Leonovatity

Leonovatites is a religious group in southern Whønai who pray to their singular God. Unline the Polytheistic religion that most people across Nuchanipia follow, Leonovatites follow a Montheistic order. Leonovatitiy is named after the Chosen Leonov Sergeyevich, who years ago was selected by God to be his ambassador in Nuchanipia. Leonov lived for hundreds of years but eventually died in a battle with the Chipotaw.

Religion

Beliefs

Leonovatites have a multitude of beliefs that shape their culture. One of their foremost beliefs is that everything should be equal. The good and the bad, the light and the dark, power and weakness, and every other opposite you could imagine. This is represented in the symbol of Leonovatity, the Equipose Cross. Another belief is that each being is an individual, and should not be judged based on their ancestors. While Leonovatites break this often(Chipotaw, for one) in general they judge people based on their actions.

Traditions

The most well known Leonovatite tradition is the annual sacrifice. This is used as a way to prove to God that they still believe in him. The executioner makes it a quick, painless death, and everyone agrees with the practice. It is not uncommon for someone to volunteer as a sacrifice. When there is no willing sacrifice, Leonovatites choose a prisoner with the worst crime and execute them. This takes place on the summer equinox.
Another tradition that is less known except by people who have been to southern Whønai, who easily remember it, is the tradition of throwing sugar on the streets on every full moon. Each house has a sugar barrel which is used for exclusively this purpose. The sugar represents asking God for another sweet month. When the wind blows the sugar away, that means God has accepted the offering.

Naming

There are few rules on naming in Leonovatity. Unlike in most cultures, Leonovatites treat an individual's first name as the more important one for official matters. This stems from the idea that your family should never control who you become. In most Leonovatite settlements, it is not even mandatory for you to tell officials your family name. Most family names end in vich for males or evna or ovna for females.

Outside Perception

Most people in the world are confused by Leonovatity but are content to leave Leonovatites to their own devices. Not the Chipotaw though. Both the Chipotaw and the Leonovatites harbour a long-standing grudge against one another, and feel Whønai is not big enough for the two them. This is not true, but it hasn't stopped a 1000 year long war from happening. The Leonovatities are angry at the Chipotaw for their ancestors killing of Leonov Seygeyvich, and the Chipotaw resent the Leonovatites for the lack of negative attention they have attracted from the rest of the world.
Outside of Whønai, very few people ever apperceive Leonovatites and those that have heard of them are filled with misconceptions and stereotypes. A common one is that their god is called Leonov. Others range from Leonovatites are bloodthirsty barbarians that prowl fields looking for human prey to the Leonovatites have all died out. The former most likely came from their human sacrifice ritual, but nobody has a clue as to where the latter originated.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The primary language in Leonovatites society is a dialect named Aotkosh. It is a somewhat guttural language. Most citizens also understand common, because of its widespread nature. An interesting thing though is the growing number of Leonovatites that can speak Chipitaw. Because of the constant war, it has been useful for them to learn the Chipitaw language to understand the opposing side's strategies. While it is not used in conversation, many parents teach their kids Chipitaw to prepare them for a Chipitaw invasion.

Common Taboos

It is considered a crime to own a pet. It is a weird law, but everyone follows it. The reasoning behind this banned activity is the attachment to something which cannot think for itself. Leonovatites beleive that animals have no reasoning skills or thinking skills, and are not worthy of human attention.

Historical figures

Leonov Sergeyevich

The Equipose Cross is the symbol of Leonovatity.

Related Locations

• Sturov
• Whønai