Kolbrin - The Book of Gleanings - Chpt 12 - Rule of Yosira

The laws encoded here do appear to conform rather well to  customs we are familiar with.  Much applies to the needs of the Bronze Age and are unsurprising through familiarity from the general thinking seen in the Hebrew Bible.


Again i do remind that this all seems to be written before cities had made their appearance.  Thus it applies to the post deluge, pre urban Bronze Age specifically.  The urban Bronze Age appeared first in Sumeria as far as we know around 4500 BC which gives us a 10950 - 4500  gap of around 6500 years. 


What makes this interesting however, actual rule likely came from families retaining some aspects of pre deluge technology and that likely provided political stability as well as long lived rulers who lived many centuries..


One aspect is particularly noteworthy.  WE so far have not seen the ten commandments and that argues for been much earlier than the Hebrew Bible.  It is not something hat would have been omitted.



CHAPTER TWELVE

THE RULE OF YOSIRA

Yosira gathered his sons about him and spoke to them thus, "These are the days of the dawnlight and I am the Dawnlighter from beyond Bashiru. I am the Torchbearer for the God of Gods. These are the laws which I made for my people in the land of Tewar, the laws of one speaking with the mouth of the God above all gods".

"He who places a spear or arrow within a dead body shall be accursed and his hand and arm will become things of evil. They will swell up and become consumed by fire. Likewise shall be accursed who looses these weapons against another, but if it be a man of Tamuera who looses the weapons, then he shall die by them himself, for he is beyond the reach of the curse".

"A tree that reaches up above twice the height of a man shall not be stricken for burning or to take away its land.

But if it be dedicated to the adze and is then used by a craftsman in wood, then it may be stricken and cut. Trees are not things to be lightly dealt with, for they move the winds which cross the face of the Earth and generate these in great forests of the North and South. The slaughter of a tree is no less wrong than the slaughter of an ox or a sheep, for the same breath of life is in each. Therefore, never bring them low wantonly. Are not trees held sacred by the people of this land? Is it not more reasonable to dedicate a mighty tree or a grove of trees to a god than a mute stone or object cut from wood?" 

[ As i have posted, a tree spirit includes a large number of individual trees as aspects of itself and this gives rise to their spirit form in the form of sprites and all that. - arclein  ]

Therefore, when Yosira moved among the people he did not forbid them their grave groves, nor did he silence the words of the women who tended them. But Yosira said, "These things are for women and not for men, let the women bide, but men should follow the callings of men and their place is not among the grave groves".

Now, when Yosira came among the people they dwelt away from the river, fearing the god of moving waters who molested them at night. But Yosira bound the god of moving waters, so he no longer troubled the people. Then Yosira bade them build their dwelling places beside the moving waters, decreeing that none should dwell beside still waters unless the still waters be filled with the Ufe of fishes.

In those days men sought to appease the Formless Ones and the Spirits of the Night with offerings and worship. But Yosira forbade them this and he surrounded the whole land with a protective wall which no Dark Spirit could penetrate, while all those within were dissolved. Every Dark Spirit being neither male nor female and every Dark Spirit which clothed itself in the shape of a beast or bird was bound and cast back into the Place of Darkness.

All men who were blood kindred with the beasts of the forest or with fowl or with serpent, dwelt together according to their kinship, and were divided thereby. Yosira forbade them not their kinship but did forbid the rule of blood. He spoke to the people in this manner: "Great are the ties of that thing which binds men together and joins them with their forefathers, but greater still is each man in himself, his destiny lying within himself alone and not within his kindred. Man is not a drop of water in the stream of life, but a fish that swims within the stream. Yet insofar as these things have ever been, the twenty- four great kinships shall remain secured in their establishment".

Before the coming of Yosira a man could not take to wife a woman of his own blood, but Yosira redeemed the land with blood, safeguarding it against barrenness. So henceforth men could take wives from among their own blood kindred, and the land remained fruitful. This, the Spirit of Life, became strong among men, for it was not spread out to become diluted and weakened.

