Belan-Nor (Bell-an-nor)
The Guardian Vigil
To the Venestrians, the loss of life within their community is always a heavy one. However, being a people who have historically only had time as their one significant resource it should come as no surprise that their funeral rites reflect this reality. Called the Belan-Nor, or Guardian Vigil, the Venestrians do not make a great fanfare for those who have passed. Instead, they utilize simple observance and sharing of memories as their way of respecting the dead and paving a trail of communal love for them as they travel on their final journey.
History
The Venestrians are a people that often have little. Occupying mountain ranges with scarce or hard-to-acquire resources resulted in a people that were forced to use what they had to the best of their ability. As such, even death had to be a ceremony that respected this simple fact. Initially started in the Venestrian's early days as a means to save on resources while also respecting those who had passed, the Belan-Nor has since evolved into a popular social observance where the dead are celebrated while conserving the ceremony into appropriate duties and items whose purpose were to emphasize community and contribution.
As such, while resources have become easier to come by with allyship among the Churrians, the Venestrians continue to observe the ceremony's basic ideals: simplicity, grievance, and the dedication of time. While the ceremony has evolved into community gatherings, the only other significant change to its execution is simply the usage of Churrian colors, red and white, to represent the loss of the individual to all Churrians as opposed to the singular loss of a family or community. This is best represented by the one item the dead are allowed to keep as their own, their funeral cloth.
Execution
Starting immediately upon the confirmed or presumed death of a Venestrian community member, the Guardian Vigil begins by placing the body, or a representation of the body, onto a simple stone or wooden slab within an enclosed location and covered with a red and white cloth covering. Incense is then lit and those who are deemed to have been close to the deceased are allowed to come in and begin the ritual vigil with items of their choosing which generally includes mementos related to the deceased. The observers will then, after a period of silence, begin to share stories, memories, and songs of the one who had passed as a means to help them feel the love of their community as they continue onto the final journey.
Allowed to leave only to retrieve food or to use the facilities, the tradition will last for around three days and three nights. Upon the rising of the fourth day, the wrapped body will then be removed and ceremoniously interred within a local gravesite with other members of their family. Their name is afterwards inscribed on a nearby wall as a marker of their existence and then life continues on.
Components and tools
Relying only upon a few essential items, the Belan-Nor is performed with incense to help cover the smell of the body, a red and white cloth covering to respect the deceased, and a simple slab of wood or stone to lay them on. Other items that are brought in are generally mementos brought by those observing the ceremony to lay around the body and to act as conduits to share stories and memories with those who have gathered.
Participants
While there are no key figures within the ceremony itself, it is generally considered good practice to have only those who were close to the deceased to attend the vigil. This is done via the shared agreement among participants as to who may be and who may not be allowed in with the deceased's immediate family taking priority over others.
Observance
Performed as soon as is reasonably possible, the Belan-Nor will, at minimum, last around three days and three nights. However, there have been noted occasions where this unwritten rule has been broken such as in the occurrence of a significant community member or hero dying which may cause a vigil to last much longer as the community processes their passing.
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