Sefdaanian ethnography Ch. 8, Faith

Religious beliefs

• All of the Peoples are intensely religious. The Ethrans and the Xylans are especially so since they were created individually as immortals and remember their coming into existence at the hands of God (ȝúṁus).
• All the Peoples are monotheists but worship the one God under different names and appearances and with different rituals. These different appearances are called avatars (ȝumdílus). The Six Worshipful Avatars (sá tózu ȝùmdilúes) for each People are:
  • ílmus of the Ethrans.
  • àusǫ́sus of the Pyrans.
  • nȩ́ṙus of the Hydorans.
  • taṙónus of the Humans.
  • péṙĸ̌us of the Xylans.
  • pų́sus of the Lithans.
• The basic tenets of this faith are collected in a scroll called the Scroll of Faith (ǫás ȝaṙéþos). The most important of the tenets are the Six Sacred Reverences (sá noíva àisáes). These Six Reverences correspond closely to several of the Hindu Yamas.
  • Reverence of God (ȝùmaísas) - ishvarapujana (worship of the Lord)
  • Reverence of Creation (p̒ùtaísas) – aparigraha (absence of covetousness)
  • Reverence of Life (žį̀ȝaísas) – ahimsa (non-violence)
  • Reverence of Truth (ṁèṙaísas) – satya (truthfulness)
  • Reverence of Others (mùmaísas) – daya (compassion)
  • Reverence of the Property of Others (mùðaísas) – asteya (non-stealing)
• The Six Sacred Reverences give rise to the Six Precepts (sá òiṁóes):
  • to refrain from impiety (nȝumxúdam dúsu)
  • to refrain from polluting (máȝam dúsu)
  • to refrain from violence (κį́qtam dúsu)
  • to refrain from falsehood (qáṁtas dúsu)
  • to refrain from indifference (téftam dúsu)
  • to refrain from theft (vǫúṙam dúsu)
• It is the belief of the Peoples that greed (uðȝátas) is the source of all sin. This greed is manifested in the three lusts:
  • lust for others (mumȝátas)
  • lust for things (ṁèxtëȝátas)
  • lust for power (ṁaxȝátas)
• These lusts can be eliminated by the practice of the three cures (tíṙ ȝȩĸóes):
  • chastity (púqtas)
  • moderation (náḷas)
  • humility (tápas)

Religious practices

• It is a practice of the Peoples to put themselves in the presence of ȝúmus by chanting the Thirty Divine Names. With a circlet of beads consisting of five groups of six, each name is chanted with the response, “níκe, o p̒utú”, “be present to us, O P̒utus,” etc. The thirty names are arranged in the order of the Senjecan alphabet, one name for each letter.
• The Thirty Divine Names of God (κ̧úṙ on sáĸo ḑeṁús nomnóes)
  • p̒útus – The Creator
  • báȝus – The Joy-bringer
  • féḷus – The Profferer
  • véṙȝ̇us – The Savior
  • ṁénus – The Lover
  • médus – The Judge
  • teísus – The Consoler
  • dų́ṙus – The Pardoner
  • þṙúnus – The Sovereign
  • ðénus – The Fruit-producer
  • ḷénus –The Bountiful
  • lǫ́vus – The Refresher
  • cádus – The Transcendent
  • ƶą́lus – The Inviter
  • séȝ̇us – The Victor
  • žį́ȝus - The Life-giver
  • ṙȩ́ðus – The Provider
  • nmíþ̧us – The Immutable
  • ĸúṙqus – The Compassionate
  • gál̬us – The Revealer
  • xéndus - The Banisher
  • qíus – The Searcher
  • ȝ̇̌ǫ́ĸ̌us – The Enlightener
  • ȝúsus – The Just
  • áŗ̇us - The Lord
  • enṁę́sus – The Immanent
  • ířus – The Harmonizer
  • ólus – The Destroyer
  • ɔ́gus – The Resplendent
  • útus - The Aware
• Other religious practices are enshrined in the Six Commendable Acts of Religion (sá ĸę́ţo ȝounás ṁeṙƶóes)
  • private prayer (éȝṁa mélðas)
  • almsgiving (èlgëdǫ́as)
  • meditation (qǫƶábas)
  • earth care (talpǫ́tas)
  • ancestor reverence (anèṙaísas)
  • communal worship (ĸúnta tózas)

The Scriptures

• The written traditions include:
  • The Scroll of Faith (ǫás ȝaṙéþos)
  • The Chronicle of Creation (p̒utás peṙļómos)

Myth

• Many myths are told by each of the Peoples about the activities of their avatar.

