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Magic, Witchcraft, Religion
1 December 2007
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Musikans
The American Jehovah’s Witness movement began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the
1870s with Charles Taze Russell and his creation of a Bible study group. The true origins
of the religion (not the American movement) began after the deaths of the Apostles. The
church diverged into a “Great Apostasy”, which difference from the teachings of Jesus
Christ on several levels. The religion is based on intense and extreme interpretations of
the Bible and the Trinity. As with every religion, Jehovah’s Witness claim to follow the
“only true religion”. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Trinity and “eternal damnation”
are not accurate and actually ancient myths (Julia Neubauer 2001: 12).
Witnesses believe that because the earth, at one point was not made up of 24
periods of time, that the “7 days of creation” story is inaccurate. It is believed that the
people of Israel are the beneficiaries of God’s wisdom and are guaranteed a position in
Heaven on Judgment Day (Wikipedia Part 1 2007: 1.3).
Pastor Russell created the religion because of his disbelief in the Trinity and
“eternal damnation”. He believed that the teachings of the Bible could only be understand
when it was taught by him, the way he wanted it to be taught. Nowadays, many people
recognize Jehovah’s Witnesses by the doortodoor missionaries that travel around.
Jehovah’s Witnesses organize themselves into congregations that meet weekly.
Men are selected by representatives of the Governing Body to teach and direct the
preaching work. Women cannot be teachers in the congregation but female Witnesses do
participate in meeting programs. The Governing Body, also known as the Watchtower
Society is a group of “anointed men chosen by God to speak God’s word”. The group has
seven members and a president who is also a member. Below the Governing Body are six
committees, which carry out the rulings of the Governing Body. Each committee oversees
a different department that implements the Body’s decisions.
The committees are:
Personnel committee, which arranges for volunteers to serve in branch offices.
They bring in new followers to the religion.
Publishing committee, which handles the publishing of the literature of Jehovah’s
Witnesses and other legal matters.
Service committee, which supervises the traveling of overseers, missionaries and
pioneers and supervises matters specific to the evangelical activity of a Jehovah’s
Witness.
Teaching committee, which arranges congregation meetings, assembly days,
international conventions, etc.
Writing committee, which supervises the writings and translations of all works
published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Chairman’s committee, which supervises disaster relief, emergencies,
investigations and other urgent matters.
A number of members not of the Governing Body serve on a few of the committees
and assistants and secretaries and members of the committees can be from the “great
crowd” (those not anointed by Heaven)(Wikipedia Part 2 2007: 1).
In the home, the men are to have the final authority over the family. Women are to be
submissive to their husbands, and husbands are to only have one wife. He should love his
family as Jesus loved his people and he should teach them life Jesus taught.
Jehovah’s Witnesses condemn sex before marriage as well as extramarital sex and
homosexuality. Anal sex, oral sex, and masturbation are said to be unclean and should be
avoided at all costs, regardless of whether performed between a married couple or not.
Gambling is tainted by greed and therefore “Christians [should] not take part in any kind
of gambling, such as lotteries, horse racing, and bingo.” Witnesses are allowed to drink a
small amount of alcohol but overdrinking is prohibited and a sin. Abortion is condemned
because life is believed to begin at conception and all life is sacred. Jehovah's Witnesses
refuse to participate in wars, but on primarily religious basis. Witnesses will only
participate in war when Christ fights it during Armageddon, but not until then
(ReligionFacts 2007). Christians believe that “no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God (Bob Jones University Gallery 1978: 514).
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it is their duty to be a model citizen and therefore
respect authority and government, but they believe that government is unnecessary, as it
will be destroyed with the coming of the antichrist. They do not participate in war or
politics for any nation and would rather remain neutral in all aspects (Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society 2007).
Witnesses find only the Sacred Scriptures and the Holy Bible to be sacred,
particularly the New World Translation. Any other religious texts are believed to be false
and are condemn as false teachings of God. The “mythical” beings of Jehovah’s
Witnesses are Jesus Christ the son of Jehovah, God and Satan. Any other mythical beings
are believed to be false.
Although Jehovah’s Witnesses normally identify themselves as being Christian,
they reject the symbol used most often in Christianity – the cross. Nowhere on any
materials or buildings or followers will there be a cross. It is mainly condemned because
it represents a “preChristian pagan fertility symbol”. It is believed that Jesus did not even
die on the cross, but more he died upon a torture stake. The only symbol that is seen
when representing Jehovah’s Witness is the watchtower. It can be found outside a number
of Kingdom Halls, inscribed on some of their publications and even at the top of the
Watchtower website. The idea of the watchtower came from Pastor Charles Taze Russell
and The Zion’s Watchtower Tract Society and it represents the idea that Jehovah’s
Witnesses are watching for sign of the end of everything (ReligionFacts 2007).
