Kamari Bird-Ancestor Cult
The ancient Kamar people of southwestern Arokha are among the oldest non-Venusian civilizations on Sphaera, and the first coherent culture of humans. These people revere a pantheon of primordial nature spirits and deific birds who taught their ancestors essential survival skills, venerating them with rituals of incense and animal sacrifice.
Spirits
The spirits of Kamari myth are divided into the primordial six and the eight divine birds. The primordial six are representative of the Light, Dark, Magic, Earth, Sea, and Sky; the eight birds are represented by the eight celestial bodies of the night sky.Primordial Spirits
The six primordial spirits existed before everything else. In the beginning there was only Ea, the spirit of light and life; Sho, the spirit of darkness and death; and Sone, the spirit of magic and dreams. Then came the world: Ae, the endless sky; Ma, the deep ocean; and Ge, the enduring earth. These six spirits form the whole of creation, and all life stems from the interplay between their potent influences.Bird Spirits
The Swallow, spirit of the swiftest wandering star Kel, shaped them and the other life of Sphaera from the primal mud. The Falcon, spirit of the little moon Fal, taught them how to hunt. The Wise Old Raven, spirit of the big moon Kor, taught them how to speak and create art to pass down their wisdom. The Phoenix, spirit of the wandering star Fen, closest to the setting and rising sun, taught them how to use fire. The Osprey, spirit of the wandering star Hal, taught them how to fish. The Thunderbird, spirit of the wandering star Tyr, taught them to grow and harvest crops in time with the rains. The Albatross, spirit of Tyr's companion Tros, taught them how to sail and navigate the seas. The Owl, spirit of the distant wandering star Lur, taught them to be ever watchful.Origins of the Myth
The prolific presence of avian themes and characters in Kamari mythology is actually an artefact of the Venusian terraformation of Sphaera: the Kamari almost instinctively know that the beings who brought their ancestors to this world, watched their earliest developments, and guided them towards civilization were extremely powerful birdlike creatures, but the distinction between “remarkably birdlike dinosaur” and “literal common bird” has been lost to almost two million years of corrosion through oral tradition passed down from the days of Homo erectus. In Kamari myth, the great creator spirit is described as a swallow. This association is easy to understand; because swallows make their nests from mud, it is natural for the Kamari to assume a great swallow made a thriving home from the primal ooze. However, the uncanny fact of the matter is that, since swallows also fly fairly fast, the astronomical object this bird-centric celestial theology considers to be the presence of Kel the Swallow is a tiny object that orbits low and fast around the planet: the Running Star, the very same derelict space station that the Venusians used as a base from which to terraform Sphaera.Author's Note
It should be noted that this theological system, like all others, is a construct of the peoples of Sphaera, and does not reflect the literal cosmology of this universe.
Contents
Primordial Spirits
Ea the LightPrimordial Spirit of the Sun, Light, and Life Sho the Dark
Primordial Spirit of the Void, Darkness, and Death Sone the Dreamer
Primordial Spirit of Dreams and Magic Ae the Endless
Primordial Spirit of Air and the Sky Ma the Deep
Primordial Spirit of Water and the Ocean Ge the Enduring
Primordial Spirit of Earth and the World
Bird Spirits
KelSwallow Spirit of the Running Star
Created Men from Mud Kor
Raven Spirit of the Big Moon
Patron of Language Fal
Falcon Spirit of the Little Moon
Patron of Hunting Fen
Phoenix Spirit of Planet Aldorn
Patron of Firemaking Hal
Osprey Spirit of Planet Sereorn
Patron of Fishing Tyr
Thunderbird Spirit of Planet Ondriorn
Patron of Storms and Agriculture Tros
Albatross Spirit of Planet Almpatros
Patron of Sailing Lur
Owl Spirit of Planet Draugorn
Patron of Watchfulness
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