Until Yosira came none in this land knew of hokew, and it filled men with fear and awe, but Yosira revealed all its secrets to his sons, and the secrets are known even in these days. Hokew is that which sustains the Dawndwellers. It is but thinly spread throughout the Earth and before the days of Yosira men could gather it, storing it in stones and in sacred objects. It may be drawn upon by the spirits of men, as women draw water from a well. It is hokew which bestows fertility, causing flocks to multiply and crops to increase. Its secrets are known by the Twice Bom.

Though in the days of his distress Yosira called upon his Father in Kanogmahu, he forbade his sons to call upon Him likewise, for Yosira was their father on Earth and their advocate in the Hall of Admission. Therefore, none can call upon Him with impunity, for if He dealt with them He would neglect His task among the Dawndwellers.

Nor is any man justified in calling upon the spirit of a Departed One, for they are beyond concern for the everyday affairs of men.

When the sons of Yosira had established their rule over the people, the leaders of the people came to Yosira desiring to make him their king, so he would rule over them. But when they came before him, Yosira replied to their wish in this manner, "I am the mouth of the God of Gods and the light of my people. I will be the father of your king and the director of his footsteps, but your king I cannot be, for I am dedicated in service to the God of Gods". Saying this Yosira then took his son, who was grown to manhood, and led him forth by the hand, giving him to the people to be their king.

Later, while the leaders and governors of the people still remained gathered after the anointing of their king, Yosira spoke to them as the mouth of God. He said, 'To judge justly between man and man is one of the greatest obligations of a king and those who stand in his place. So from this day hence judgement shall not be given by those who sit under the trees, listening to the words whispered among the leaves. However, if three men sit far apart and each gives a like judgement, the words from their mouths being the same, then the judgement shall be good.

However, if it is a matter where a life can be forfeit or property taken away, a family divided or a man or woman enslaved, then judgement shall be given only by the king or by one who wears his mantle and bears his burden".

"Sacred waters are living waters filled with the power of hokew and shall no longer be used for any purpose other than sanctification and purification. No longer shall they be used to decide whether a wife be guilty of adultery; henceforth she shall be tested by the bitter draught alone".

"He who eats the flesh of swine shall be accursed, for to eat the flesh of swine is to eat something dedicated to the fathers of men and an abomination. Flesh of the ass shall not be eaten, for it diminishes the vigour of men".

"Henceforth, the bodies of the dead shall not be broken or burnt, for the hokew within them departs with the Lord of the Body. Therefore, nothing can be added unto a Victorious One by rendering up the essence of his earthly mantle through the flames of the fire".

"The people shall not be denied their feasts, nor shall they be forbidden the rituals of fruitfulness. Their offerings to any god shall not be taken away. As the gods of the people are today, so shall they remain, for they serve their end. They may depict their gods after their own fashion, for the likeness of such gods is of small consequence.

But the likeness of the God of Gods shall not be fashioned by any man, for He is beyond the understanding of men. No man shall seek to find His likeness in water".

"The festival to the god who draws up the land is not to be denied the people, but no longer shall they eat the flesh of asses, for now this is forbidden. The days for the feast of the forefathers shall not be diminished, lest the gift of long life be thereby curtailed. With them alone is the distribution of the life forces and in their keeping are the powers granting fertility and good fortune. Unto those who control the sprouting of com, the increase of herds and the harvests of fishes, the potency of men and the fertility of women, success in hunting and victory in war shall be given all due honour and worship".

"He who causes injury or death, sickness or suffering by drawing the likeness of another in sand and piercing it with a fire-hardened stick, or who makes the likeness of another in wax to bum in the fire, or in clay to be pierced by stake or thorn, is henceforth accursed. He will be delivered to the lukim of disease or death".

"He shall be accursed who mixes living grain with fat to enslave the earthshade of another man or woman. He shall be accursed who calls up the nightshade of another or the nightfrightener. All who are so accursed will be delivered to the lukim of sickness or shall become the prey of Formless Ones".

