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The Rayman games make it clear that there are many spirits and deities in the world known as the Glade of Dreams, and they also hint at many different systems of worship among its inhabitants. Indeed, in some of the games, Rayman himself precipitates events of major theological significance. In others, the passage of time since the previous game(s) may itself have led to an evolution of practices. What follows is a review of the theological elements of each game, in chronological order.
Rayman 1
Rayman 1 introduces Betilla (later identified as Polokus's chief emissary) as a protector of the Great Protoon / Heart of the World. It also establishes that Rayman gets his powers from Fairies through the O on his front, though the significance of this isn't necessarily clear.
Up in the sky, Rayman encounters many meditating monks, whose concentration seems absolute. They all levitate significant distances above the ground, and show no signs of distraction when Rayman steps on the orbs and bongos that they hold. It's possible that their meditation is an effective antidote to the surrounding chaos brought about by the Protoon's absence, albeit felt on a very local scale. (Although, since they help Rayman get to where he's going to restore the Protoon, it indirectly helps restore order to the entire Glade!)
Rayman 2
Rayman 2 definitely takes a more theological tone from the outset, as the hero's task is established early on as reuniting the Four Masks to awaken Polokus, identified as the "Spirit of the World". His power is such that he was able to bring the world into being just by dreaming it. A secondary goal is to reunite the 1000 Yellow Lums to reconstitute the Heart of the World, and in so doing gain "omniscience".
In this game, there is no explicit reference to any religious practice, although Rayman's quest does take him through magnificent Temples for three of the classical elements, namely Fire, Earth and Water. These Temples house Guardians of the Masks who (according to the Knowledge gained by Rayman from the Lums) were created by Polokus directly to make sure only a warrior pure of heart could bring him back. It's not clear whether the Temples were also created directly by Polokus, or if they were built later on by mystics who may or may not have been aware of the true nature of the Masks (just that they were holy in some sense).
It is also interesting to note that there is no Temple or Guardian corresponding to the element of Air (unless you count Grolem 13 from the PS2 port, which I don't
). Instead, the fourth Mask is found by a Baby Globox inside a Pirate Mine. Now, this Baby Globox is almost certainly pure of heart, but not a warrior. Thinking about this, it's possible that Polokus deliberately took a different tack with this Mask. Instead of having yet another Guardian to be overcome by force or wit, the Mask was set to appear and be found by an innocent child. Then, any "warrior" looking for it would have to be good and kind to innocent children to succeed in reuniting the Masks. I only just thought of this, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The power of friendship is just as important as force and wit in reuniting the Masks.Anyway, once Rayman does reunite the Masks, Polokus explains that his power only extends to the Land and (presumably?) Sea, but not up into the Air, which is also likely part of the reason for the lack of an Air Temple / Guardian.
The significance of Rayman's O is expanded upon, as not only does he receive Silver Lums through it, but it also unlocks the each monument containing a Mask, after the respective Guardian is defeated. His own possible theological significance is also hinted at, since the Lums tell him that he may be "the chosen one of all the gods".
Polokus is never directly referred to as a "god", but as a "Spirit". However, the Lums also state that he went to a place where "the gods of all the worlds meet up" in order to create time, so it is implied that he is of the same stature. As such, the feat wrought by Rayman at the end of Rayman 2 is one of immense theological significance. At the beginning of the game, the god of this world is a legendary figure shrouded in mystery, and the lay people (like Ssssam) have never heard of him or of the Masks (although Razorbeard somehow gets wind of the legend and understands it's worth believing in!). By the end, however, he is an active participant in the world, coming together with the ordinary people to mourn the presumed passing of Rayman. This situation apparently continues (although he is not mentioned at all in the next few games…), and it may have led to a complete reevaluation of many people's belief systems (more on this later).
Rayman 3
In Rayman 3, Rayman's best friend swallows a Black Lum and so the two must go on an arduous pilgrimage to reach three mystical healing Temples and excise the foul parasite. Oh wait, no, they just have to go through a lot of dangerous worlds and nearly get killed several times, to get to three "Doctors' offices"!
… Yeah, that's really a matter of choice of words, isn't it? The "Doctors' Offices" certainly look like majestic Temples from the outside, and what's practised on the inside hardly qualifies as orthodox medicine, even if the bed and surrounding white tiled floor bear some resemblance to medical settings here on Earth. So (and this was what started me thinking about creating this topic), I reckon they are indeed mystical healing Temples, and Rayman and Globox's adventure could indeed be considered a pilgrimage. With the passage of time and arrival of new generations, the actual functioning of the Temples has become less mystical and more proceduralized, as tends to happen (I guess) with functions carried out over long periods of time. Also, with Polokus back in the Glade since the end of the previous game, and his own bubbly attitude (expanded upon in Origins), the people of the world all seem to be taking these things less seriously (remember what I said about reevaluation of belief systems?). Hence, "Doctor's Office" seems to be a more appropriate translation than "Temple" of whatever Raymanian term is actually used here, at least at this particular juncture, and the word "pilgrimage" doesn't enter the discussion at all.
