Mandalorians And Attachment
Apr. 21st, 2025 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verpineMandalorians understand loving without attachment just as well as Jedi do.
Hear me out on this. Mandalorians are a culture built around the inevitability and awareness of death. The concepts of Shereshoy and Aay'han are the most obvious examples- shereshoy because the present moment is all you really have, so make the most of it, enjoy it, cherish it. You live your life one day, one hour, one moment at a time. Aay'han, because love and grief are two sides of the same coin- the people you love will someday be gone, but the people you have lost will always be present in those you love.
The idea of the Manda itself, although I'm sure most mando'ade don't believe in it literally, is also based around accepting and even embracing loss. Whether or not you think that when you die your soul joins into a sort of cultural oversoul or not, or whether you think it's figurative but basically true, or whether you think it's nothing but a philosophical representation of your memory 'living' on, the concept requires acceptance of death. And it's really extremely similar to the Jedi belief in the Force as an afterlife.
The dead are ever-present in mandalorian culture. You probably wear at least one piece of armor from someone you loved and lost. You probably say the names of people who have died every day. I am alive, and you are dead- I remember you, so you are eternal.
Suy cuy'gar. So you are still here- what a pleasant surprise! Ret'urcye mhi. Maybe we will embrace again, my friend.
At every turn, in their armor, in their spiritual practices, in their greetings and goodbyes, mando'ade face and embrace the inevitability of death, and they love more intensely for it. This is finally the point where mandos and jetiise diverge on the topic- You are going to lose the people that you love. What are you going to do about it?
Jedi, who have reality-bending magic powers, prepare themselves for calm acceptance. They get philosophical about it, and surrender what they cannot control to the will of the Force. Exactly as you should if you have the power to kill somebody with your mind. Mandos are... somewhat less likely to take it calmly. Although, I do believe that in general, they are a lot less likely to completely lose it than the casual observer might expect. Death is a part of life- of course a painful, aching part, but it's not like it was a surprise. Shereshoy- tomorrow isn't promised.
Writing a conversation between a mando and a Jedi about this would be really interesting. Or there's always just Bardan, especially when he's basically a walking identity crisis and is trying to figure things out.
Hear me out on this. Mandalorians are a culture built around the inevitability and awareness of death. The concepts of Shereshoy and Aay'han are the most obvious examples- shereshoy because the present moment is all you really have, so make the most of it, enjoy it, cherish it. You live your life one day, one hour, one moment at a time. Aay'han, because love and grief are two sides of the same coin- the people you love will someday be gone, but the people you have lost will always be present in those you love.
The idea of the Manda itself, although I'm sure most mando'ade don't believe in it literally, is also based around accepting and even embracing loss. Whether or not you think that when you die your soul joins into a sort of cultural oversoul or not, or whether you think it's figurative but basically true, or whether you think it's nothing but a philosophical representation of your memory 'living' on, the concept requires acceptance of death. And it's really extremely similar to the Jedi belief in the Force as an afterlife.
The dead are ever-present in mandalorian culture. You probably wear at least one piece of armor from someone you loved and lost. You probably say the names of people who have died every day. I am alive, and you are dead- I remember you, so you are eternal.
Suy cuy'gar. So you are still here- what a pleasant surprise! Ret'urcye mhi. Maybe we will embrace again, my friend.
At every turn, in their armor, in their spiritual practices, in their greetings and goodbyes, mando'ade face and embrace the inevitability of death, and they love more intensely for it. This is finally the point where mandos and jetiise diverge on the topic- You are going to lose the people that you love. What are you going to do about it?
Jedi, who have reality-bending magic powers, prepare themselves for calm acceptance. They get philosophical about it, and surrender what they cannot control to the will of the Force. Exactly as you should if you have the power to kill somebody with your mind. Mandos are... somewhat less likely to take it calmly. Although, I do believe that in general, they are a lot less likely to completely lose it than the casual observer might expect. Death is a part of life- of course a painful, aching part, but it's not like it was a surprise. Shereshoy- tomorrow isn't promised.
Writing a conversation between a mando and a Jedi about this would be really interesting. Or there's always just Bardan, especially when he's basically a walking identity crisis and is trying to figure things out.
