Q:
I look forward to hearing more about the chinese-javanese archetypes/ deities/ heroes and practices as you find out about them. finding frameworks seems crucial to making sense of our world(s)
A:
The pre-muslim Javanes deities came from India, even nowadays the stories of Mahabharat and Ramayan are still enacted in theaters (shadowplay, puppets and actors).
Mysticism is an important part of ‘being Javanese’ (kejawen).
Several puppets crossed my path and entered my house, giving me a focus to reconnect to my unnamed javanese female ancestors.
Gatotkaca, son of Bhima, was the paragon of the young republic of Indonesia!
The pre-communist Chinese deities are still honoured by southern chinese in diaspora.
I grew up with the stories of the Three Kingdoms, Loyal GuanYu and Compassionate GuanYin are my most favored deities of this tradition.
I consider the statues of the deities acting as a focus, a channel, a gate, a connection-point between the ordinary reality and the otherworld.
Any visible manifestation of the Unseen in our world is a Mask, a Persona, a translation of the Unmentionable into frameworks we can understand.
Dreamquest 