"It is not wrong to make an image of a breast child, that a woman may conceive, but to make the hkeness of a man's private organ so that a woman may conceive, is wrong and any woman making or lying with such a likeness shall be accursed. She who is so accursed will be delivered to the lukim of sickness and pain".

When Yosira came up into Harfanti he found there people with strange customs which displeased him, but he forbade them none except those which were evil in the sight of the God of Gods. While there he laid a great curse upon any who transgressed his laws.

These were words spoken through the mouth of Yosira, which he caused to be recorded: "Henceforth, no maiden shall be enclosed in bark and kept in darkness for seven days before marriage, but she may be kept in seclusion among women. If she has to be purified, it must be done with water and not with fire. A woman shall never be mutilated to purge her wickedness".

"Henceforth, the private parts of young women shall not be sewn up to preserve their maidenhood. This shall remain in their own keeping and in the keeping of the young women's kindred in good faith and trust. To sew or cut the private parts of any woman is a great wickedness, for this is the portal of life and woman is not an unworthy guardian. It is best that women remain maidens, until their marriage day, of their own fi-ee will and choice; but if, because of the maiden's weakness, this seems doubtful, then the obligation shall be on her kindred".

"The custom of the Habshasti whereby the legs of young women are bound together, after which young men may enter their chamber to lie with them, is a thing of wickedness and no longer permitted. Now, if any man discover the nakedness of a maiden, he shall not go unpunished".

"Man shall not see the nakedness of woman in childbirth, even though the woman be bis wife. The hut of childbirth and all within its circle is a place forbidden unto men. Henceforth, no woman shall be suspended at childbuth".

"If the wife of a hunter he with another man while her husband is absent so that he be slain or wounded during the hunt, then no wrong is done if her husband or the kindred of her husband slay her. Neither shall it be cause for bloodslaying if the kindred or husband slay he who lay with her".

"The foreskin of a man is cut to defy the lukim of impotency. This is not forbidden to the people, but they shall not preserve the foreskin in fat and use it to endow stones with hokew. The binding of foreskins is forbidden".

Yosira laid the greatest of all curses upon those who captured and enslaved the Lord of the Body belonging to another. Since that day none has done so and lived. He also laid a curse upon women who baked their new bom children and ate them because of the barrenness of the land. He also cursed the chief of the women's kindred.

Beforetimes, that which grew to fullness within the wombs of cattle and sheep was sustenance for men alone, but when the beast cast it forth before its day it became sustenance appointed for women. Yosira forbade this and cursed all that came forth from the womb of beast before its time.

Yosira had these things recorded in Yapu: "No child shall be slain wilfully, saying, "Our god has denied it proper sustenance". Above all gods is the God of Gods who is the God of Life and they who proclaim these things proclaim a falsehood against Him. Yet they shall not be accursed until after the day when they have heard the laws of the God of Gods spoken unto them. Before then they have been led astray by those who should guide them, and on the leaders shall be the curse".

"Henceforth, the empty body shall not be bound tight against itself, but stretched out, for the earthly body cannot be reborn when once its Lord has departed. The people shall not be forbidden the carrying of it, nor shall they be stopped from elevating it, but it shall not be hung over the living waters, lest it call forth a Formless One in the darkness of the night".

"If the kindred of a man come up to molest him at night, the nightshade shall be bound by the power of hokew transmitted into a hollow log filled with fire-retaining substances. The log will then be burnt in purifying fire and the ashes buried after the fashion of your fathers, but the hokew shall not be given back. That hokew which comes from a man whose crops and trees yield abundantly is best".

"The spirit of the life of men does not dwell in the moving waters and therefore it caimot enter into a woman from the waters, neither does her own water bear it up from the ground. Even as a tree springs out from a single seed and the barley from a single grain, so is it with the seed of men. That which forms within the womb of woman is not built up from many outpourings of man, once will suffice. If the blood of a woman be not stopped, then she carry no child, for the life within is blood of her blood".

