Our Mother, who art in Burzee, Lurline be thy name

[vovat]

Since fellow Oz fans Jared and Douglas have both addressed the issue of religion in Oz, I might as well offer my own take on the subject. Not surprisingly, the Oz books tend to be quiet on the subject of religion, but they never specifically say there isn't any, either. Since death is somewhere between very rare and totally non-existent (depending on which book you're reading), the afterlife probably isn't of much concern to Ozites, but other aspects of religion might be. Mythology certainly seems to be alive there, the only difference being that we're told in the authorial voice that this mythology is (at least for the most part) true. But does everyone know that? Sure, Ozma and Glinda have met Lurline, but I doubt the same is the case for Jo Schmo of Oogaboo (famous for his schmo trees). Someone in Oz might well come upon a minor fairy, or perhaps run into Polychrome on one of her visits to Earth, but Lurline and Ak are most likely not personal acquaintances of most Ozites.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus gives the most details on the beings behind the running of L. Frank Baum's fantasy universe, and the impression given is that they have no desire to be worshipped, or even acknowledged by mankind. But does that necessarily mean they aren't? I mean, if you were a farmer (and that seems to be the most common profession in Oz) who had learned that there was a fairy in charge of the world's rain, might you not thank him for allowing your crops to grow, or call for his attention when it hasn't been raining? Whether this would actually affect the Rain King's activities is more or less unimportant in this situation.

While I believe the only place of worship mentioned in Baum's Oz books is the china church in the first story, Ruth Plumly Thompson makes several references to churches, christenings, Christmas, and Christendom. Does this mean that Christianity has taken hold in Oz, or are these perhaps rough translations of more Oz-specific terms? Maybe, for instance, an Ozian "christening" is actually a dedication of a new baby to Lurline? I'll say more about the Ozish language later (possibly next week), but the general impression given is that English is now the common language of Oz, but it wasn't always. Then again, maybe it was missionaries who brought English to Oz in the first place, and they also introduced Christianity. Mind you, even if Christianity IS a significant religion in Oz, it's almost certainly quite different from any denomination in the Great Outside World. But considering how many different nature fairies we see in the books, I have to wonder if a pagan religion is more likely. Or maybe religion just never really caught on in Oz. Who knows? Gregory Maguire's books have a monotheistic religion called Unionism becoming mainstream in place of ancient Lurlinism, but I see this as yet another way in which Maguire seeks to make his books different from the originals.

Comments

[newwwoz.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

I was wondering, what if Baum saw religion as part of civilization? Then maybe when the Good Witch of the North explains to Dorothy that "the Land of Oz has never been civilized and we still have witches and wizards amongst us" (sic). Seeing as the Christian Bible speaks very sternly against witchcraft...

(Bit of a disclaimer, my book-Oz is strictly from Baum, so I don't take Thompson's into account. Nothing against those who do, I just don't.)

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

since I grew up on Baum and didn't know any other Oz writers existed until I was in my twenties, I'm with you on sticking stricly with the first Fourteen. Not that I don't like the other books, but the originals are what I'm familiar with.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Thompson's Cowardly Lion was actually the fourth Oz book I ever read, so I was more willing to accept her works than people who didn't grow up with them seem to be.

Incidentally, in Handy Mandy, one of the villain's agents disguises himself as a monk with a shaved head who speaks a foreign language. In order for the disguise to be effective, such people would presumably have to actually exist in Oz.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Hm ... monks from the outside world -- or at least a cut-off section of Oz -- wandering around in Oz ....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I was wondering, what if Baum saw religion as part of civilization?

Could be, but there are plenty of societies that we wouldn't necessarily call civilized, but have religious beliefs.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Jeez, sex, religion and politics -- you've got all the controversial Oz subjects covered!

Thompson was, I suppose, a product of her upbringing. I'd just as soon assume there's no religion *or* politics in Oz, although I'm up for a little sex.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, as long as there's government (which we all know there is), there would have to be SOME kind of politics, right?

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Ah, but it's a fairyland! ;-)

Sure there's politics. There was even an election, although I still haven't read that book, yet. And if the Winkies wanted the Tinman as their ruler, wouldn't there have had to be a way to confirm they really did want them? Jinjur's revolution was a form of politics too, I'd think.

Maybe I'll put all three of the touchy subjects in my book, just to see how many traditionalists I can piss off ...

[vovat.livejournal.com]

The ozlection in Wonder City was an element added to Neill's original plot by an editor at Reilly & Lee. While that's the only democratic-style election we see (and even it's not really democratic, as you'll see if you read the book), there are cases where the people of a community are asked to choose a ruler, which is probably done rather informally.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

That's really an argument for Oz being a much smaller country than many people have suggested; only in fairly small and simply organized nations can leadership be chosen that informally.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, it's usually only in small communities that we see this happening. The main exception is the Tin Woodman, and I think it's quite possible that the informal offer to rule that he received from the castle staff was a precursor to a more complex election process.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Nobody here in Albion gives a second thought to parties or any kind of politicking when we choose our Council members; we know each other personally too much for that kind of thing to matter. I think Oz is a bit too large for that, but if most people are as happy as the books make it seem, they won't be likely to press the issue of having an election at all. I can imagine Oz being a place where nobody bothers with elections unless a citizen petitions for one -- although of course some of the citizens of Oz can be a bit testy! Maybe they need to collect a certain number of signatures, before they can petition.

Or maybe we're just thinking of this in a far too "civilized world" kind of way.