Keterbagaan (kɛtərbʌɡaːʔan)
"Kosalo arose from Keterbagaan, the formless void that predates even the Dream and Spirit, and cannot persist forever. Every change to Kosalo is a form of collapse towards Keterbagaan, when all that is will dissolve into the void once again. We strive to maintain Kosalo, for nobody knows which collapse will be the final one." - excerpt from the writings of Kasamurti
Kosalo is the principle of universal order that the Mekongga people have placed at the center of their worldview. According to Kosalo, the entire world is like an interconnected lattice, temporarily balanced in its current configuration and suspended within a chaotic void where nothing is stable or persistent. In their mind, the entire universe and everything in it is an aberration, albeit one that is occasionally required by Keterbagaan's ever-shifting and all-encompassing nature. According to the teachings of Kosalo, every person, object, and place has its role in the universe that it must play in order to help the precarious configuration of Kosalo from collapsing into a new shape. The exact nature of the new configuration is unknowable, and could be a minor shift from the world as it is, or it could be a complete reconfiguration, rewriting the physical and metaphysical laws of reality. Ultimately, the universe is destined to collapse entirely back into Keterbagaan, as all the elements that allow a stable and persistent existence fall apart and dissolve into chaos and void.
Ever since the collapse of the Kingdom of Lampuato, which preciptated the Mekonggan invasion of Lahat and the establishment of the Kingdom of Lahat, the preservation of Kosalo has been a pressing concern to the Mekongga. The massive upheaval seemed certain to upset the balance of Kosalo, and many Mekongga believe that the current configuration must be teetering on the brink of collapse, waiting only for the next change to lose stability. The kings of Lahat have made it their personal mission to avoid such a fate, and have directed their philosophers to find a way to stabilize the universal order. To that end, they have established the Kosalo Astrolabe and Kosalo Villages which work in tandem to help stabilize the current configuration of Kosalo, at least in the short term.
While the eventual collapse of Kosalo is inevitable, the Kingdom of Lahat has made it a core principle to foster stability for as long as they can manage. To this end, they attempt to maintain the status quo in every way they can, even when it is only in a symbolic way. The current aggression from the Tagápulo Empire against the Kingdom of Lahat has proven a difficult challenge in this regard, and there are those among the scholars of Kosalo that advocate for using endless stalling tactics to frustrate the ambitions of the Empire, while carefully never advancing or attempting to claim anything beyond what the Kingdom of Lahat currently rules.
I really liked your astrolabe article, so I was delighted to read this myth and also Kosalo Villages for even more insight into the philosophy, its concepts and how it affected the culture of these people. I find the beliefs tied to the Keterbagaan and Kosalo fascinating and so well thought out.
Thanks! I have had a lot of fun working out the philosophy of Kosalo, and I really appreciate knowing someone else likes it!