Gridania and "outsiders"

[RolandDebreton]

/sigh, this misunderstanding again...

A few months back, heavens it may have been a year ago, a role player was opining about the failings of Gridania its religion and the bigotry, falsity and evils of Gridania. I wrote her a length response. Rather than link the thread I'll just modify it to this discussion and reiterate what I said before:

I have always found it amusing that Gridania is targetted by many player/commentators as being the most insular and xenophobic of states. Specialized adventurer divisions exist for each of the city stats in their military/social divisions, but Limsa Lominsa calls their out as the 'Foreign Levy,' along with the Privateers (pirates, fishing boats etc) and Ul'dah refers to theirs as the 'Foreign Brigades,' along with the very looked-down upon, Ala Mhigans. Only the Gridanian divisions place the Yellow Serpents (formed strictly of adventurers) along with all the other military divisions of the Twin Adders. Couple that with the fact that they are honored with the very animal symbolic of the city-state and you have a very welcoming imagery for outsiders.

There are a number of average citizens in Gridania that can be overheard feeling animus toward outsiders, there are soldiers in the Adders that could just as soon do without another adventurer. Then, one could also say that there are racists and xenophobic individuals in nearly every group in our own world and their shortcomings do not serve to identify the larger group.

The Elementals

Then, there are the Elementals. I think they are more realistic and primeval than you give them credit for. They represent the will of nature as it were. It is a system designed to protect itself so naturally it will be picky about who it chooses to interact with. If nature was given a measure of sentience and was allowed to manifest in power it would to my thinking be very like what has been imagined in the Elementals.

Humans are in their essence very similar. We in our existence have had a measure of social evolution that has made us defensive toward outsiders while defensive of those that belong to us, call it tribal nature, pack order or whatever you wish. This is the nadir of social order and was necessary for our survival throughout most of our existence.

This existence is humorously examined in The Croods recently, the father figure, seeing much of his species dying off became very cautious and insulated his family from danger and outsiders. It was seen as necessary measures for survival.

According to Papylamo, based on Sharlayan teaching, all of nature has a measure of Elemental sentience. This is concentrated most heavily in, as some others have pointed out, one of the most naturally dense places on Eorzea, the Twelveswood. What would any life do, but follow its most basic instinct to protect itself? Elementals are instinct incarnate.

Spoken in the Twelveswood

I would examine the system of Gridania and the surrounding settlements related to it, as being a modified symbiotic relationship. The forest saw benefit in interacting with the Moogles. What that was, I have no idea, and doubt we'll ever be able to examine it from a story point of view. However, they formed a very basic tribal relationship.

The Moogles saw the attempts of the Elezen, the Ixal, the Hyur and then all of the remaining immigrations to live in the forest, and saw the forest rebuff them. It was a very good response, left unchecked Spoken tend to be rather destructive. The Moogles went and served as a mediator to allow interaction of the early Elezen and subsequent Hyur settlers, and demonstrated to the Wood how they too could be part of the tribe. This is the lore, a system of truth, falsity, myth, legend, speculation etc. This is what it told us about this early symbiosis. Using verbiage like 'propaganda' to describe this system of lore is a bit disingenuous, it’s the system of knowledge that we have to work with.

We have also been told that, of the Five Races, Elezen settled the forests of Eorzea first. Relative to time 5000 to 1400 years ago Miqo'te began their migration into Eorzea proper. Human migration and settlement began in earnest some 500 years prior to our present time. I'm confident at this point that SE has done some redaction and revamping to the storyline. In my opinion, the Twin Adders concept of Elezen/Hyur communal building isn't what the initial 1.0 lore was hinting to, however history is being rewritten and relative to our characters, that in the new reality. Gridiania is 500 years old or so by this estimation, and was largely the product of Elezen and Hyur. This does not diminish the roles of others such as the Miqo'te and Lalafell (and the comparatively small number of Roegadyn) that have moved in and helped to populate the region since. It is however, the reality of the situation.

Since someone brought up the Duskwrights, I'd say specifically given the ability to come out of the caves of Gelmorra with the other Elezen and make pacts and peace with the Elementals, they chose as a people to continue outside this system in the Shroud. It would be very natural as people to treat those that spurn peace and unity as outsiders and eventually to develop negative feelings and hostility toward them.

Elemental Religion

I like that they captured the essence of nature/religion symbiosis in much the same way that we would speak were this real, with a religious tone. There are prescribed rituals of dance, and offering. There are festivals to please them, methods to appease them, rites to evoke them, rules to avoid their wrath. I stood in Old Mih Khetto's Amphitheater, before the Calamity, wearing a mask fitted with a jewel and the prescribed rituals and I danced there to receive remission of my Greenwrath, not that anyone remembers. There is definitely a religious quality to the experience of interacting with the Elementals.

The people of Gridania are syncretistic-polytheists, however. There is room in their philosophy for Hydaelyn to be the Mother of the World, for the Matron to be their patron, guide and support, and for the preservation and the honoring of the Will of the Elementals, apparently given the wood by Nophica, or so I've been told.

Interestingly, Hydaelyn is allowing us to reside in Her world, The Twelve are letting the Five reside in their Land, and the Elementals allow the Gridanians to reside in their Wood. These syncretistic, symbiotic, and covenantal relationships are a repeated theme: I'll let you live here, but I expect this. Its very old school theology, the basic covenant.

Looking at it in a New Light

I will say, after logging a lot of quests in Gridania, both before and after the Calamity, that only the most ignorant of Gridanians sees the Elementals in terms of true godhood style divinity. I think they have a deep, almost religious respect, and they clearly revere and fear their power. However, I do not think they believe they are gods in the classical Western sense that many of us would understand the Twelve to be.

Its difficult for some Westerners to split these theological hairs, but in Eastern religious concepts spirits are everywhere, and they are seen in this religious light: Worthy of respect, reverence, honor, ritual. They are not omnipotent world shaping luminaries of our pantheons. Nothing like the Egyptian Ennead or Ogdoad, nor warrior divines forging reality from nothingness like the Aesir, nor divine children shaping reality from chaos like the Olympians, and are certainly not like Semitic or Arabic representations of supreme divinity. Gridanian Elementals are spirits in a very Eastern way, and the customs that form around them will be very similar.

The Padjal are not the priests of the West, they have far more in keeping with a priest of the East. The Elementals are not gods or divines, but spirits seeking to protect their own. Look at these things that way and you'll likely understand Gridania a good deal better.

If you understand Japanese culture and history and how it works, see your Keeper in light of being a second or third generation European, after having made first contact with Japan. It took quite a while for the insular thinking to give way to syncretism but it happened. Japan has since learned to radically love and include a great many Western concepts. In much the same way Fufucha is a vital part of the life and society of Gridania, as is a certain young Miqo'te lass in the archer's guild.

An Example in Closing

Pawah Mujuuk, a poacher from the story seen as an outsider and hunted for their abuse of this system is a perfect example. They not included in Gridanian society. They are a poacher and a thief. Lets look at it another way. The Dutch move into a region of Japan in the early parts of the Edo era and start attacking the priests of a Shinto temple who are trying to keep them from poaching their livestock, and destroying their fields. The locals would likely hire and send ronin and members of the military would be sent as well. Gridania hires adventurers and sends the Wailers and the Quivers.

For me, looking at Gridania not from the gabbing and gossip of a few smallfolk, but from getting to know the people in charge changed my mind on a great many things. Also, viewing it from an Eastern standpoint gave me a huge, "Ah ha!" moment, and made me love the land even more.