Firefly and Religion, Part Three (Final) by zoid

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Firefly and Religion, Part Three (Final)

POSTED BY: ZOID
UPDATED: Saturday, May 22, 2004 21:27
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Thursday, April 1, 2004 4:52 PM

Part Three

To continue...

The last aspect of the religion of Firefly I'll explore regards the character of Inara.
While the overt religious beliefs of the crew of Serenity and her passengers
appears to be Christian, to the extent observation provides us with any shred
of evidence, Inara's beliefs appear to be divergent from the others. I'll explore
what I think that belief system may consist of, then get way out on a limb by
discussing what I feel she symbolizes... And I promise I'll saw the limb off with
my conclusion.

In a previously mentioned scene, Inara is absent from the supper in "Serenity"
wherein Book asks permission to say grace and is denied by Mal. All the
other crew and passengers -- to include the mole and Dr. Tam -- bow their
heads in silent prayer, except Mal who continues to eat. Inara, however, is
in her shuttle bathing enchantingly, when Shepherd Book calls to offer her
a plate of food. As a consequence, we do not
observe her prayer ceremony, nor any
differences that may exist between her meditations and those of the others.

So, does Inara have a religious faith? There are several mentions that the
Companion's Guild has a temple, and in "Heart of Gold" Nandi relates that
Inara was on course to become "House Priestess". While the show's
predominantly Sino-Asian influences may be extrapolated into a Shinto or
Buddhist belief system, the descriptions of the power wielded by Companions
recalled to my mind a sci-fi novel I had read some years ago. (Maybe Piers Anthony's
Incarnations of Immortality series?.) The main
action takes place in ancient Mesopotamia, wherein the chief cultural and political power
revolves around priestess prostitutes in their
ziggurats. It is an enticing idea that Inara
may literally be a Whore of Babylon.

There's lots on the Internet regarding Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian
religious beliefs and their connections with modern religions and history. One
site suggests that Cleopatra was the last High Priestess of an ancient
Babylonian religion. Unfortunately, lots of these are unreliable(?) or otherwise
unpalatable. Here's an excerpt from one:

"Take the word 'high priestess', the mystic sorceress who served the gods and
the community in Mesopotamia, for example. The term high priestess has no
meaning within the established fundamentalist religions of present times, and
is full of negative undertones in Christianity, Judaism and Islamism. A high
priestess in Mesopotamia was a woman of secular and spiritual authority equal
to the monarch, with unquestionable scholarship, the administrator of huge
temple complexes which catered for the needs in all levels of the community.
She could be the king's consort, but not necessarily the queen herself,
because a high priestess stood as her own person first and foremost, and not
as a subservient appendix to any other secular authority."
(From http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/)

Sounds quite a bit like the Companion culture, doesn't it?

On a related note, I have also read texts similar to ones found at:
http://www.magdalene.org/strange_fate.htm which describe Mary Magdalene
not as a converted prostitute but as a high priestess of Judaism, and most
trusted confidant (even wife) of Jesus. I am not Gnostic, but a search on
"Magdalene" will return a wealth of differing viewpoints on the most famous
"Prostitute" in Christian lore. This information, along with the role of temple
prostitutes of Mesopotamian culture and 'black priestesses' of [ancient] Judaism, offers
a tantalizing glimpse of what Inara's religious system may be.
[NB: I think she's fled the House because she's
lost faith in her belief/occupational system.
This makes her the third apostate]

So, there's the limb I'm on, and now ladies and gents, please notice that in my
hand I hold a plain, garden-variety hand saw, which a feller might purchase
down to the local five-and-dime. Drum roll, please...

I think all of Firefly's religious undertones stem not from happenstance through
the interaction of characters, but on purpose as part of Whedon's genius.
That includes Inara's priestess/whore duality and her benediction of Shepherd
Book; the Companions' power in society; and the Mary Magdalene symbolism.
While I expect there would never be an overt portrayal of such religious
symbolism within the movie or the Upcoming Return to Series Television
(keeping fingers crossed), I've had just enough English Lit to be dangerous,
and to believe that the underlying religious symbolism in Firefly is definitely
intentional and integral to the larger story arc.

Respectfully,

zoid, (as he makes the last cut and, yeeeaaaaahhh!!! Thud!)

[Ow...]

"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."