"No man shall fashion the likeness of any beast to lay with it so that his flocks and herds be increased, for henceforth he who does so, and all his beasts, shall be accursed so they sicken and perish. Nor shall any man spill his seed into an object of wood or stone and bury it. If he does so, then be he accursed, so that he is forever molested by the nightshades of terror".

"It is foolishness to resort to the charmers who make likenesses of beast so their kind may be brought to the arrow and spear. Unless he who seeks the wild beasts be empowered with the hokew gathered by the kindred of his habitation, nought can guide his steps or strengthen his arm, neither will his eye see keenly. The success of the hunter is not to be found with the charmers, but lies in the goodness and uprightness of the kindred within his habitation".

"If a woman take seed from a young man and deliver it to the charmers so that barreimess be removed from her, then she and the youth, and if she bear any children they also, shall be accursed. The young man will be seized by the lukim which feasts on the hearts of men, and the woman by those which tear open the bowels".

"It is an abomination in the sight of the God of Gods for men to deball themselves, and all who do shall be accursed. Those who would deball themselves for the sake of their god may instead make an offering of their foreskin, and this will be acceptable by any god. The prayer of thankfulness that they are not bom women shall be made at the time of sacrifice upon the altar".

"The excreta of man and woman shall never be left exposed to the eyes of anyone, nor in a place where its smell can come to the nostrils. Nor shall anyone pass water where another can smell it, for they whose nostrils the smell enters thereby gain power over the other. The smell from human waste draws up the formless lambata which afflict men and women at night and turn their bowels to water".

"No offering of meat shall be eaten raw. It shall be roasted before a fire and the bones pounded into flour and eaten with meal. If the offering be consumed within a dwelling place, then the blood which has been spared must be smeared upon the door posts, so that the dark shades of the night haunters and the death bringers be repulsed by the power of life".

"It is the duty of a son to provide sustenance for a Departed One who was his mother or his father, and he shall not neglect his brother or his sister or any of his kinsfolk who lack children. If he be neglectful of his duty he shall not escape molestation by the earthshades of the Departed Ones, which will wander relentlessly until satisfied. If Formless Ones be called forth by neglect so that they reach stability on Earth, they will haunt the dark watches of the night and suck life-filled blood to sustain their awful forms. No man may keep them from his dwelling, for they will slide in stealthily even as snakes".

"It is wrong for charmers to call forth Dark Spirits. Any charmer so doing within the borders of the enlightened land shall be accursed, so he be seized by the nightfiend. If such be done, and the Dark Spirits wander out of control, then one of the Twice Bom shall be called upon to return them to their dark abode".

"It is not sufficient for men to shun the ways of wickedness, for imless the Lord of the Body be clothed in brightness they who watch for him in the Land of the Dawning will wait in vain. Those who lack that which would bring them into the Place of Light will fall prey to the Lords of the Dark Places and be forever lost to those who love them".

"All those who are Awakeners of the Dead shall be accursed and delivered to the lukim of madness. If any of my people deal with them, then they too shall be accursed so that they become prey to the terrors of the night. It is futile to consult the Departed Ones, for what can they do but advise on matters of little import? If they have anything of importance to impart they will come unbidden to men of understanding and made it known".

When Yosira came with his sons and those with them into the true land of Tamuera, he strove with the people of Kantiyamtu who followed the ways of wickedness and ignorance. He remained among the people of Tamerua during the days of Gabu, dwelling at the place where now stands the Temple of the Skyseer, in an abode of reeds, by the moving waters.

In those days the people of Earth united themselves with those who were in the land of Morning Light by the powers within the body of a womanchild, seeking in this manner to preserve the hokew of their kindred. When Yosira saw the wickedness of the custom he placed a great curse upon all the land and upon those who split the body of a womanchild, so that her flesh cried out from within them. Therefore, the land became stricken with a great plague. Since then never has anyone in the enlightened lands eaten the flesh of man or woman, and no womanchild is violated in the great wickedness of ignorance. The people of Tamuera greatly feared the curse of Yosira.

