Mana is a traditional term and a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians and Micronesians. 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", as well as the substance in which souls are made of.

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

Mana should not be confused with the Biblical manna (also spelled mana or mannah) which, according to the Bible (Exodus, chapter 16), provided sustenance for the Israelites. However, some believe its mystical definition can also serve as an alternative interpretation for the substance described in Exodus.

Mana in Oceanic culture

---

The concept is important in Polynesian religion and its modern use is a result of the popularization of the concept by anthropology and, to a great extent, by certain varieties of fantasy fiction. In Polynesian culture (for example, Hawaiian and Māori) mana is analogous to respect but it combines elements of respect, authority, power and prestige.

To have mana is to have influence and authority. This property is not limited to persons—peoples, governments, places and inanimate objects can possess mana. In Hawaiian mana loa means great power or almighty.

Mana in Melanesian culture

---

Melanesian mana is thought to be a sacred impersonal force existing in the universe. Mana can be in people, animals, plants and objects. Similar to the idea of efficacy, or sometimes better known as luck, the Melanesians thought all success was traced back to mana. One could acquire or manipulate this luck in different ways (for example through magic). Certain objects that have mana can change a person’s luck. Examples of such objects would be charms or amulets. For instance if a very prosperous hunter used a charm that had mana and he gave it to another person then people believed that the prosperous hunter’s luck would transfer to the next holder of the charm.

Universal archetype

---

The concept of mana has been in various other cultures the power of magic. However, it was not the only principle and others included the concept of sympathetic magic and of seeking the intervention of a specific supernatural being, whether deity, saint or deceased ancestor.

The magic of mana was embedded into all talismans and fetishes, whether devoted to ancient Gods, Roman Catholic saint relics, the spirits of the ancestors or the underlying element that makes up the universe and all life within it. The concept of mana has been used in various cultures to justify human sacrifices because the living-force or blood of sacrificial victims might contain supernatural powers whose offering would please a deity.

Similar cultural concepts

The concept of a life-energy inherent in all living beings seems to be a fairly universal archetype, and appears in numerous ancient religions and systems of metaphysics (in addition to having been borrowed by George Lucas's science-fiction films).

Analogies to mana in other societies include:

• Roman mythology : numina
• Algonquian-Wakashan mythology : manito
• Australian Aboriginal mythology : maban
• Egyptian mythology : ka
• Greek mythology : ichor
• Inuit mythology : inua, sila
• Leni Lenape mythology : manetuwak
• Norse mythology : seid
• Salish-Kootenai mythology : sumesh
• Yoruba mythology : oloddumare
• Yoga : Kundalini

Also related are the philosophical concepts of:

• Chinese Philisophy : qi (or chi), Tao
• Japanese philosophy : ki
• European alchemy and philosophy : aether, (or ether), quintessence
• Hindu philosophy : prana

Mana in anthropological discourse

---

Mana came to the attention of the anthropological community with the English missionary Robert Henry Codrington's (1830-1922) work The Melanesians (1891). It has since been discussed by anthropologists such as Emile Durkheim (1912), Marcel Mauss (1924), Claude Lévi-Strauss (1950) and Roger Keesing (1984).

Mana in fantasy

---

Fantasy writer Larry Niven in his 1978 novella, The Magic Goes Away, describes "mana" as a natural resource which is used or channeled by wizards to cast magic spells. Mana is a limited resource in Niven's work, a fact which eventually will lead to the end of all magic in his antediluvian fantasy setting when all mana is depleted.

Many subsequent fantasy settings (role-playing games in particular) have followed Niven in his use of mana. One of the first computer games to adopt mana as a term for magic points was the god game Populous (1989), where mana is the resource used by gods (such as the player) to make divine interventions. The regeneration rate of mana in this setting is proportional to the god's number of followers. Other later games to include mana as a source of magical power include Secret of Mana (Squaresoft), World of Warcraft (Blizzard), LostMagic (Ubisoft), and Diablo (Blizzard) as well as their sequels. Mana is also a key resource in the card game The Gathering.

The article about magic points lists more games, and examples of the use of mana in games.

References

---

• Codrington, Robert Henry. 1891. The Melanesians.
  • Relevant excerpt (PDF).
• Keesing, Roger. 1984. Rethinking mana. Journal of Anthropological Research 40:137-156.
• Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1950. Introduction à l'œuvre de Marcel Mauss.
• Lévi-Strauss, Claude; Baker, Felicity (translator). 1987. Introduction to the Work of Marcel Mauss. ISBN 0415151589
• Mauss, Marcel. 1924.

Hawaiian mythology | Māori mythology

Polynesian mythology (multi-region) | Mana (Ethnologie) | Mana | Mana (religia polinezyjska) | Mana