- Senator Richard Wilkins, Independent Congress
from, A Child Shall Lead Them

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Thursday, April 1, 2004 11:52 PM

CALDEEN

Inara has faith. From the train job from when she and Book were talking in the galley. Book said "I want to help, well not with the thieving but I do feel awfully useless. Inara suggested that Book pray that they make it back safely. Book "I don't think the captain would much like for me to pray for him." Inara says, "Don't tell him. I never do."

Now this says nothing about what religion she follows, but does mean she belives.

I am not worried about the bullet with my name on it. Just the thousands marked "Occupant".

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Friday, April 2, 2004 7:16 AM

ZOID

Caldeen,

Yeah, and that's actually one of my favorite scenes from the show. ...umm, come to think of it, pretty much any scene with Morena in it. Her beauty defies crude tools like words; but, how about exquisite, heart-rending, mesmerizing? I hope I'm still alive when she gets to be about thirty-five... And forty-five... And...

What was the subject again? Oh, yeah, Inara's prayers for Mal. You're right, she's got faith in some unknown 'higher power'. We just don't have many clues about the Companion's Guild. Is their veiled use of terms like "temple" and "priestess" indicative of a true religious foundation, or are these merely ceremonial as in present-day Shriners and Masons, et al?

I think the Guild is based on 'actual' (fictional) religion, and that religion is not Christianity. Christianity and its parent, Judaism, have bans on prostitution and that ban is still in force in Firefly's day. Book is visibly disturbed when he discovers that the ambassador is actually a Companion. Then he amicably tells Inara he's got several sermons prepped on hell-fire, damnation and lepers.

This may be one aspect of why Inara's falling out with her profession/religion. If she's feeling a tug of Christian conscience, if the higher power she's praying to is a Judeo-Christian-Islamic Jahweh/Allah, then that breach of faith may be undermining her entire worldview.

Unfortunately, we don't have enough evidence to make any decisive conclusions. Joss played it pretty close to the vest in season one, and FOX (pronounced with a soft 'u' sound) pulled the series before we could get more evidence. Blind bastards!

As for myself and most folks I've discussed it with, the idea of legalized (religiously sanctioned?) prostitution, and the kind of power they hold over the entire culture was always one of the big non-sequiturs of the Firefly story.

Can you imagine being a wealthy industrialist on a Core world? Playing golf (whatever), lazing around the club, conducting shady insider (M. Stewart) deals with your cronies... Then you get blacklisted by The Guild... That could ruin your entire family and anyone who chose to stick around to defend you. I wouldn't be in Atherton Wing's shoes for all the food rations in the 'verse.

The fact that the Guild is so mysterious -- at least to us, at this point -- and so powerful, I believe indicates that at some point in the future Joss was going to make some elaborate point about faith and religion. That's also why I think the Guild may be Sumerian/Babylonian: Chosing a dead religion to pick on instead of one still in use today, may not be just tactful, but the only correct way to phrase such a question of morality.

Respectfully,

zoid

_________________________________________________

"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."

- Senator Richard 'Book' Wilkins, Independent Congress
from A Child Shall Lead Them

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Friday, April 2, 2004 8:33 AM

DEBBIEBUK1

I'm not great on religious stuff, but I had a feeling that wearing white to funerals was a Shinto thing? Chinese-y anyway, sure there's enough people out there who know better. So in HoG that's a clue. Also the idea of sex not being anything to be ashamed of (HoG again) and an important part of life to be celebrated maybe suggests some of the ideas behind some of the Indian temple decorations which I think are Hindu. I'll have to watch the funeral again to pick up on more details, but the Geisha thing seems relevant, independent women who could run their own businesses at a time when both men and women were slaves in some places and power often rested with the strongest.

Still no idea what Inara's problem was but I personally don't think it was religion, she seemed to have a fear of depending on anyone.

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Friday, April 2, 2004 9:13 AM

ASTRIANA

I definitely believe that Inara's spiritual leanings are decidedly non Judeo-Christian, and more Asian in nature. Here's why:

In Serenity, she tells her client that she was born on Sihnon - which we've been told is center of Chinese culture/power/influence in the Sino-American Alliance (the way Londinium is the center of American/Anglo culture/power/influence).

In Heart of Gold, Nandi mentions that Inara could have been House Priestess on Sihnon. Proof that Inara lived/worked there for a significant period. Possible allusion to having been initially trained there as well. (Why go to another planet for training, when the one you're born on is at the core of the power structure you'd tap for clients?)

