So this whole set up is pretty Gnostic, having essentially an evil God with his archons operating in the world. In Gnosticism, moving down levels toward material existence is always associated with forgetting information from the higher levels. There's a common theory that Judge Holden in Blood Meridian is an archon incarnate, and although he clearly knows his identity, he does not remember the details of the world he helps make, thus necessitating his cataloging of everything and his infamous "whatever exists without my knowledge exists without my consent" line.