(As Lewis implies in Chapter 22 of Out of the Silent Planet, the name Oyarsa was suggested by Oyarses, the name given in Bernard Silvestris's Cosmographia to the governors of the celestial spheres.

The eldila are science-fictionalised depictions of angels, immortal and holy, with the Oyéresu perhaps being archangels or some higher order. The ultimate head of all oyarsa and eldila is Maleldil. At the end of his visit to Perelandra, Ransom is shown the two Oyarsu of Malacandra and Perelandra, who remind him of Mars and Venus, the Roman gods.Įarth's oyarsa is the Bent One who is said to be corrupted and held within the orbit of the Moon. Ransom perceives the Oyarsa of Malacandra as a shimmering light. Oyarsu are only seen occasionally by hnau. Fallen worlds usually end up becoming major battlegrounds. Once an Oyarsa turns to the 'dark side', their world is quarantined by the eldila until they are defeated and their influence is eradicated. It is their jobs to monitor the spiritual evolution of hnau or sapient races, and ensure that they do not succumb to the influence of evil.Įach Oyarsa is allowed to guide each world and its moons as they fit, allowing various worlds to develop different cultures that match their spiriitual rulers' philosophies. The title Oyarsa seems to indicate the function of leadership, regardless of the leader's species when the Perelandran human Tor assumes rule of his world, he styles himself 'Tor-Oyarsa-Perelendri' (presumably 'Tor, Ruler of Perelandra').Įach Oyarsa is appointed as the spiritual leaders of inhabited worlds. Each planet in the Field of Arbol has its own oyarsa, and they communicate to one another in Old Solar. If so, it is quite possible that they can produce there the sensations we should have if our eyes were capable of receiving those colours in the spectrum which are actually beyond their range.' ( Perelandra, Chapter 16)Īn Oyarsa (plural: Oyéresu) is a person (usually an eldil or angel) set to guard a world. 'We think that when creatures of the hypersomatic kind choose to 'appear' to us, they are not in fact affecting our retina at all, but directly manipulating the relevant parts of our brain.

Perelandra cs lewis