Tanishite Religion
Tanishites worship a pantheon of gods. The greatest of them is Ushludiya, more commonly known as Rekeh (Teacher). His true name is too sacred to use in common speech. There were four worlds before this one, but Rekah destroyed each of these in turn when the inhabitants grew too arrogant and wicked. The last of these great destruction was what is elsewhere called the First Reckoning. After each destruction, the world was an endless sea and Rekeh pulled land out of it to shape the new world.
After the last destruction, two rocks remained in the sea. He took these rocks and turned them into the sun and the moon, which took form as the lovers Entu, the sun, and A'ui, the moon. Both of them in the sky, however, was too bright, so he banished A'ui to the night. She was so forlorn at her banishment from Entu that she began to cry, and her tears formed the river. Rekeh then formed humans out of sand.
Before they were separated, Entu and A'ui had time to conceive only one child, who A'ui sent to the world to be leader of the people roaming the desert. The current king of Tanish is believed to be a descendant of the sun and moon, granted the right to rule by his divine heritage.
Gods and Goddesses
Rekeh: The teacher, the creator, the god of everything. After he created the world and was satisfied with the latest creation, he walked away into the desert promising to return one day. Entu: God of the sun and the most important of the gods. Patron of the Tanishites, ancestor of the king. He is married to the goddess of the moon. Depicted as a handsome warrior. A'ui: Goddess of the moon, wife of Entu. She is also the goddess of marriage, defender of women, and guardian of the Zel river. Depicted as a beautiful woman. Emili'i: Goddess of the earth, responsible for farming and the harvest. Depicted as an old crone, and easily slighted. Pataamal: God of death, ruler of the underworld. Depicted as a man with the head of a bat. Inaka: God of thunder, lightning, and wind. Depicted a powerful man carrying a club. Kel: Goddess of the rain, wife of Inaka. Depicted as an older woman, who often feuds with Inaka. Their spats take the form of storms. La'im: God of the sea, primarily worshipped in Uymil. Takes the form of a powerful man carrying a spear. Bima: Goddess of fertility, sexuality, pregnant women, and birth. Depicted as a large woman with pronounced breasts. Shuzeb: Goddess of the desert and empty places, protector of travellers far from home. Bringer of sandstorms and provider of oases. Depicted as a stern woman in flowing robes. Yudaya: Goddess of the dawn, the morning star, and protector of children. Depicted as a young woman, almost always with children around her. Zirey: God of wealth, mining, treasure, and merchants. Collapses mines if he feels humans have become too greedy. Depicted as an older man in fine clothes, always with some type of precious stone.Spirits
Spirits are believed to be the souls of great ancestors who remain in the world to serve the gods and watch over those still living. These might be past kings, priests, oracles, or military heroes. Individual families might also be watched over by an ancestor who remains as a spirit.Worship Practices
The gods are worshipped at temples throughout the region. Each temple is built at the top of a ziggurat, some of which are up to 10-stories high with temples built on their flat surfaces. Each deity has only one principle temple, which are divided among the major cities along the Zel. Smaller shrines for local deities and for local worship of the major deities are scattered across the kingdom. Within each temple are stone carvings of humans with their hands clasped in prayer, stationed to provide constant prayer to the gods. Each temple also includes a stone representation of the deity to which the temple is dedicated (or multiple small statues for small local shrines). Priests at each temple maintain these statues, decorate them in fine jewellery, and lay out offerings of food and drink each day. Incense is burned within the temples constantly, because the gods enjoy the smell. Likewise, music is frequently played within temples to please the resident god. Priests' primary job is to serve as mediators between humanity and the gods, and to keep humanity in the good graces of the gods. Individuals provide offerings to the temples. Offering an animal for sacrifice, or a portion of harvest or a bottle of alcohol, is seen as giving a gift to the deity and the deity will bless you in return. Offerings to Emili'i are particularly common just before the harvest, for example. It is essential to offer something every time you enter a temple or shrine, although that something could be as simple as a stone or a strand of your hair.Sacrifice
In addition to material goods offered to the gods, sacrifices are also made. The most common form is the sacrifice of animals. Aurochs and tagas are the most frequent animals used for this. They are slaughtered within the temples and their blood pooled in stone basins at the feet of the statues. Major rituals, however, call for human sacrifice. Some sacrificial rituals are annual and others are done during certain occasions, such as during a drought, upon the ascension of a new king, or before going to war. The sacrificial victims are generally Twilight Maidens (See: The Sun Maidens) who have not yet been given as concubines, as it is important that they are still pure and virginal.Festivals
Every month of the year is named for a god. In each month, there is some form of festival to honour the eponymous god.Autumn Festival
Date: 1st - 3rd of Emilidan This is the first day of the year on the new calendar, and honours Emili'i. To thank her for the autumn harvest, they spend three days fasting. Priests begin chanting prayers in the morning and do not stop until nightfall, when they burn a portion of the harvest in her honour and only then eat for themselves. Common people are expected to fast throughout the day as well. This culminates in a large meal after nightfall of the third day. Having shown proper reverence to Emili'i, they can now celebrate their harvest without fear of slighting her.Offering to Shuzeb
Date: 15th of Shuzan This is one of the lesser holidays and is mostly only observed by priests or the families of travellers. Priests perform a sacrifice to appease Shuzeb, and frequent travellers or their families will perform a smaller one at home to ask for her protection and mercy while on the road.Festival of Zirey
Date: 20th of Zireyan To honour the god of wealth, people make ostentatious displays of their own and demonstrate to Zirey that they are worthy of it by giving back to the community. This is a day of charity, gift giving, and donations to temples.Festival of the Dead
Date: 31st of Pataaman A day honouring Pataamal and to celebrate and remember their ancestors. Mummies are brought out to sit at banquet tables and banners with the bat face of Pataamal adorn every building. This is a day of heavy drinking and partying. Though its focus is on death, in some ways it's more about life. The festival brings the inevitability of death to the forefront, and reminds everyone that they are not dead yet. It's a day to remember your deceased loved ones, share a meal with them, and then party because you're still alive. Portions of every feast are left at shrines as an offering to Pataamal, to thank him for allowing you to still be here for this festival and ask him to allow you to be present for next year's.Feast of the Sun
Held on the Summer solstice in honour on Entu. Tribute from across the kingdom is presented before the king in waiting on this day. Feasts are held, from the grand royal banquet to small family meals among the poorest residents. A sacrifice to Entu is made on this day, and it marks the beginning of The Ascension to Rekeh. In the ancient past, this was the first day of the new year, before The Old Calendar was adopted.A'uiism
The Kalian people south of the desert have very similar religious beliefs with one key difference. The Kalians view A'ui as more powerful, because the moon is seen day and night while the sun only has dominion over the day. Though they acknowledge the existence of the other gods in the pantheon, they worship only A'ui. Because A'ui does not ask for human sacrifice, they also do not practice this. This is seen as terrible blasphemy by other groups in the region.Structure
The king in waiting serves as the high priest and ultimate authority of worship. King in waiting is especially devoted to Entu, the sun, because he is considered to be a direct descendant of it.
Each other god has a priest devoted to them. The more venerated the god, the higher the status of the priest. The priests of the major deities all come from the noble class, but lesser gods - especially the ones only worshipped regionally - can have commoner priests. Commoners can also be priests of local branches of more signifcant temples. They are a priest of the god, not the priest.
Type
Religious, Pantheon
Related Ethnicities
