine power.This all confirms the traditional view about the origin of full-time and priestly kings in republics such as ancient Greece and Italy.At least, by showing the fact that theocracy and political power did exist in many parts of the world (the ancient legends of ancient Greece and Rome preserve this historical fact), we remove the doubt that this tradition is impossible.We may therefore now fairly ask: Is it not possible that the king of the forest, as legend tells us, has the same origins as the priestly king of Rome and the titular king of Athens? In other words, his predecessor Was it possible that the kings were of the line of kings who, in the revolution of the republic, had been deprived of political power and left only religious functions and false crowns?There are at least two reasons for answering this question in the negative.One is inferred from the residence of the priest of Nemi, and the other is inferred from his title-King of the Forest.If the kings before him were kings in the usual sense, then he must be the king who was found living in cities.From him the kingship of the city descended, like the overthrown kings of Rome and Athens.The city must have been Aricia, for there was no other city near there.But Alicia was three miles away from his lakeside woods sanctuary.If he had ever ruled this area, then it was not in the city, but in this green forest.Besides his title, King of the Forest, it is difficult for us to imagine that he was once a king in the ordinary sense of the word.He may well be lord of nature, and of a particular aspect of nature, lord of the woods to which his title refers.If we can give examples, that is, of what we may call partial kings of nature, that is, kings who are supposed to rule over some particular power or aspect of nature, then they are more important than the divine ones we have considered before. Kings (mastering nature in general rather than in particular) are closer to the King of the Forest category.There are no shortage of such partial kings of nature.

There were similar deacons among the tribes on the frontier of Abyssinia.An observer once made such a description: "Balia and Kunama called him Alfa Priest. He is a very unusual figure. People believe that he can call wind and rain. In the past, among the Algiz people, there were such Deacon figures, which seem to be still common among the Negroes of Ruba. Alfa of the Balia, also worshiped by the Kunama people in the north, lives alone with his family in a On the mountain. People offered him clothes and fruit, and cultivated a large land for him. He was the king of kings, and his position was inherited from his nephew to his nephew. It was believed that he could rain rain and drive away locusts by magic. If he failed the people, the land Drought, the Alpha had to be stoned to death, and his next of kin had to stone him first. As we passed through the country, the Alpha was still held by an old man, But he has resigned the post upon hearing that the danger of the rains is too great for him."

In the remote forests of Cambodia lived two mysterious kings, one named Fire King and the other Water King, who were well-known far and wide in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula [that is, the Indochina Peninsula], and any information about them spread to the West immediately. .It is reported that until a few years ago, no European had seen the two kings of water and fire.Their existence would have been regarded as a myth of legend if they had not kept in touch with the King of Cambodia until recently.In fact, the king of Cambodia exchanged gifts with them every year. Their duties were purely spiritual or religious. They had no political power and were just simple farmers who lived by their hard work and the dedication of their believers.There is a report that they lived alone, never saw each other, and never saw the world.They live in seven towers on seven mountain peaks, and they change a tower every year.People quietly came to the place not far from where they lived and put down their daily necessities.The term of the throne is seven years.They must live in the seven towers continuously for a full term.Many died before the seven-year period expired.The positions of the two kings of water and fire are said to have been passed down from generation to generation within the two royal families.These two royal families enjoy high reverence and salaries, and are exempted from farming and labor.However, naturally, this kind of respect is not envied and pursued by everyone.When there is a vacancy for a certain throne, all qualified candidates (who must be healthy and have children) run away and hide.Another report conceded that the hereditary candidates were less inclined to take the throne, but disagreed with the suggestion that they were secluded in the Seven Towers.This latter report describes how, when these two mysterious kings appeared in the public, the people prostrated themselves before them, thinking that if this homage was not made, the whole country would immediately be hit by a storm.Like many other god-kings we shall discuss later, neither the water nor the fire kings had to die, because that would lower their reputation.If one of the two kings is sick, the elders will gather to discuss, and if they think that his illness cannot recover, they will stab him to death with a knife, cremate the body, and collect the ashes piously for the public to mourn for five years.In addition, part of his ashes were distributed to widows and kept in urns. Whenever he went to pay homage to his husband's grave, he had to carry the king's urn with him.

We also heard that among the two kings of water and fire, the king of fire is more authoritative.No one has ever doubted the supernatural powers of the Fire King.The fire king hosts weddings, festivals, and sacrifices to the gods (the locals call this god the nightmare god).On these occasions, a special seat is set up for him.Wherever he passed, white cloth was laid along the way.They also respected the Fire King's family in the same way.The reason is that the members of Fire King's family all have certain famous talismans (changed into records in writing), and if they are passed on to the family, they will disappear or become invalid.These talismans are of three kinds: the vine-fruit type--called "kui", which was obtained many generations ago, after the last flood in the time of Noah, and is still green and green; the rattan type--also very ancient. , It has not bloomed until now; swords - the sword body is guarded by ghosts or gods, so magical, it is said that it turned out to be the soul of a slave. When casting this sword, he mistakenly stained the blade with his own blood and committed suicide To atone for his unintentional mistake.The water god can use the first two talismans to attract floods to submerge the entire earth.As long as Vulcan pulls the sword out of the scabbard for a few inches, the sun will hide, and people and beasts will fall asleep; if he pulls most of the sword out of the scabbard, the world will face the end.This sword is tightly wrapped with cloth.People offer sacrifices such as buffaloes, piglets, and poultry to this magical treasure to pray for rain.The annual gift from the King of Cambodia includes many beautiful cloth and silk fabrics, which are specially used to wrap the sword of the amulet.

Contrary to the country's custom of burying the dead, the remains of the two mysterious kings were cremated, and their fingernails, teeth and some bones were kept as talismans of the gods.While his body was cremated on the pyre, his relatives fled to hide in the dense woods, fearful of being lifted up to the loathsome throne of dignity that had just been vacated.People searched for them everywhere, and the first relatives of the dead kings found were the kings of water or fire. The above is an example of what I call the king of partial nature.However, the cases from the deep forests of Cambodia and the banks of the Nile River may be too far away for Italy.Although kings such as the rain king, water king, and fire king have been found, we still have to find a forest king to match the Arician priest with this title. Such a king may be closer to the purpose of our research.