Chauntea

Chauntea

Chauntea (pronounced: /tʃɔːnˈtiɑː/ chawn-TEE-ah) the Grain Goddess or the Great Mother is the goddess of life and a parallel deity to Silvanus, who is considered the god of wild nature, whilst Chauntea herself is seen as being the embodiment of all things agrarian or agriculture. She is a goddess of agriculture, plants cultivated by humans, farmers, gardeners, and summer. Some of her worshipers claim that her divine glimmer gave life to the natural world, and some contend that she was the creator and source of all mortal races. In some sense, Chauntea is the manifestation of the earth itself - the avatar of the twin worlds Abeir-Toril. Her most despised enemy is Talona, the lady of pestilence, since she has a disposition to wreak suffering, disease, and decay upon the natural world.

Divine Realm

In the Great Wheel cosmology, Chauntea maintained her divine realm named Great Mother's Garden on Elysium's second layer of Eronia. She shared it with the otherworldly god of crops Liu from the Chinese pantheon.

History

Chauntea is believed to be one of the eldest gods in Faerûn - she was born when Toril was created by the primeval battles between Shar and Selûne. Selûne favored her and nurtured her with her light, with the help of Mystra.[

Aspects

Before her days as the "Great Mother", she is said to have been named "Jannath", and in her early days, she frequented places of overgrown nature, wilderness, and packs of animals. This role shifted to Silvanus's, though in the Moonshae Isles, Chauntea is still worshiped as Jannath. In the wake of the Spellplague, Yondalla was reported to have be an aspect of Chauntea. While the Earthmother was considered to be a very prominent aspect of Chauntea in the Moonshae Isles, the Earthmother was actually a primal spirit. In Rashemen, she is worshiped as a member of the triumvirate of goddesses praised there known as The Three with Mielikki (Khelliara) and Mystra (The Hidden One). Here, she was known as "Bhalla". She is worshiped as Pahluruk in and around the Great Glacier. In Wa, she is worshiped as "Chantea", but only by an underground sect who are viewed with distrust or outright hostility. Followers of Chantea there are immediately put to death upon discovery. The Juzimura rebellion is noted as the official eradication of her religion in Wa, but there are suspected cells of underground worshipers in isolated areas.

Relationships

She has strong ties with other deities concerned with nature, such as Shiallia and Mielikki, and she shares a close relationship with Silvanus. She is also known to have romantic affiliations with Lathander. On the flip side, she opposes Talona with utmost vehemence, due to her malefic intent in spreading poison and disease to the natural world. She is always in conflict with Talos. Chauntea battles deities who seek to desecrate and expunge nature; she opposes evil deities such as Malar and Bane, and views the latter's resurgence as portentous.

Worshipers

Chauntea is seen by Faerûnians as a critical aspect of the assumed cycle of life. Private land owners and destitute farmers (perhaps as a consequence of an unproductive harvest) will visit the clerics of Chauntea for any divine suggestions for aiding the harvest. If, at any time, plague or drought strike their crops, farmers look to Chauntea, since they hope she will save the harvest, due to her love of nature.
The church is an approachable one, in that it welcomes all - irrespective of gender or race. The liturgical doctrine of the church is such that it attracts more females than males due to its preoccupation with femininity. While female attendees outnumber men, there is still a range of males that worship Chauntea. Chaunteans maintain simplicity when it comes to apparel. Druids prefer brown robes and priests prefer to wear a brown cloak with more standard livery such as a tunic underneath. Her temples often house great libraries dedicated to agriculture.

Typical Worshipers

Though she has a diverse collection of followers, Chauntea is fanatically worshiped by peasants, servants, druids, gardeners, and any others who earn pay from working on farmland.

Clerical Practice

Clerics pray for their spells at sundown, as do druids. They usually lead dual lives as either gardeners or farmers, and are an industrious people. They are expected to appreciate natural beauty and possess a feeling for meditation. The clergy instructs Chauntea's followers to make entreaties every sunrise. Compared to other faiths, ecclesiastics appoint few holidays. One holiday that is observed is a festival during Greengrass, which is a festival in which excessive consumption and uninhibited behavior are encouraged. Abundance is an important part of life worshiping the Great Mother. A rite of passage for many of the faith is concerned with Holy Communion. Newly married couples are instructed to spend their first night in fresh fields, supposedly to guarantee a fertile marriage. The clergy observe and recognize the dogma set forth by Chauntea herself, and read the High Prayers of the Harvest at a perennial ceremony, which is usually at the start of harvest. Her clergy are known for ministering in rural communities, and for their willingness to work in the community's fields next to the local farmers.

Denominations with the Holy Order

The divided clergy of Chauntea is sectarian by nature. Associates of the Chauntean canonry are divided into two camps. Those with ministerial positions who advise farmers and workers all over are named "Pastorals". The rustic, untamed conclave charged with preserving the wilderness refer to themselves, albeit insouciantly, as "True Shapers". The deaconry have, by no means, any centralized governing body, and is not collective. It promotes individuality and is far less unitary than other faiths.

Doctrine

The church outlines a general set of precepts and taboos, though some of these are given to subjective interpretation since the faith is individualistic. Chaunteans see wanton destruction as antithetical to the cycle of life. They are urged to nourish at least one living thing every day of their lives. They are advised to eschew fire also.
In terms of correct agricultural practice, the church advises that campaigns of replanting, prudent irrigation, and crop rotation are necessary to ensure that the land is kept fertile. However, followers of Silvanus regard these teachings with derision. They postulate that these practices are an abomination to the natural world and that agriculture is not conservation but manipulation, further arguing that their sect encourages exploitation and overpopulation. This, Silvanites decree, is in contradiction with Nature. As a result, some proselytize to the Silvanite faith, though many "Pastorals" disregard these criticisms.