Gishərva

One of the most well known aspects of the Gishərva is for their ancestor veneration. It is an aspect of the Orkäen traditional belief system which revolves around the ritual celebrations, and prayers to, their deified ancestors. They have no ‘gods’ to speak of, only their ancestors who watch from the stone and dirt beneath their feet and the trees and sky above. Despite integrating with the other races over the Ages, the Gishərva still have many of their traditions which are still viewed in a reverent light. However as most Gishərva are more civilized theologically and technologically today than their ancestors, and if you include the fact the vast majority of the Gishərva population now dwells in cities and large villages, far away from the thick, endless depths of the many Kathrakian forests, you'll find that these days most rituals and celebrations are small, simple affairs due to their taking various 'shortcuts'. There are however a smaller portion of their population who still live 'the old ways' by practicing their age-old beliefs in the more traditional ways which were much more involved, complicated and lengthy. One such example can be seen below and was relayed to me by An'thi Al-nong, an elder from a small clan whom I met during my travels in the far western reaches of Kathak several years ago.

"When one of our race dies, the body is immediately covered in a concoction of honey and ash by the tribes Magi Mother and her consorts. [Author's note: apparently there is a third ingredient but it is only known amongst the Magi Mothers of each clan and thus, elder Tovookano was unable to include it in his recountal.] The community holds a processional filled with somber music from drums, horns and savage-wale filled cries as they carry the body to the commune temple. Once there, the family of the deceased place the body within a bath of fresh spring water and freshly ground flowers, usually tulips and wash the body clean. The body is then placed upon an altar of animal skin and bones where the body is left out for a full day and night under the sun and moon as a display of his returning to nature. During that 24-hour period, there is singing, dancing and feasting until the final moon noon (or in common-tongue: midnight) of the third night, when a reading of the tattoos of the deceased commences, sharing his life’s journey. After that, the body is given it’s final tattoo over the eyelids, marking the end of this particular Orkäen's journey in this realm. The body is then carried to an area well known to the enclave and deep within the forest, where a predetermined tree, dead or alive, is dug up and the body placed within the hole. At this time, the tusklings gather seeds from the surrounding trees, the number of seeds to be collected are determined by the record of tusks the deceased had in their lifetime. Once the designated amount has been achieved, they hold the seeds in their cupped hands, pull them close to their mouth where they reverently whisper their hopes, dreams and desires for the clan into their cupped hands so that the seeds may absorb these and deliver them to the deceased in the afterlife, so that they may influence the clan's fate. The seeds are then wrapped in a small piece of wet leather and placed within the hole alongside the body which is then buried. The tree that had been removed is then hacked and whittled and carved by every member of the deceased's family until a small sculpture has formed from all their disparate cuttings and is placed in the center of the clan's village for all to see for one year at which point it is then placed within the home of the ancestors of the deceased. According to their beliefs, shortly after their burial, that deceased Orkäen's spirit returns to this realm as a tree to watch over the clan and their ancestors."