Jehovah’s Witnesses follow many of the same rituals at Christians, with the exception
a few rituals. There is no special birth ceremony and baptism is postponed until the child
is spiritually and mental prepared. Witnesses have no special marriage rituals, but it
recommended that the couple be of the same religion. Death is not treated differently than
many Christians treat it. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate any holidays whatsoever
because they are believed to be false religious practices. Weddings, anniversaries and
funerals are observed but birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving and other common holidays
are believed to be pagan and are therefore not celebrated (Wikipedia Part 1 2007: 2.5).
Witnesses do not believe in an afterlife. They believe that the soul ceases to exist
when the body dies, which will then require a resurrection to live again. There is no
afterlife for the dead, except for the 144,000 that will make it into heaven. There is also no
purgatory and any soul that has committed a sin in life will experience ‘Gehenna’ or
destruction upon death (Wikipedia – Part 3 2007: 1).
The religion of Musika is a common religion as it is extremely old and practiced in
large societies although the average person would not know it. Its original creation has
been lost as it was before reading and writing was commonplace, but it is believed to have
begun sometime before the year 500 AD.
Musika has a pantheon of Gods. Originally there were nine Gods and Goddesses
but a catastrophe occurred and only four of the nine remain. The four remain Gods
correspond to the four “clefs” of Musika. The “clefs” were even named after the Gods
that corresponded with them. The “clefs” can be viewed as castes but they are not quite as
extreme. Musikans are born into one of the four clefs and they remain in that clef
throughout their life but it is required that they interact with others in different clefs. The
original nine clefs were called France Viola, Treblá, So’prano, Meh’zo So’prano, Ahlto,
Tenorá, Bar’i’tone, Bahs, and SubBahs. Only Treblá, Ahlto, Tenorá, and Bahs remain to
this day.
“Long ago, before the earth was solid, there live nine brothers and sisters. They
played in the skies and lived their lives peacefully. One day, France Viola, Meh’zo
So’prano and Bar’i’tone were playing by themselves when they came across a small ball.
They grew intrigued by it and began to play with it. Their playing took them back to the
others and soon everyone began to play with it. For days, the clefs played with the
mysterious ball, but after a time, they began to tire of it. Bahs and Treblá, the most
commanding clefs decided to rid the group of the ball, but in their doing so, they
awakened a sleeping giant known as Transpositio. The creature grew angered and
attacked the Clefs. The only way to defend themselves, they discovered was to use the ball
they had found. Transpositio destroyed the ball, but because of the Clef’s love of the
circular flow of the universe the ball left behind a small mass of water. The water grew
into a large round ball, scaring Transpositio into hiding. The Clefs were fascinated and
began to play with it, and overtime the ball began to grow and change. Hard masses were
appearing over the surface and the water became a clear blue color.
When the ball had become too big for the Clefs to play with, they gave it a name
and decided to watch over it and its changes. They eventually decided on a name for it;
Gaia and France Viola, So’prano, Meh’zo So’prano, Bar’i’tone and SubBahs decided to
descend upon to planet to play. Treblá, Ahlto, Tenorá, and Bahs warned them not to go,
but their warnings went unheard. The five Clefs disappeared and were never heard from
again. The four remaining Clefs swore to watch over Gaia and await the day when their
brothers and sisters returned to them.”
Musikan follow only the economy and government that relies on peace and hope. Any
that stray to war or violence or trickery, they condemn as being unholy.
The symbol to the left is the
summarizing symbol of the
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Musikans. Because Treblá and Bahs
were the two oldest and wisest Clefs,
Musikans follow their teachings the
closest and strive to be like them.
There is a hierarchy to the Musikan religious specialist. The highestranking
specialist is known as the Maestro. They spend their whole lives learning the teachings of
the all of the nine Clefs and are believed to speak with the four “living” Clefs through
difficult recitation rituals. Below the Maestro is what is called a Drum Majora. Normally
there will only be one Drum Majora each Maestro at a time. The Drum Majora is a
witchdoctor of a sort and is in charge of keeping the peace and order, along with teaching
Musikan followers. Below the Drum Majora are the Section Leders. There are many
Section Leders, as there are many followers of Musika. Each Section Leder specializes in
the teachings of one particular Clef, but may dabble in other Clefs. Section Leders speak
rarely speak with the Maestro, but simply follow their words. Section Leders speak and
interact with Drum Majoras, who in turn interact with the Maestro.
Musikans strive to be like the four Clefs in every way. Each Clef has a different
characteristic that sets them apart from the other Clefs. Treblá is said to be the Goddess of
life and fertility1. Bahs, is said to be the God of protection and the home2. Ahlto and
Tenora are twins, but represent different parts of life. Ahlto is the God of the sky and the
galaxy3 while Tenora is the Goddess of water and fire4.
1. 2. 3. 4.