Afterlife

• There is a belief in an afterlife (sęṙžį́ȝas) in the religion of the Peoples. Stories abound about the afterlife in heaven (cemélos), but there is no certain knowledge. The Ethrans, being immortal, believe that, at the end of the world (whatever that may mean) they will merely begin to exist in that world. More will be related about the sundered mages in a separate article.
• The Xylans are immortal in that they are not affected by disease or natural causes, such as poison, in this life, although they can be killed. When a Xylan or one of the other Peoples dies, the body is disposed of according to each Peoples’ beliefs, but there is a soul which continues to exist in the afterlife.
• There is no reincarnation.
• Entrance into heaven is dependent upon a preponderance of good behavior over bad behavior (ĸ̧úsos). In this context a People’s avatar is seen as a judge (ðȩsmédus) holding a balance (telúṙos). The individual’s good works, represented by a (), are placed in balance against his bad works, represented by a (). A soul having equal balance is given the benefit of the doubt. It is not known how different margins of goodness translate into the afterlife. Every worship hall has prominently and centrally displayed a representation of a balance.

Religious officials

• There are no religious officials in the sense of an individual being especially chosen for that role. In the case of all the Peoples, the senior member of the community is also the principal leader of worship. In his or her absence the next senior member leads the worship. In case of debility due to age or illness, this senior member may hand over the leadership to the next senior member of the community.
• The suffix –deúĸus (leader) is appended to the name of the People’s settlement to specify the role of leader of worship. Thus,
  • For the Ethrans, dùndeúĸus
  • For the Pyrans, dàvdeúĸus
  • For the Hydorans, ną̀deúĸus
  • For the Humans, ceìṁdeúĸus
  • Since they are solitary, the Xylans have no communal worship. When two or more happen to gather together, the eldest of them takes on the role of the deúĸus.
  • For the Lithans, pàlqëdeúĸus.

Religious calendar

• The religious calendar is given in Chapter 2. Time, under “Calendar”.

Ritual

• The religious ritual (ǫ́ṙos) consists, in general, of chanting the Thirty Divine Names of God, singing hymns, prayers for individual and collective needs, and personal testimony of good behavior and requests for forgiveness for bad behavior with respect to the Six Sacred Reverences. The ritual ends with announcements of coming events in the community. Sacred dance (noívo mébos) is a part of the solar celebrations, but not of the lunar celebrations. As ȝúmus has no needs there is no offering, symbolic or otherwise. The ritual is followed by a communal meal (ĸuntédos). If the weather is good, this communal meal is held on the village green (ĸuntáṙƶos).
• Non-members of the community are always welcome to share in the ritual and the meal, although this does not happen often because of the distances involved in travel. Most of the time, the guest is a Lithan trader and his crew or a wandering Xylan may visit. This travel occurs in the summer when the weather is good. Thus, it is usually the celebration of the summer solstice (June 21) and the autumn festival (August 6) at which one would see non-members of the community in attendance.
• A guest in the home is known as a šétus. A guest at a ritual is known as a ðȩšétus.

The Monastic Life

• The institution of monasticism goes hand-in-hand with hospitality. These monastery/caravansaries (sàṙþëdáṙos) are located at the fords of rivers. The hosts (qóstus) are of any of the Peoples who have chosen this vocation. The guest master (qostáŗ̇us) is chosen by the hosts for a period for six years (qòstaṙdį́as).
• The lodgers (áṁsus) are provided with food and a place to sleep and may join the hosts in their rituals. The caravansaries also provide passage across the river. If the river is not so deep or wide, passage may involve being carried across by a Xylan. Otherwise, a Xylan-powered ferry (péṙmos) is provided. Depending on the speed of the current, they may either be poled across or pulled across by a rope. Livestock must, obviously, be ferried across.
• There is a charge for lodging (àmsëqéltos) and ferriage (pèṙmëqéltos). This payment may be in kind from the Lithan traders.

Magic

• In Sefdaania magic (séfƶus) is one of the six energies. It is available only to the Ethrans whose physiology allows them to tap this source of energy. This energy enables them to perform telekinesis and a limited instantaneous telelocation and levitation.

Supernatural beings

• There are no supernatural beings.