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Sāqte

The principle ritual of Lēmūd (an offshoot of Qā-Jāre that focuses on acts of faith and minor deities), Sāqte is a purifying ritual that brings the faithful closer to their gods, inviting them into the temple's High Hall in an expression of mutual love between the believers and the believed-in.   The ritual is preceded with participants ritually washing their faces and hands, and brushing their teeth, washing out the impurities of thought, deed, and words. Adults put on a Zēhsāmqed, a veil that covers their daily headscarf and obscures lower part of ther face, before filing into the High Hall. The ritual proper begins when a single note is struck on a lead-crystal bell by a child. The lesser gods pick up the note and maintain it throughout the proceedings.   A prayer is recited:  
Divine souls, the highest among us Beloved souls, our hearts' constant companion Devoted souls, whose love lights the day   Walk with us and guide out hands, our deeds Speak with us and guide our our words, our thoughts Stay with us and guide our dreams, our hopes
  Verses from the Tifrà are read by the Kanâná and water from the holy spring is spread around the ritual space and onto the congregation, banishing evil spirits, purifying the space and allowing the lesser gods draw into the spaces between the words. At this point, the gods are visible as light or a 'shimmer' in the air.   The congregation prays, addressing their hopes and wishes to the lesser gods directly, and offerings - in the form of declarations of love and promises of sanctified deeds - are made.   The lesser gods are invited to stay at the conclusion of the ritual, though it is known that they cannot. Each congregant, is blessed by the gods, the proof of which is an opalescant mark that appears on their forehead, showing that they are purified and protected against ghosts and evil spirits.

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Cover image: by Vincent Pelletier

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