In Our Mrs. Reynolds, when Inara exclaims in relief that Mal is unhurt she doesn't say "Thank God" or any such, she specifically thanks Buddha. (Renci de Fozu = Merciful Buddha)

More from Heart of Gold: She wears white to Nandi's funeral. White is the color the Chinese (and other Asian cultures) associate with mourning.

In general over several episodes, she expresses a lack of embarrassment/shame about her body (she covers herself more for Book than anything in Serenity), and in HoG specifically mentions not being puritanical about sex. This in and of itself does not suggest her spiritual predilection; however, when taken with terminology of "House Priestess" and "temple" used in conjunction with Companioning (yes, I'm using it as a verb

) in Trash and Heart of Gold, and the fact that this same region of Earth-That-Was (Is?) was (is?) home to many god/desses whose primary attributes have to do with finding/celebrating the divine in "sex magick" (for lack of a better term), it is reasonable to assume that Inara's spirituality is based in this concept.

(An aside for those who have questioned the similarity of being a Companion to being a geisha on Earth-That-Was: I have done some research on geisha and their roles, and while their primary function was to keep company/entertain their clients and sex was not normally part of that arrangement, if they should find a particular benefactor, contracts were agreed to that did include sexual entertainment as well. The terms and prices for such a benefactor, called a danna, were much different than those for another client, and engagements for which the danna requested the geisha's presence took precedent over any other.)

My $1.50 (not inflation, just long-windedness

)...

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

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Friday, April 2, 2004 9:50 AM

PEDME84

you see this is why i love these boards. i get to talk about these things that no one else i know wants to listen to

i'm pretty sure the companion stuff is mostly rooted in geishas and sacred shinto concubines and that sort of thing. the shinto concubine stuff didn't stop when buddhism started taking over either. unfortunately, i don't much about chinese mythology and religion pre buddhism and confucious. but the tea ceremony and stuff like that is all familiar.

cool factoid: the word "whore" comes from a word for "hour" because it used to be (in the fertile crescent region)that women used to have to serve a certain amount of hours in the temple as a sacred concubine. i don't know to who, probably baal or someone like that. that would explain how "whore" becomes a dirty word from a christian perspective

i think their whole idea is that EVERYTHING is meshing together, with christianity and chinese being the two most dominant forces. if you're a perrenialist, you think that all religions have a common source/inspiration/ect. maybe in the firefly universe, everyone recognizes that common oneness so all the traditions get all jostled.

now, i'm not really sure how much the religions of firefly have been thought out. names like "osiris" and "persephone" are not to me evidence of someone who has spent much time studying myths and religions. (i kinda spend a lot of time on these things). i read several years ago that joss had not read Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, and that's about as exoteric and essential as you get when it comes to comparative mythology; a helpful subject to be familiar with when creatively meshing different faiths. it has been a long time since then, maybe joss has found a new hobby.

i do think someone on the firefly writing staff does have a good working knowledge of this stuff. there were a couple of planet names that impressed me. i can't remember what they were, i want to say Bellona, but i know that's not it.

ooo, if i have time, i'll post about the sinon story :-)

so yeah, i have been on the edge of my seat waiting to see how the whole faith theme turns out. who knows if they even developed it to completion while they were writing the show? but to be simultaneously a myth/religion/folklore nerd and a nerd who wants to be just like joss whedon when she grows up [figure of speech, though. i'm 23 now and still on the civilian side of the writing profession forcefield.] seeing these themes pop up in firefly have been soooooo beyond exciting. ack, how much longer 'til the movie?

- emily

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 2:57 AM

LUPINADDAMS

Interesting speculation by all - though I would take some issue with the idea that Inara's experiencing any kind of Christian 'crisis of conscience' due to the utter lack of evidence thereof.

I do see in her a direct lineage from the idea of 'Sacred prostitution' as shown in various cultures. To me there also appear to be elements of Hindu Tantra and Taoist-Buddhist sexual alchemy in her work.
The idea behind sexual alchemy is the use of sexual practice, in particular the *Ch'i* or life force summoned during orgasm, as a means of enhancing consciousness and advancing spiritual evolution.
(This, if so, would pretty much make her conversion to Christianity improbable to say the least, as that belief system places *all forms of non-reproductive sex to be utterly taboo* - specifically homosexuality, masturbation and sex during menstruation. This is possibly due to their use in such 'pagan' sexual praxis as I mention here.)
There is a sense that as much as the primary reason for contracting a Companion is sexual, there is also an element of spiritual instruction to the experience - certainly we often see Inara guide her clients' paths in many ways, perhaps notably in 'Shindig' with Fess Higgins - turning his fathers' embarassing notion of "buying a whore to pop his sons' cherry" into a spiritually enriching rite of passage.