Yosira taught the people that the power of hokew resided not in the flesh of the body but in the bones, and that each bone contained the essence of all the being, man and woman. Then the people began to seek union with the Departed Ones in the land of the Morning Light, by the power of the bones, and Yosira forbade this not, though he knew it was futile. But where there was healing in the bones and they were able to draw it forth, Yosira was not displeased, for all things pertaining to the good of the people were well in his sight. Nevertheless, he forbade to women the burden of the bones of their husbands, and since then no shades has risen to molest them. This was because of the protecting power which he drew forth to fill all the land, it relieved the women of their burden, raising it from their backs.

All the charmers who brought forth shades from the Land of Dawning and all the Questioners of the Dead and the Awakeners of the Dead were cursed, and this curse hovers over the land even to this day. Yet there are still some who seek to call forth a shade fi-om the swathed body made eternal, but all they raise up is an ill-omened messenger from the Place of Darkness.

Yosira did not forbid to the people the rites of homage due to their departed kinsfolk, for in the Place of Morning Light these were the powers most interested in the welfare of any mortal man. Yosira never forbade anj^hing that was to the benefit of men, taking away nought but the things which were futile or harmful. In those days there were no rites of written record, but Yosira caused them to be given to the people. Not so that these should renew life in the Departed Ones upon Earth, but so that the Lord of the Body should be sustained and strengthened in the Place of the Morning Light by the link of hokew, sacrificed by those remaining on Earth.

Yosira spoke to the people, giving them laws which were recorded in this manner: 'These are words of the God of Gods Who created man and beast upon the sacred island. No beast shall be mated with another not of its kind, and if this happen, then both shall be slain and their bodies burnt. If this be done with the permission of a man, that man will be accursed. Neither shall any beast be yoked together with another not of its own kind. During the first year of its life no beast shall be made to take up the burden of man".

When Yosira came to Kambusis he found there a man of the Hestabwis bound and prepared for sacrifice, and he cried out against the deed but none gave ear to his word. So, standing off, Yosira placed a staff of power upright into the ground and danced around it, singing the song for drawing forth the spirit. When they saw this, the people were wroth against him and called upon their charmers to curse him so he departed from the Earth. Their curses were ineffective and when one charmer approached the dance ring of Yosira, Yosira called forth a tongue of flame which consumed the charmer. Then the people became afraid and fled. So Yosira released the man who was bound upon the place of sacrifice, but he was not yet whole. Yosira also cursed all those who offered the Hestabwis as a sacrifice to their gods; since that day no man of the Hestabwis was ever slain upon the altars.

Yosira did not curse the charmers of that place, instead he called them to him and gave them dominion over the Dark Spirits which left their abode to wander Earth, molesting men in their habitation. Thus the charmers became greater in the eyes of the people, and from that day onward they have cleansed the land of all Dark Spirits. However, Yosira forbade them the calling forth of the Lord of the Body from any man so that he became the servant of another, and he placed a great curse upon any charmer who disobeyed this law. Yet this is done even now, but those who transgress the laws of Yosira do not escape the awful fate due to them, for his power is yet potent in the lands of his people. When the fransgressors stand before him in awful judgement, their deeds will witness against them.

Yosira forbade those who sat in judgement the right to judge men by the fat of crocodiles or by the horn or skin.

Instead he revealed to them the manner of making judgement through com and by the burning sword. He also taught them how to brew drink which loosened the bonds from the tongues of men, so that Truth was no longer restrained.

The people dwelling among the trees, along the banks of the moving waters, lived in fear of tree apes. They held these sacred and would never harm them. They beheved that these free apes snatched the departing Lord of the Body and ate it, that they lurked in wait to catch it in a mighty unseen net. So Yosira went about cursing the food reserve for the tree apes so that it became fire in their bellies, causing the life within them to come up as foam out of their mouths. Thus the land was freed from fear of the free apes, and henceforth the Departed Ones have gone in peace, no longer being molested by the free apes.