In the course of Rayman and Globox's journey, they meet several people with various marked deviations from what they might consider to be religious orthodoxy. Firstly, there's Bégoniax, whose "worship" (in a loose sense of the term) of physical beauty to the exclusion of all else seems to have driven her to insanity.
Next, they meet the Griskins, who have a more interesting story (although it's not directly spoken about in the course of the game's events). Seemingly, they were originally dabblers in the occult, roaming around the Moors and performing incantations invoking various spirits. But then one day they accidentally awoke the Great Spirit Palmito (possibly while trying to conjure some Palmito biscuits
) who turned them all into ghosts and imprisoned them in a tower (except they seem perfectly capable of coming and going from that tower when Rayman meets them 
). It's an interesting bit of lore and it would have been nice to see it developed a bit more in the game. It was well represented in the soundtrack anyway, listen to the echos of the spirits you can hear here: Next up are the Knaaren, who worship the Leptys, given the epithets "Bringer of Night" and "Father of the Knaaren People". If I'm not mistaken, Leptys is the only spiritual being in the Glade who has actually been referred to as a "god" (by the Hostess at the Hoodlum Headquarters), and whose worship involves artifacts like the Sceptre and statue(s?).
In sculpture, the god is represented by an eagle with power flowing from its eyes. In one instance, it seems that the statue was one of many security systems installed in the tunnels, zapping any intruders in its line of sight – at least until the game developers realized how frustrating it was and disabled that behaviour!
In another instance, a new power is conferred upon Rayman by beams emanating from the statue's eyes. (Incidentally, this is the only power not given to him by a Fairy!) It's not necessarily clear whether the eagle represents the "true form" of the god, or is just a symbol strongly associated with him.The relationship between the Leptys and his people seems very transactional – to invoke the god, a Knaaren only has to possess the Sceptre and recite the correct incantations, no matter what their motives are. So while Gumsi, the rightful King, is able to confer a new power onto Rayman so he can finally begin to push back against the Black Lum plague, the usurper and traitor Reflux is also able to gain power for himself, to assist André in producing infinitely many more Black Lums. Seemingly the god is not too happy with this transactional arrangement (understandably so given what Reflux got up to!), as evidenced by his gratitude to Rayman for destroying the Sceptre at the end of the game, in this (admittedly scrapped
) piece of dialogue.The background of this transactional relationship isn't spelled out, but the use of the term "Ancestral Sceptre" suggests that it was established many generations ago. Presumably there was some kind of covenant between Leptys and the Knaaren race, involving the construction of the Sceptre (or perhaps its teleportation from another dimension). It may also have involved the construction of the Tower of the Leptys, seemingly at a considerable distance from the Knaaren's home in the Desert. Perhaps originally the Knaaren were expected to make regular pilgrimages there (there's that word again!) but it now seems to be abandoned. Rayman's own journey from the Desert to the Tower involves going through one of the healing Temples Doctors' Offices, as well as a bizarre "Shortcut", so it's possible that there is no longer any viable path between the Desert and the Tower (but then again André and Reflux somehow make the journey). The destruction of whatever thoroughfare used to exist between the two locations may be linked to the event represented by these murals. Who knows, it may even have coincided with the building of the nearby healing Temple Doctor's Office!
Again, it's not clear what other stipulations there may have been in the covenant between Leptys and the Knaaren. For instance, no mention is made of ritual sacrifice, but it's a distinct possibility, given what we know about how the Knaaren treat other species. There may, for instance, be a ritual element to their capture and presumable slaughter of Teensies, as depicted in murals like this one.
Anyway, at the end of this game, Rayman once again precipitates an event of major theological significance, by breaking the connection between Leptys and the Knaaren. In fact, it's kind of a mirror image of the previous game: in Rayman 2, he brings Polokus back to the Glade, forming a closer connection between the peaceful peoples and their god, while in Rayman 3 he breaks the connection between a savage people and their god. I have previously speculated about the effect of this cataclysm on Knaaren society, but there may also have been effects on the wider cosmic balance. After all, the events of the games after this one get even goofier! Could the destruction of the Sceptre have had a wider impact on the consciousness of the Glade? Or is it just the effect of having Polokus back among his fun-loving people for a more extended period of time?