For me, two scenes that speak strongly to this idea of Companion as Priestess/Sex-alchemist are in 'Serenity';
The scene with the young boy client, where he makes the little wisecrack about 'some special technique to make the time go faster'... having sex with an experienced practitioner of sexual alchemy does have a knack of doing very odd things to ones' sense of passing time!
and,
Her beautiful 'benediction' scene with Book towards the end - which to me shows, rather than her feeling spiritually inferior to Books' faith, show her in a position of blessing *him* - even though Book is celibate, he clearly is sensitive to her ch'i and possibly her status as a priestess of her own path.
(Interesting to note that, whatever other repressive sins the Alliance has committed, they've ended up with a culture in which a sexual priestess and a Christian 'Shepherd' have roughly the same social status and in which bisexuality and homosex are not seen to be unacceptable - as witness the various reactions to Inara and the Ambassador in 'War Stories'.)

Personally I think the balance between her and Book is a lovely one - his gentle, almost Quaker-like approach to Christianity and her equally (and unsurprisingly!) Yin-style tantra (mixing systems and metaphors here, but that happens a lot in this field!!) showing the best of both belief systems.

(Of course it is mentioned that in many ways Inara is a *failed* priestess, especially the reference to her past by Nandy in 'Heart of Gold', but I suspect that whatever secret made her leave Shinon, it was not a lack of faith or ability!)

I hope that gives some food for thought...

(For the record, I've been a practitioner of sex-alchemy for over 20 years and after studying many religions, consider myself a Taoist of the heretical 3-Aspect school.)

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 4:51 AM

FIREFLEW

Quote:
Originally posted by LupinAddams:

Personally I think the balance between her and Book is a lovely one - his gentle, almost Quaker-like approach to Christianity and her equally (and unsurprisingly!) Yin-style tantra (mixing systems and metaphors here, but that happens a lot in this field!!) showing the best of both belief systems.

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

I can agree with the comment on Book here. I go to a Quaker school - I'm not a Quaker (it's a long story as to why I'm there) - but in general Quakers have more ecumenically minded/liberal views on most subjects compared to many other denominations of Christianity.

Book too, seems to follow this idea, being easy-going (relatively speaking) concerning some ideas "I have some nice sermons on hellfire...lepers etc." but still being strict with important ideas, "The, Special Hell."

Jayne: "Know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command."

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 5:04 AM

LUPINADDAMS

It's been my experience that Quaker schools turn out good folk, whether they are Friends or not... certainly it's one branch of Christianity I have no problem relating to.

It's worth noting on the subject of the 'Special Hell' that, as noted in Big Trouble in Little China, that the Chinese have a lot of hells... perhaps this is a part of the cultural blending in the Alliance?

Lupin

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 6:19 AM

GHOULMAN

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Part Three
SNIP!

Respectfully,

zoid, (as he makes the last cut and, yeeeaaaaahhh!!! Thud!)

[Ow...]

"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."

- Senator Richard Wilkins, Independent Congress
from, A Child Shall Lead Them

Wow. ZOID your posts are SO worth the read. Just wanted to pop in and say thanx for looking deeper with your obviously large and wide knowledge. Writers like you are a jem.

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 6:51 AM

FIREFLEW

Quote:
Originally posted by LupinAddams:
It's worth noting on the subject of the 'Special Hell' that, as noted in Big Trouble in Little China, that the Chinese have a lot of hells... perhaps this is a part of the cultural blending in the Alliance?

Lupin

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

Ah that would explain it. I also have a possible theory:

Joss seems a fairly literate guy, and if I recall in Angel Series 3 - I think - there is a reference to the Divine Comedy, by Dante (reccommended, but make sure to get the Oxford World Classics version, as others offer fairly poor translation).

Anyway, in the book - well, at least Inferno - Hell is divided into levels, with specific levels pertaining to specific sins. There is a specific level (I think it's the seventh level) that is for sexual deviants - which could pertain to what Book is referring to.

Similarly, since the book deals with an early Medievil Christian perspective on Heaven, Purgatory and Hell, it is likely to have still been read as time progresses, and so it's likely that Book (character, not object) would have read it (seeing as how it is sometimes regarded as the fifth Christian gospel) and was making a reference to this.

