anthropology of idols

>The death of the sun, how the DRESS came into existence, and the legend of the first IDOL

Early nomadic hunter gather societies had little room for religion in their lives. No temples, no priests, no true superstition. Every day is just the grind against starvation.
This changed with the arrival of agriculture. With this apparent progress, so came tragedy. Unlike hunters, whose survival depend mostly of their skill, farmers are literally at the mercy of the elements. A long drought or a flood can destroy your town with no one to blame but butterflies in the west coast of Africa.
The word "fate" was probably first pronounced in the first city. The solution was clear: the gods must be appeased. The deal has changed - they gave prosperity, but they have the power to take it away if they choose. They were in their hands.

An idea begins to shape in the minds of our ancestors - how we can please them? A dance, a celebration in their honor, a sacrifice. Maybe a pig, maybe a lamb. A feast. They now can afford it.
Music was already invented, but now it would be used for ceremonial purposes for the first time. So would dance.
When? Well two dates come to mind to them: the darkness night of the year, and the beginning of spring.
But this couldn't be a normal party near the fire, this time there had to be special music, and a special dance, executed by someone special.
Who would do it? Well, obviously the purest, you did not want to offend the gods.
"The children will" demands logic, but alas, you can't trust them with a task of such importance.
"Well what about those who were just children, but are not yet adults", sounds more reasonable.
A dance of the maidens. They must take some training of course, they are still children for all purposes. Perhaps practice their singing and dancing for an entire year.
But how to draw the line? When they would be too old to participate? Well, clearly, it should be reserved only for those who had not become mothers yet. So, they will chose the "virgins".
Now we got almost everything. But they couldn't just wear the same robes of everyday, this is a special occasion. A dress must be made, the best dress the town can afford. This will please the gods, and it will please the people. They will cheer their efforts through the year, watch them grow better every day, and it would culminate with those two feasts. Then the next year they will do it again with other girls, maybe, the cast will have to switch as soon as they become mothers, for then they would have no time to practice.

As per usual, the test run was probably done with just a few individuals, three at tops. A small girl too young to be a mother, but no longer a child, seemed surprisingly apt at dancing and singing. She was chosen to be the "center" of this ceremony, while the other two provided back up. A special dress was just made for her, made with the best materials available for the age period.

This was the first idol, and she wore the first dress.

 sacred prostitution might be a myth, but a reasonable one considering what we know today. On the other side, the successors of the first idol rituals, in which men also recognize women as the source of purity.
The oracle of Delphi, forced to remain unmarried, might have been ancient Greece idol equivalent.

But it was not to last. Both forms of worship gave the women too much power. First blood was drawn by the rationalistic Greeks, who saw no use for ancient superstition. Aristotle, the one who will be called “master of those who know” spearheaded the attack: Women had no magic within them, they were merely the “soil” in which the seeds were planted. Christianism came next.
The rites involving fertility and virginity, were forbidden in what would become the western world.
Women were forced to remain chaste, but they were not worshipped because of it. There was no magic, it was just an issue of control.

But the ritual survived somewhere else. Asia remained untouched by Aristotle, and kept the rites.
Shintoism preserved the dress. In japan, the idols became known as shrine maidens.
>To become a shaman, the girl (still at a young age, mostly after the start of the menstruation cycle) had to undergo very intensive training
>She would also study how to communicate with kami and spirits of the deceased, as a medium, by being possessed by those spirits. This was achieved by chanting and dancing, thus therefore the girl was taught melodies and intonations that were used in songs, prayers and magical formulas, supported by drum and rattlers.
>When the whole ordeal was over and the girl had woken up, she was permitted to wear a beautifully coloured wedding DRESS and perform the corresponding tradition of the wedding toast.
>The resemblance of a wedding ceremony as the initiation rite suggests that the trainee, still a virgin, had become the bride of the kami she served

Another thousand years, the war comes. Burning infernos scorch entire cities. The sun has fallen, once again, like in the days of darkness. Shinto is heavily associated with nationalism, and Americans watch closely every temple. The rite is lost once again… but not forgotten. It was kept in the subconscious of a society who would bring it back from the dead some thirty years later.
The dress slept, but some could still hear its call…

Now, here we are today. Hololive concerts were literally made on FUCKING SOLSTICE and in the BIRTH OF SPRING (Bloom). This cannot be a coincidence. The dress is digital, virginity is a sham, the ritual isn’t even happening in a real location. But for the first time in a thousand years, westerners are getting a glimpse of what they had lost: to see children grow so one day they would execute their dances on the day the sun dies, and on the day it is reborn. A prehistorical memory awakens, and they remember.

Society however does not understand this rite of virginity, how it empowers women once again, and erroneously implies it is just another trick to rob the women of their “liberation”, a return to old Aristotelian values, when it is in fact its refutation: magic is returning to women thanks to the power of the dress. Who knows, maybe soon sacred prostitution will be a thing too. The old ways are coming back.


And so, this is my explanation of why the Japanese go fucking bonkers when they hear the word boyfriend, and why we westerners can’t understand it – it is because back in their heads they know idols are related to ancient Shintoism rituals going back since the dawn of time. We have forgotten about then, but we seem to be remembering it.

Haven’t you notice how much the idol dress looks like a western wedding dress? They are being married to the gods, once again. And the gods are pleased. How else can we explain this essay was written because of a single girl who debuted to thirteen people? Surely, bigger powers are at hand. Surely, these lines too are part of the will of the eternal idol dress.