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Musikans are taught to treat others with compassion and respect. The Clefs
personalities were based on compassion that Musikans are taught the same way. Musikan
strive to be like the Clefs throughout their lives because it is believed that when a
Musikan learns to live like a Clef that they have reached a higher state of power and
enlightenment. Musikans are not promised a “seat in Heaven” like most other religions
offered, but rather Musikans, when “good” feel the power and peace that the Clefs were.
The very being of the Clef is said to flow through Musikans, raising them to a higher
state of enlightenment. “Bad” Musikans do not feel that presence and are left with a sense
of emptiness and loneliness. Musikans believe that when the Clef moves through them,
they have accomplished everything that is needed, and therefore strive for that feeling
their entire lives.
Musikans do not openly share they beliefs with others. They believe that if the
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Clefs wish for someone to follow their teachings, then they will intervene to call the
person to them. There are no missionaries and no public churches. Rituals are performed
in private, and are not open to nonMusikans. When a Musikan wishes to honor a Clef,
which is recommended at least once a week, in order to update the Clef on the
happenings of a Musikans life, then they must first cleanse themselves. Afterwards,
depending upon the Clef that they follow, then they recite a song of sorts. There are no
words, just sounds and each Musikan owns a specific instrument to play the sounds upon.
When played correctly, it is said that the Clef will respond by bestowing upon the person
a feeling of peace or pride. Many Musikans, when asked about the feeling have stated that
goosebumps is a common happening upon worship.
Musikans only recognize two seasons; Spring and Fall. There is a ceremony
celebrated at the beginning of each season. The ceremony for Fall is called Decrescendo,
which involves the beginnings of a fast, as well as dancing reciting a public song. The
Section Leders recite the song for everyone at the ceremony together, as it is the same
song, but they never practice it together. They play it once a year and every year it is to be
played perfectly, which has led many Musikans to believe that the Clefs have had a hand
in it. The ceremony for Spring is called the Crescendo, which involves a breaking of a fast
and another dance and recitation of a song. This song and dance last for a full night,
where many young male Musikans begin courtship rituals with female Musikans.
One rite of passage is the marriage ritual of a Musikan couple. The marriage is
not arranged, instead it is chosen by the young couple. The couple may choose the day,
the location and all aspects of the marriage. A Maestro marries the couple, and then they
disappear on a fourday journey. The journey is figurative, for the couple is locked away
with enough food and water, but they travel with the Clefs. In those four days, the Clefs
teach the couple all there is to know about each other and how to raise a family and live
happily. After the four days has passed, the couple is allowed back into society there is a
small celebration involving only the couple’s family members.
When Musikans die, they are believed to become a pitch in a song sung by the
Clefs. There are countless sounds, and each sound is different, as are people. No matter
what a person did in their life, they will become a sound, and depending on the Clef they
followed, their pitch may be higher or lower (Treblá being the highest, Ahlto the next
highest, Tenorá the next, and Bahs the lowest). The body is cremated, and their ashes are
scattered either into water, the wind or scattered along the ground. The person in life will
choose where their ashes will be scattered, but until the body is cremated and the ashes
scattered, the soul cannot become a pitch and live with the Clefs. There is no ceremony
for the dead, simply a day of silence for all that are affected by that death (i.e. family
members, friends, etc.)
Musikans believe that the Clefs are the epitome of the perfect person. They do not
know violence or hate; they simply wish to live with others who wish to live. It is
believed that Musikans become closer to the world and understanding the universe when
they follow the Clefs. When a Musikan understands the teachings of the Maestros and
Clefs, then they will understand how the world began, how the world lives, and how the
world will end.
References Cited
Bob Jones University Gallery, Camera Clix, Inc., Moore & Associates, Three Lions, Inc.
1978 Holy Bible. Holy Bible; King James Edition. Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville,
Tennessee. Page 515.
Neubauer, Julia
2001 Jehovah's Witnesses. Essay. New Religious Movements. Library of Virginia,
Virginia. Page 13
ReligionFacts
2005 Jehovah's Witnesses Symbols. Electronic Document,
http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses /symbols.htm, accessed 5
December 2007
ReligionFacts
20042007 Ethics and Values of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Electronic Document,
http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses/ethics.htm, accessed 5
December 2007
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
2003 Jehovah’s Witnesses. Electronic Document, http://www.jw
media.org/beliefs/society.htm, accessed November 29, 2007
Wikipedia
2007 Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses Part 1. Electronic Document,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefs_and_practices_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses,
accessed December 4, 2007
Wikipedia
2007 Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses – Part 2. Electronic Document,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governing_Body_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses, accessed
December 1, 2007
Wikipedia
2007 Controversies regarding Jehovah's Witnesses – Part 3. Electronic Document,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_regarding_Jehovah's_Witnesses,
accessed December 7, 2007