No mention of people who talk in the theatre though

.

Jayne: "Know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command."

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 7:43 AM

ZOID

Thank you, Ghoulman, for your praise. But the praise should go to Joss more than me; without his thought-provoking filmmaking, then I wouldn't be so provoked to... well, thought.

Still, it's nice to know that some readers, at least, consider my ramblings more than mere lunacy. Thanks also to LupinAddams who dug up this thread, orginally posted nigh on 2 months ago and generally ignored at that time. It was my favorite of the 3 part series I did on apostasy, specifically because it was the most speculative of the three, IMO.

With regard to Lupin's argument, it was not necessarily my argument that Inara was being converted to Christianity -- although rereading it now I can see how some might come to that conclusion. Rather, I felt then as now that she is having a crisis of faith regarding the occupational hazards of being a prostitute, whether it's done for religious reasons or not. While Tantric practice may work out fine for others, I get the distinct impression that Inara is in crisis over the selling of her body, and the loss of personal love that is the cost of such. Her crying scene in HoG is eloquent proof of my assertion.

Unless you believe she is crying because she missed a trick...

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"History may say I saved River; but it's not like that. No, that's not it at all. I saved my sister."

- Simon Tam, M.D., husband and father of 4, Jiangyin; from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 9:16 AM

INSIGHT SPINNER

A couple of thoughts, although others have covered most of the ground I could add to.

First, I think we have seen Inara praying -- or engaged in activities related to supplication -- because we have seen her lighting incense (at least in photo montage, yes?). I had thought that image was there to denote the sanctity of her practice.

Second, in terms of what is the companion culture/tradition/religion -- I presumed something growing out of a combination of beliefs from India, China, Tibet, Japan, Nepal. I actually was thinking more of something based on Hindu or more precisely, Tantric tradiitions. AFter reading all the posts, there is a good argument for the combination of traditions, maybe moving from a Tantric combined with Taoist foundation. The book 'Sexual Secrets: the Alchemy of Ecstasy'cover this information from both academic/theoretical and practical standpoints aimed at getting westerners to understand the notion that sexual liaisons practiced with a specific notion of physical and spiritual discipline imbue "magical" powers. [The book cited includes illustrations that folk may find offensive and not approapriate for children and youth, FYI. Young people on the board, please indulge my concern for you in my posts. I hope it isn't too creepifying.]

While no reference to dance is every mentioned regarding companions, I presumed based on Inara's garb and the decor of the shuttle that the tradition descends from that of the temple dancers, for example, Devadasis of India. The name means servants of God and other locals had other traditions. The Devadasis were of various categories, but the highest were experts of various Yoga traditions, including Tantric yoga. They served an important role as initiatresses of Tantric yoga. Note that this tradition is fairly romanticized in tantric litrature, I think. Certainly, modern (20th century plus) incarnations of the practice in South India have been banned by the government. I am not studied enough in the diverse manifestations of this practice to know whether it is universally heinous or had, at one time, any legitimacy.

Given the setting and circumstances of the FF 'verse, it makes sense that dance is either removed (an evolutionary assumption) or just not shown. Also, dance is River's domain, so it would be confusing to use it as a vehicle for 2 characters. Anyway, I see the companions as a combination of various traditions of initiatress elevated to a new status that meets the needs of the Firefly 'verse.

Zoid, you are too much. I bow to you.

insight spinner
__________

Just an object. It doesn't mean what you think....

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 1:52 PM

LUPINADDAMS

Well, actually as I understand it, most of Inferno was written specifically to show Dante's political opponents of the time as being sinners... so yeah, I guess that would qualify it as a gospel...
(I am, I should note, equally cynical about the history of non-christian texts too!)

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

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Saturday, May 22, 2004 9:27 PM

FIREFLEW

Quote:
Originally posted by LupinAddams:
Well, actually as I understand it, most of Inferno was written specifically to show Dante's political opponents of the time as being sinners... so yeah, I guess that would qualify it as a gospel...
(I am, I should note, equally cynical about the history of non-christian texts too!)

"You are what you do."
Andrew Vacchs

Yeah, you do have a point there. He does seem to relish seeing all his enemies in various levels of Inferno....

But regardless, I stand by it :D. Book may have just read it for what people thought of hell....1200 years previously.

Jayne: "Know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in command."

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