Laduga (læɖuɢa)

Laduga is the official religion of Zazamanc and holds a great sway over the empire. This organized, polytheistic religion ties itself to the royalty and nobility, and as such priests of this religion have a high degree of legitimacy and high social status.

Public Agenda

The primary agenda of the Laduga religion is to spread the words of their gods and unite the land under the faith.

Mythology & Lore

According to the teachings of Laduga, there are many gods, to the point the exact amount is uncountable, but there are four who are the highest of them all; Ctungu, God of the Sky; Cpaiga, Goddess of the Earth; Lgoba, God of Water; and Ctiga, Goddess of Death. Underneath these four are the rest of the gods, of whom many are their children but nowhere near all, and underneath them are the "earthly beings," a broad class that includes animals, man, and lesser supernatural beings (spirits of the dead or bound to objects or locations, and monsters bound to the mortal realm).
It is decreed by these gods that the world must be structured and so, while one god may rule a broad aspect of the universes, other gods beneath them will handle smaller concepts related to that aspect (e.g. Cbado is the God of Storms, but his sons, Caguru and Mpenda, are the Gods of Thunder and Lightning, respectively, and his daughter, Chinda, is the Goddess of Rain).

Divine Origins

While it’s exact origins are unclear, Laduga originates from the Nbundo River Basin and with the Cunga-Mali.

Cosmological Views

The name Laduga can be most accurately translated as "Ordered Faith" and is called such because of its highly organized and structured view of the cosmos and role of gods and spirits within it.

Tenets of Faith

Ladugai take the tenets of their faith very seriously, to the point where Zazamanc treats many of them as punishable laws. These are the commandments of the gods to mortals on how their lives are to be lived, and as such not following them is punishable in the afterlife as well.

Venerate Your Ancestors

Hold your family in high regard;
For it is your family who will
stand with you to the end._{-Ctiga 21:19}

One of the most important of the commandments is to respect and venerate the dead, especially those related to you. This is not just because they can hear and see what their family is doing, but also because it will influence their afterlife: according to Laduga, one's afterlife is closely intertwined with their family and the spirits of ancestors go on to become guardians of their future generations. If they are treated with respect, they will be generous and kind, but if they are treated disrespectfully or purposefully scorned, they will become capricious and wrathful, even potentially malicious.

Hospitality

Let none who should ask go hungry
and none who should wish it be denied rest
for those kind shall be rewarded thusly in passing._{Cpaiga 12:78}

The giving and offering of hospitality is something that is greatly cherished among practitioners of Laduga and is a very central core tenet of the religion. Those who ask for hospitality, generally considered to be at least a meal and a place to rest, should be granted it without judgement or scorn and those who give hospitality to others are often more likely to receive hospitality in return. This however should not be the reason for doing so: hospitality given only with the expectation of something in return is deeply sinful and is usually considered the mark of a greedy or selfish person. That is not to say though that it should always be given regardless of circumstances: those who are low in their stores could be forgiven for not providing someone with a meal they cannot give. But those who do offer hospitality to folks when they themselves have so little are noted among the scriptures of Laduga as generous and pious folk and are often regarded as pillars of their community.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Laguda is the officially recognized religion of the Empire of Zazamanc and it would not be the same without the religion. Likewise, Laduga would not be the same without the Empire to support and promote it.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Demonym

Ladugai

Permeated Organizations

• Zazamanc

Divines

• Feirefiz

Location

Ktavama

Related Ethnicities

• Cunga-Mali
• Vtumba

Related Myths

• Feirefiz's Quest of Knowledge
• Four Deaths