The Sect of Khanna
Khanna (The Goddess of Life and Fertility) – The favored god of many northern peasants. The Goddess is typically depicted as a tall, golden-haired woman wearing flowing green robes and carrying a golden staff. In other regions the Goddess tends to take a form that would seem familiar to the worshippers, in the Mountains of the Spine she is depicted as a woman with black hair and fair skin with the same green robes and staff as would be seen further north. Among Southrons she is generally shown as a woman with light brown skin and brown eyes wearing a southern style dress and carrying a staff.
Worship usually takes place in rural settings where leadership is provided by covens of priestesses. The covens usually pick a location near a scared site. From here they travel the surrounding region healing the sick, blessing crops and livestock. The priestesses, often referred to as witches, go to great lengths to protect the communities of the faithful. These communities repay the support of the priestesses with gifts of food, livestock, clothing and other goods. Priestesses will often preside over harvest festivals, weddings, and funerals. They are highly sought after to bless newly sown fields, the sites of houses and pregnant women.
Structure
This religion is not tightly governed and has no central authority. However, the most powerful priestesses are highly revered and ofen sought out for advice and support. Each coven is a more or less independent entity, though those that are geographically close to each other will often join together for important holidays or to support each other in a time of crisis.Typically each coven will have a high priestess who will play a leadership role. Generally if a coven passes 13 members in size it will either send members to join another coven, or it will plan to spin off another coven. Coven's formed in this manner typically have an especially close relationship with their mother coven.
Culture
The faith has something of reputation of being a peasant faith. A large part the belief system focuses on fertility and productivity of crops, forests, animals and people. However the faith has managed to gain the attention of the elite in some areas like the Majaran Empire. The faith tends to focus on worshipping in natural settings although shrines and temples are built to allow year round worship and to protect sacred sites or artifacts.
Public Agenda
To protect the welfare of the Goddess' followers and revere the Goddess.
Assets
Many covens establish a home. This could be a small hamlet of a few cottages or a hall where the coven lives collectively. Tpically these communities will maintain livestock and gardens.
History
Generally thought to be one of the oldest and most common faiths in northern Corgeria. It is believed the faith came to the world at the time of the Arrival.
Divine Origins
This is among the oldest religions in this world and seems to have existed since the begining of recorded history.
Tenets of Faith
The central idea of the faith is to bring Khanna's blessings of health, fertility, safety and long-life to the community. The members of the faith believe that they should worship Khanna, she is the creator and guardian of life.
Worship
Khanna can be worshiped anywhere, but the sect's sacred pools, groves and shrines bring worshipers particularly close to the Goddess. In many cases these special worship sites have unusual powers like granting greater magic abilities to the witch, healing injuries or disabilities, increasing fertility and protection from evil. Important worship sites will often have a spirit guardian creature that will appear like some large forest animal, but will be invested with magical powers.
The Sect has a major festival to mark each season. The religious calendar begins with the planting festival, followed by MId-Summers Night, Harvest and Winter's Hearth. The planting festival celebrates the completion of sowing the fields and typically begins with priestesses blessing the fields and animals. Marriages are often performed around the time of the Planting Festival. Midsummers Night focuses on fertility and is often a time when young people begin courtships. The harvest festival thanks the Goddess for a bountiful crop. Winter's Hearth focuses on celebrating crafts such as brewing, winemaking, weaving and the making of musical instruments. It is seen as an approprate to share and showoff the communities skills in these areas.
Priesthood
The priesthood of this faith consists of covens of witches usually based in rural areas, although some can be found in cities and towns. The coven will often have a geographic base in or near a rural village, but will spread their activities around surrounding areas. The witches will often wander the countryside singly or in small groups healing both sick people and animals, carrying out fertility rituals and doing what they can to protect the faithful. Coven typically recruit girls at around age twelve and if they seem promising begin to train them as priestesses. The role of priestess often runs in certain families and the daughters of priestesses are frequently recruited. Some priestesses will get married then live in their husband's community while others will spend their whole lives living with the coven. This is seen as an individual choice for each priestess and it is not usual for priestesses to come and go from their covens.
Witches typically develop considerable medical skills like midwifery, surgery and herb lore. Some become highly attuned to the needs of the forests and farms they serve. Some priestesses also train as warriors, both to provide protection to their own covens and the broader community of Khanna worshippers. These holy warriors are known as Guardians of the Scared Coven. these women typically are less knowledgeable of magic due to the time they devote to weapons training.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Covens often have great influence over local peasant populations and are usually respected and often consulted by the local nobility. Some well known and powerful covens wield influence over other covens. One form this takes is mother and daughter covens. The mother coven typically will grow past the typical size of thirteen and start to form another coven, often from the daughters of the witches in the mother coven will combine with novices to form the daughter coven. Typically one of the more powerful members of the Mother Coven will become the Mistress of the Coven in the new coven. The Mother and Daughter Covens will typically maintain a close relationship and will cooperate closely on a variety of matters.
Some very old, very powerful covens that maintain the most important religious sites are known as great covens. Often witches will journey from their home covens to pursue advanced religious and magical training with these covens.
Sects
Each coven has some variation in its rituals and style. Since there is no official hierarchy within the faith each coven mistress has a good deal of independence on how to conduct her coven's business. There is a very pronounced difference between the rituals carried out by covens south of the Spine compared to those north of the Spine. These differences are more based on differences in style than actual beliefs.
Type
Religious, Other
Alternative Names
Sect of Khanna
Demonym
Khannites
Leader Title
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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