Atlinthaian Nature Worship
Early Atlinthaians practiced a form of nature worship which was derived from the Mun faith.
Matriarchal Foundations
Early Atlinthaians were a Mun cult that followed only the Book of Orange. As such, it threw out most of the Mun prophecies of the future, and operated under a matriarchal system. This religious belief is likely why the early Atlinthaians operated under an oligarchy of matriarchs. As opposed to the single deity, both male and female that the Mun worship, the Atlinthaians believed in a three-in-one goddess.
Mother Ocean
The Mother Ocean was the source of all creation, including both Life and Death. She has dominion over the ocean and everything inside it, as well as pregnancies, babies, and stillbirths. Children who die young and people who kill themselves are said to go to her realm in death. Though she is also the personification the ocean, the Mother is often depicted as a woman, either human or Mermish, riding on the back of a pelican.
Neripon
Neripon is the older daughter of the Mother and the goddess of life. She has dominion over the land and all its creatures, and is typically depicted as a tree-woman. She is also the goddess of love, marriage, honesty, and revenge. She is said to have had many lovers, but never more than one at a time. If the man she sleeps with tells her that he wants to end the relationship to pursue another woman, Neripon always lets him go, with a blessing upon him, that his new relationship may flourish. If, however, he cheats on her with another woman, and she learns of his betrayal, she will run him through with a three-foot thorn. This is the same fate she carries out against liars, adulterers, and rapists.
The Crow
Death, the younger daughter, typically takes the form of a crow-woman. She has dominion over the sky and all winged and flying things, as well as the wind that carries them. It is said that when a person dies, she wraps them in her wind and carries them to her home in the sky.
Crow Canyon
Crow Canyon, more commonly known as the Wailing Chasm, is an unusual rock formation in western Atlinthaia. As the wind moves through the rocks, it is said to sound as if it is speaking, whispering, or crying. The early Atlinthaians named it after their goddess of death because they believed her spirit moved through the canyon and spoke the names of those who were soon to die.
Mixing with the Xurugwi
After the crash of the Defiant, and the settlement of its Xurugwi passengers in Atlinthaia, the two traditions began to merge. Already practicing a form of outdoor worship, the Atlinthaians adopted the Xurugwi dances in their practice, as well as Xurugwi Funeral Rites. In turn, Xurguwi belief in birds as tricksters transformed into a belief that birds are messengers of Death. Therefore, instead of killing them or driving them away, the Atlinthaian Xurugwi developed a reverence for birds. Furthermore, while eggs and fowl entered the diet, Atlinthaians would would not consume birds that could fly long distances, nor the eggs of these birds, as they did not want to anger Death for killing her workers. Those birds that could not fly long distance, such as turkeys, were considered a gift to people from Death, that they might eat. These dietary restrictions remain common in Atlinthaia today, though the reason is not commonly known.
The Mother Ocean was the source of all creation, including both Life and Death. She has dominion over the ocean and everything inside it, as well as pregnancies, babies, and stillbirths. Children who die young and people who kill themselves are said to go to her realm in death. Though she is also the personification the ocean, the Mother is often depicted as a woman, either human or Mermish, riding on the back of a pelican.
Neripon
Neripon is the older daughter of the Mother and the goddess of life. She has dominion over the land and all its creatures, and is typically depicted as a tree-woman. She is also the goddess of love, marriage, honesty, and revenge. She is said to have had many lovers, but never more than one at a time. If the man she sleeps with tells her that he wants to end the relationship to pursue another woman, Neripon always lets him go, with a blessing upon him, that his new relationship may flourish. If, however, he cheats on her with another woman, and she learns of his betrayal, she will run him through with a three-foot thorn. This is the same fate she carries out against liars, adulterers, and rapists.
The Crow
Death, the younger daughter, typically takes the form of a crow-woman. She has dominion over the sky and all winged and flying things, as well as the wind that carries them. It is said that when a person dies, she wraps them in her wind and carries them to her home in the sky.
Crow Canyon
Crow Canyon, more commonly known as the Wailing Chasm, is an unusual rock formation in western Atlinthaia. As the wind moves through the rocks, it is said to sound as if it is speaking, whispering, or crying. The early Atlinthaians named it after their goddess of death because they believed her spirit moved through the canyon and spoke the names of those who were soon to die.
Mixing with the Xurugwi
After the crash of the Defiant, and the settlement of its Xurugwi passengers in Atlinthaia, the two traditions began to merge. Already practicing a form of outdoor worship, the Atlinthaians adopted the Xurugwi dances in their practice, as well as Xurugwi Funeral Rites. In turn, Xurguwi belief in birds as tricksters transformed into a belief that birds are messengers of Death. Therefore, instead of killing them or driving them away, the Atlinthaian Xurugwi developed a reverence for birds. Furthermore, while eggs and fowl entered the diet, Atlinthaians would would not consume birds that could fly long distances, nor the eggs of these birds, as they did not want to anger Death for killing her workers. Those birds that could not fly long distance, such as turkeys, were considered a gift to people from Death, that they might eat. These dietary restrictions remain common in Atlinthaia today, though the reason is not commonly known.
Death, the younger daughter, typically takes the form of a crow-woman. She has dominion over the sky and all winged and flying things, as well as the wind that carries them. It is said that when a person dies, she wraps them in her wind and carries them to her home in the sky.
Crow Canyon
Crow Canyon, more commonly known as the Wailing Chasm, is an unusual rock formation in western Atlinthaia. As the wind moves through the rocks, it is said to sound as if it is speaking, whispering, or crying. The early Atlinthaians named it after their goddess of death because they believed her spirit moved through the canyon and spoke the names of those who were soon to die.
Mixing with the Xurugwi
After the crash of the Defiant, and the settlement of its Xurugwi passengers in Atlinthaia, the two traditions began to merge. Already practicing a form of outdoor worship, the Atlinthaians adopted the Xurugwi dances in their practice, as well as Xurugwi Funeral Rites. In turn, Xurguwi belief in birds as tricksters transformed into a belief that birds are messengers of Death. Therefore, instead of killing them or driving them away, the Atlinthaian Xurugwi developed a reverence for birds. Furthermore, while eggs and fowl entered the diet, Atlinthaians would would not consume birds that could fly long distances, nor the eggs of these birds, as they did not want to anger Death for killing her workers. Those birds that could not fly long distance, such as turkeys, were considered a gift to people from Death, that they might eat. These dietary restrictions remain common in Atlinthaia today, though the reason is not commonly known.
CW: rape (mention)
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