Rayman Raving Rabbids and its sequels
Yeah, I don't really need to go into any detail here, do I? Crazed Rabbits appear and attempt to take over the Glade; failing that, they attempt to take over the Earth; Rayman makes a regrettable and best-forgotten trip to Earth to try to stop them; we all move on with our lives.
OK, maybe that's overly disparaging. Seriously though, not much of theological significance happens here, except that Rayman's trip to Earth might explain why humans and things of Earthling legend (more on that later) begin to appear among Polokus's dreams in subsequent games…Rayman Origins
Rayman Origins presents an established order in which Polokus (now with the epithet "The Bubble Dreamer") lives carefree with his people in the Snoring Tree. They all spend much of their time sleeping, meaning that he has more dreams that, as before, become reality, now with the help of a little bubble-blowing instrument. The creations appearing in this way, for the most part, also seem content with this relaxing carefree lifestyle.
However, not everyone is happy with this arrangement (many fans of the series included!). The Fakirs seem to constitute an austere and reactionary religious movement who find all this happy-go-lucky business awfully distasteful. Like the Monks in the first game, they spend their time meditating in an attempt to counteract ensuing chaos (in this case when the Nightmares invade the Glade). They don't seem to be as effective though, as only some of them achieve levitation, and their concentration is broken when Rayman (and other heroes) use them as platforms or swing from their beards. Their theology seems demonstrably misguided, as Polokus himself prefers spending time with his most easygoing creations, and he has little time for seriousness. The game's official site also stated that they are deliberately undermined in their aims by the Nymphs, who are Polokus's own emissaries.
(Side note: I think it's a possibility that the Fakirs were created by artists working on the game to mock colleagues who objected to inconsistencies with the older games. I have no evidence for this, but as someone who prefers consistency myself, I can't help feeling that there is some pointed mockery involved in the concept of the Fakirs – it occurred to me during this conversation on the French forums.)
Another individual unhappy with this arrangement is Ales Mansay who precipitates the Nightmare invasion in an attempt to distract from his own, quite literally diabolical, plan to overthrow Polokus (who he sees as incompetent) and rule the Glade himself. Of course it doesn't work, and it is suggested that had he succeeded, it might have brought about the end of time (the universe would turn into a giant bubble and burst).
As mentioned, the Nymphs are presented in this game as Polokus's main emissaries, and Betilla as their leader, and they bestow powers upon the heroes. There are six Nymphs, and four of them are associated with Kings of certain corners of the world, who would seem to be spiritual beings themselves. These four Kings are all corrupted by the Nightmare invasion, as is one of the Nymphs themselves, Voodoo Mamma. Like the Temples in Rayman 2 in which the Masks were found, these Kings may be linked to the classical elements - Carnivora to Earth, Mocking Bird to Air (despite the lack of an Air Temple in Rayman 2…), El Stomacho to Fire and Creveton to Water. Then the two additional Nymphs, Helena Handbasket and Voodoo Mamma, may be linked to Life and Death respectively, but that's getting pretty speculative.
In the end, Rayman and friends restore the status quo by undoing the corruption of the Kings and of Voodoo Mamma, and by foiling Ales's plan. No cataclysms here then…
Rayman Legends
… But that doesn't stop them all mysteriously falling asleep for an entire century!
Rayman Legends seems to show what happens when Polokus is left to his own thoughts for a hundred years without his friends to distract him from the Nightmares… We end up with even more hostile creatures carving out strange new worlds for themselves in the Glade, and human heroes to boot! What's more, Polokus dreams up more copies of Ales, who go around doing evil and spreading chaos for the sake of it (as opposed to the original, who felt he was imposing order).There's not really much to note here, except the fact that Olympia's bio mentions her being "sent by the gods". It's not clear if these are really the same "gods" who are thought to have chosen Rayman himself. Given the context, it seems that it's more likely to refer to Greek gods appearing in Polokus's dreams inspired by Ancient Greece, which make up the Olympus Maximus world. The same goes for all the Temples present in that world, and the appearance of hands of Zeus and Hades – it's all likely part of what Polokus dreamed based on Ancient Greece, rather than actually involving other gods from elsewhere in the universe. As for how Polokus knows about Ancient Greece, see what I said above about the Rabbids games for one possibility…
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Well, that took me a few days to put together, so apologies if it doesn't flow as well as it should.
If you think I missed anything, or disagree with anything I have to say, or just find it interesting, please post! I'd love to hear others' opinions on this! Come on, don't let this topic be in vain! XD
. There is also that Scepter of Leptys project.
Also, it's arguable that since the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava was split in two, it actually covers both Earth and Air, since the second half is full of fans and Rayman uses his Super Helicopter. That still doesn't explain why both halves lead up to a Fire Guardian and Mask though! 
