High Priest (Yamachai)

In the Yamachai capital of Yamato, the main source of cultural and political unity in the southernmost islands is the Most Pious, the most high ranking ecclesiastical practitioners in Yamachai society. They oversee the religious and spiritual well-being of both the clan leaders and the common people, serving as advisors, running charities and orphanages, teaching at the capital’s university and holding monasteries where once can learn a range of topics from history to martial arts to the mystic arts- if travellers who have visited the islands can be believed!
The High Priest is at the top of this elusive order.

Requirements

Having served among the Most Devout for at least five years.

Having gained the approval of other members for leadership.

Appointment

Election among the most Pious taking place upon the death of the current High Priest, in a ceremony known as the Binding, where the candidates are put through times of intense fasting, asceticism, meditation and pain resistance trails. Upon the supervision of the other Pious, a candidate is chosen and the others return among their ranks.

Responsibilities

Theoretically being the most powerful of the Yamachai race and nation, the High Priest or Babayama has supreme authority over the faith’s actions and influences, as the most directly linked with the Source. He also possesses a deal of secular power, making the most important decisions in Yamato and the island of Yam, as well as serving as the spiritual figurehead of the nation, overseeing the running of the city and taxes from across the isles. Off Yam and the capital, however, the High Priest’s power is much more ceremonial and the Clan lords are more free to exercise their own power and influence.

Grounds for Removal/Dismissal

A High Priest can be deposed upon finding a behaviour at odds with the oaths one must take to be among the most pious, such as substantial early wealth, a family of his own, or illegitimate children, especially with a human as with silverskins. The Yamachai high priest Dugnama VI [452-475 AF], where the bodies of multiple stillborn monstrosities were bought forward claimed by human concubines to be his.

History

In the more distant past, the Yamachai were a centralised system with the high priest being an absolutist figure, ruling not only all of the main Yamachai islands but extending his influence into southern Tzunar and even Hydric, which may be the reason why more isolated Yamachai populations exist in these regions to this day. Noble families are much rarer and weaker than, dependent on mandates from the priests that could be revoked at any time.
When the Fires happened, however, the Isles suffered greatly at the hands of volcanic winter, famines and a shutdown in trade, as well as increased attacks from Apostates underground. The High Priest office continued but lost a lot of its political power, resulting in the isles being the loose confederation that it is today.

Type

Religious, Political

Status

Is still present but has been reduced to more of a figurehead role in secular politics since the Fires shook up the Isles centuries ago

Creation

The High Priests of Yamachai claim to follow the traditions of the YugaKumwa, a former clan prince who reconnected with the Source of all creation, setting aside his old gods as mere creations rather than the source of all that is

Form of Address

His Emminence

Alternative Naming

Babayama [the one beneath only heaven]

Source of Authority

Highest enlightenment with the Source, election from among the Most Pious

Length of Term

Lifelong.

Related Organizations

• Isles of the Yamachai