Mana

Mana is a traditional term and a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians and M?ori. It is an impersonal force or quality said to reside in people, animals and inanimate objects which provide an observer with a sense of wonder or respect. In anthropological discourse, mana as a generalized concept has attained a significant amount of interest; often understood as the precursor to genuine religion. It has commonly been interpreted as "the stuff of which magic is formed," although this view has been challenged by later researchers.

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Modern fantasy fiction, computer and role-playing games, has adopted mana as a term for magic points ? an expendable resource out of which magic users form their magical spells.

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Mana should not be confused with the Biblical manna (also spelled mana or mannah) which provided sustenance for the Israelites in Exodus.

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Oceanic languages: The Oceanic languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, conatining approximately 450 languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Micronesia, Polynesia and most of Melanesia....

Melanesia: Melanesia (from Greek "black islands") is a region extending from the west Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and north-east of Australia. The term was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from Polynesia and Micronesia. Today d...

Polynesia: Polynesia (from Greek, poly = many and nesos = island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....

Mana related Images and Photos (experimental)

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