Kandival

Festival of Kandles

Kandival, or the Festival of Kandles, is a holiday celebrated by many around the world dedicated to the King of Gods, Izanagi, and celebrating the survival of his followers.

Kandival Traditions

Kandival is one of the most widespread holidays in Totania, due to it being celebrated by Humans who live all over the world. There are many traditions related to Kandival, and some vary from culture to culture. Below, the major practices and necessary items for Kandival will be detailed.

Izanagi by Jarhed

Kandles and the Shafaian Sun

It is common to see someone write candle instead of kandle, but the kandles used for Kandival are not regular candles, thus the different name.
A kandle is longer than a candle, with a longer wick as well that lets it burn for a greater period than normal candles.
Kandles are made from a certain type of beeswax found only in the Elven Forest, each crafted with a circle, in honor of the sun, carved into the side of the kandle.
To hold all ten kandles, a special wall-mounted craft was created, called the Shafaian Sun. It is a circle with ten kandle holders in it that make the kandles into the rays radiating off of the sun.

Lighting of the Kandles

At the start of Kandival, everyone lights all ten kandles in their homes, making a full Shafaian Sun that illuminates their home. As each day passes, they stop lighting one kandle a day, until finally there is only one kandle left. This is the final day of Kandival, when everyone leaves their homes and gathers for a group prayer and celebration in the place where the sun itself is most visible. Open fields, or temples built to let the sunlight in, are all home to End of Kandival celebrations. The true festival of Kandival.

The First Kandival

Kandival's origins lie with the Shafaian Humans, as they were nomads for their earliest years before they settled down in Shafai.
When Kandival first came about, they were said to be traveling through the land of the Elves.
They were not given any hospitality by the Elves, who tried to convert the Shafaians to worship of Selene, Goddess of the Moon. But the Shafaians did not find comfort in their words.
Instead, they prayed to the sun, whose name they did not yet know was Izanagi.
As the Elves chased them through the dark paths of the Elven Forest , the Shafaians lit a single candle to light their way, made out of beeswax found in the forest.
They expected the candle to only help them for a day at most, but with every small glimpse of the sun, the candle was relit, and finally after ten days of travel, they escaped. The Shafaians believed the light of the sun and blessings of Izanagi saved them from eternity or death in the Elven Forest.
Even when most Shafaians began converting to Mayowa, Izanagi remained a strong part of their faith, and stories of his saving them spread to the rest of Humanity as well, with Kandival being celebrated by most Humans as proof that Izanagi loves them.

Nine Days of Kandival

During the first nine days of Kandival, those who celebrate do not leave their homes. They remain indoors, lit only by candles, and do whatever they need to/can do. They pray together, eat festive foods (fruits from the Elven Forest, and other Elven dishes), and do any work they needed to get done. As long as they do not need to leave the house for it, it is allowed, for they are meant to feel cramped and unable to reach the rest of the world, as the Shafaian pilgrims had been.
Beforehand, they prepare gifts, and give them to those they sequester themselves with, as another "light in the darkness."
During the daytime, when the sun is visible, they take an hour out of their days during Kandival to let it peek in through a window and utter a prayer to the light, asking for it to keep shining on them every day of their lives, and for them to never lose sight of the light.
There are a few traditional games that are played during Kandival, and most are played during these first nine days. The most famous is ere ijapa, the turtle game, where a hollowed out turtle shell is spun around and around, with numbers carved into it. These numbers represent the players, and whatever number it lands on, that player is eliminated. Bets are placed before each round, and whoever is the last one standing wins everything that was bet in the pot.

End of Kandival Celebration

For the final, tenth day of Kandival, which represents when the Shafaians escaped the forest and basked in the sunlight of freedom, everyone leaves their homes and gathers in the streets. They hug their neighbors and friends, and travel together to the place where the sun is most visible, as said before either fields or temples.
Here, they utter another prayer to the sun, this time basking in it and praying directly to Izanagi himself. They sing songs and often entire neighborhoods or towns get together and have a large feast, with everyone contributing a dish.
There is another tradition of giving gifts of money, often said to be a stand-in for the Aureus the Shafaians are said to have been given when they escaped the forest and met Draconians. While the Draconians kept the Humans housed for a time, they did ultimately send them off, but they did so with a bag of their currency, Aureus. With this, the Shafaians were able to trade and buy food and supplies wherever they went, and this is part of what saved them after the Elven Forest. Thus, it is a final tradition in the holiday of Kandival.