Time of Eraitsi

"Though humans have many moral failings, their short lifespans bring questions of meaning and value into sharp focus, and result in some of the most concise and effective tools for teaching the importance of morality to their young. The Time of Eraitsi fro those who practice the Saiatu faith is one of these."

— ArchMage Telella Forwith, University of the Stone Throne Dean of Religious Studies taken from lectures on Overview of World Religions

The Faith of Humans

Bila Egiaren the human religious leader, self declared prophet of Sol, and founder of the Saiatu faith, established four moral imperitives for humans called the Foundations of Faith, or alternatively, the Ways of the Worthy. The religion deliberately invoke two main images, the image of a journey to represent the internal, personal journey of the believer, and the image of a building to represent the interaction of the individual with the community. The four pillars or ways of the faith are:

• Seek Perfection - The first tenant of the faith encourages it's followers to hold the highest moral ideals for which they can strive - not having attained these, but setting within themselves a vision or standard for what their thoughts and behaviors should be. For the indivual, to fail to have ideals is to fail to have meaning. For the society, to fail to have shared ideals is to engender hate int he society and to work at cross purposes.
• Speak Truth- The second tenant of the faith demands that the followers see and speak that which is and not represent to others or themselves as truth, that which is not true. It calls for right judgement, and ruthlessness and critical examination of who one is. The idea of truthful examination of the self and the world is central to being able to make progress towards attaining the ideal of perfection. To engage in deception or wallow in ignorance keeps one from understanding what is needful to make progress towards the ideal on both the personal and social domaines.
• Make Sacrifice - the third tenant calls the follower to put aside those things which do not contribute to attaining the ideal and to sacrifice the desires of the moment to attain the highest possible good. In this is encapsulated the actions of the individual- the movement towards behaviors that bring about the ideal.
• Humble Yourself - the final tenant is a formulation of a positive behavior to ward off negative progress in attaining the ideal. It encapsulates the concept of gratitude - that one should honor your own past remembering the place from which you came, and rejoicing in the progress made so far. With regard to the community in which one lives, it speaks to respecting others and against the arrogance of coveting and taking what belongs to others or breaking faith with them.

These pillars of morality are celebrated during the Festival of Eraiki, a week of community celebration occurring at the beginning of the growing season each year. During the festival, over a peiod of four days, a stone and wooden structure called the Etxe Asko is constructed in the center of town. On the first day, a stone foundation standing for truth is laid. On the second day, walls representing honor of the past striving for the ideal are built. On the third day, the shelter is roofed, representing the ideal of moral behavior for which the believer strives. On the final day, tables are placed around the edges of the shelter and foodstuffs are brought to fill the tables with plenty representing the humble personal sacrifice of the believer's present desires to attain the ideal. The humble Etxe Asko is the only building that is part of the practice of the Saiatu faith.
Once constructed, the etxe asko becomes a place of worship and a distribution center for food and medicine for those in poverty in the community. Members of the community bring donations from their fields and labor to the etxe asko, and a priest distributes these donations to those who have need as he deems worthy.

The Time of Eraitsi - An Object Lesson

In the late fall, after the first frost, another darker, single day observance is held called the Time of Eraitsi. Those who choose to participate from the community, be they members of the faith or not, are gathered into two camps - the young, and the old. The young are given the task of removing the etxe asko within the period of a day, knocking it over and burning it to the ground, with only the stone foundation to be left. The old are given the task of defending it. A large purse of money is offered to the team that wins this competition.
The outcome of this conflict varies. For some communities, the young succeed and burn down the structure earning and splitting the fat purse between themselves. The etxe asko is not rebuilt until the following year. For other communities, the etxe asko is successfully defended, and the purse is split, half of the purse goes to the etxe asko and is used to provide for the needs of the poor in the community through the winter, and the other half is split amongst the defenders of the etxe asko.
The Time of Eraitsi is a time of contemplation and decision, asking the community of believers to evaluate and act sacrificially on their values and providing a very tangible object lesson of the importance and impact of the four ways. It provides powerful illustration of the power of the decisions and actions of individuals to change the world for the good - or to cause suffering.