The villagers play the role of the Messengers of their respective ancestral spirits(kamis) during the ceremony. When Soh bestows a mask upon them, they inherit the powers their ancestors once had.
The Masks holds the power of the Goddess...yet bestows the abilities of those who defiled her? I'm assuming they use the Goddess's power to channel the powers of their ancestors.
There are 12 masks, Soh's being the 12th. But what is the 12th and who does it belong to?
Yoshiro is aided by Soh, her ancestral spirit. Soh is playing the Messenger of Her ancestors...so her ancestor is the Goddess?
Both Yoshiro and Soh descended from above, but Yoshiro is just the name given to every Maiden and Soh is given to every Messenger who was once a Maiden. They're both 'nameless'.
So, we can simply say the Maiden descended first, walked the Path, became the first Messenger to the next Maiden.
If the Maiden descended, is she the offspring of the Goddess?
I struggled with this 'they both descended' lore. I speculated it's because Yoshiro eventually becomes Soh, meaning yes, they both 'theoretically descend' but I don't think that's it.
The chosen Maiden can only come from one specific lineage.
But it said the Maiden's ancestors made the pact and cultivated the land. Was the consequence of breaking the pact they have to offer up descendants to take on the responsibility of the Goddess and endure Her suffering?
Is Soh's mask the mask of the very first Maiden who gained the power of the Goddess?
It might explain why this is titled 'Kunitsukami', a god from the land.
But re-reading the plaques, I've made a mistake.
The villagers one is speaking of their Flower Masks they wear which are then hung in front of the Ancestral Masks. The Ancestral Masks are the ones Soh bestows upon them.
The Maiden's ancestors, alongside the ancestors of the villagers, made the pact. It wasn't just her lineage.
During the ceremony...the Maiden doesn't wear a mask like everyone else. In the Normal Ending, we see the new Maiden and she drops a cute fox mask she was wearing, which is much different to the masks the others wear.
 |
| Reminds me of Soh's face! |
Back to the 12th mask...
Soh wears an ancestral mask...possibly the mask of the Maiden?
I speculated before that the Maiden is the 12th mask...and since Soh is directly linked to Yoshiro, enough that she becomes unable to fight if Yoshiro is unwell, the Maiden's mask is tied to the power of the Goddess. Yoshiro is the acting Goddess hence when she's incapacitated, Soh cannot use her mask.
I'll put all this together in my head eventually.