Sūhai Chōsume
Indigenous Religion of Saiko
Sūhai Chōsume, often referred to as just Sūhai is the native faith of the people of Saiko. A polytheistic faith with shamanic and monastic influences, it plays a large part in Saikoan culture. It is focussed around the veneration of a vast array of gods and ancestors, as well as the omnicient "Spirits of the Divine Presese."''Any time a god abandones you, another has found you.''- Saikoan proverb.
Beliefs & Divinity
The worldview within Sūhai is based upon an animist belief system not all that dissimilar to the Nulatu beliefs on neighboring Tokushima, although the two faiths evolved in a very different manner. In it's cosmic worldview, the world is split up in Tengoku, meaning heaven, Naraku, meaning abyss, and the Imanosekai, literally meaning ''worlds of the now'', although it is often incorrectly translated to material plane. In this cosmology, Tengoku is seen as the origin place of of the Saikoan people, as well as the place they shall return to after death to either remain or from where to reincarnate, but only if not weighed down by so called ''Errors Against the Divine Nature''. Naruku is the origin place of the Giants, as well as the place all non-saikoans and those weighed down end up after death. Imanosekai is the living worlds we stand upon. Important to know is that the belief is that time is maluable and different realities not only can, but do live side by side. The ''10.000 Realities'' as it is called. It is believed that for every person there are a near infinite unique versions of their life, with every possible version happening at the same time. The 10.000 realities give birth to the Ima, meaning Divine Nature. A benevolent force that knows all 10.000 realities of every person at once and tries to balance them all out for the purpose of mutual happiness. Not as much a personifying deity, but a suppreme idea that stands above all things. The idea of Ima exists as an idea of surrendering to the silence outside existance itself, to seek the flowing river within and letting oneself be carried by it to become the most favorable reality to all beings.Death & the Impurities of the Soul
The death of a creature, any creature, is seen within Sūhai as an important event that bears grand consequences to both the passed and the surrounding living. The moment someone dies, their soul remains wiithin their body until released. with the belief being that the soul is contained within the adam's apple of the body. After death, the soul is to be released through fire or incision in the organ before the body starts to decay, lest the soul be bound to the living plane, becoming a ghost known as a Fuun'na Yūrei, meaning ''unlucky ghost''. Yet even with proper burial rites, the spirit is not destined to leave to the heavens, since dishonour may weigh the soul down, dragging it down into the abyss. What constitutes as dishonour differs for each social class, with noblemen being able to be doomed by disloyalty to their lord or enforcing unjust laws, while warriors for instance dishonour their soul by killing the unarmed, or fighting without purpose. All beings have souls, but only the Saikoan people have to bear the risk of dishonour, with foreigners, animals, plants and other natural phenomena being unable to dishonour themselves.The fact that foreigners are unable to dishonour themselves, along with the belief that they, just like plants and animals, are bound to reincanate on the living world, is a belief that only solidified in the past centuries. However it has fueled the support of slavery, since in the Saikoan mindset, foreigners are free from the burders and responsibilities of free choice, or death.
Generally, dishonour is cleansed by either honourable works, pennance, or surrender. With honourable works are meant that the dishonoured person try to outweigh their dishonour by displaying honourable conduct. Pennance may come in many shapes, although pilgrimage to a holy place and asking cleansing from a spirit is the most usual form. If the dishonoured soul does not have these options available, for instance when they are about to die, they still have the last option, surrender, available. With surrender is meant the ritual confession of sin and subsequent suicide. A process that involves the cutting of one's own throat. Surrendering to Death, known as Kanraku, used to be a lot rarer than it is currently, with the practice being done for a variety of reasons ranging from acts of protest to a form of capital punishment for respected enemies.Gods, Spirits & Decension
As stated before, Sūhai is a animistic religion, which means that they hold the belief of all things holding spiritual power. Geographic locations, weather events and even mere concepts are believed to hold a Demai, a word coming from the elvish word Pneuma which literally means ''breath'' but is often used within the context of something that holds spirital will. Generally, the spirits never appear physically in the living world, instead having their own paralel world commony referred to as the Shinkai, meaning ''Spirit World'' to live in, although many Yūrei specifically instead can be found exclusively on the physical world. However, with many thousands of different spirits, the faith discerns different types of spirits, commonly called Yigoku, as described below.Yigoku Ima - Spirits of the Divine Present
These types of formless spirits are believed to be messengers of the Ima themselves, seen as divine omens. As the Ima is the only force known to be purely benevolent, these spirits are always to be regarded with reverance. Although formless even in the Spirit World, they tend to make themselves known through the surroundings, may they be animals, the weaher, or through creating seemingly unnatural coincidences in nature. Certain signs are said to mean certain things. For instance a flock of Imaranu butterflies flying three circles around a person or a group of persons means their actions are blessed, while if it makes four it is seen as a warning for bad luck. Another example is when thunder strikes in the same place in a valley five times, a benevolent spirit has landed in it's location, granting good luck to those who find it. Yet if it strikes 7 times instead, it signals great disaster such as an earthquacke, volcanic eruption or coming famine.Yigoku Teō - Gods
Also called gods, these spirits are also formless in the lands of the living, manifesting themselves through their surroundings instead. The Teō are seen as the embodiment of the land itself, heavenly creatures that for whatever reason chose to reject their existance in heaven to live on earth instead. Even though having no form, they still appreciate being fed and having a roof above their head, leading to many places where they are believed to live containing small shrines in the shape of houses, to which often food is offered. They tend to be extremely old, often living as the very embodiment's of their homes. Important is that these creatures are all divine by nature, yet do not all originally hail from the heavens, with many powerful people having attained this rank often long after their deaths, with often ancestors of entire clans being venerated as gods. A list of prominent Teō- Amukai, skygod praised across Saiko. The father of sun and moon, who he carries across the sky as his testicles. Is symbolised by two-headed animals, as well as obviously, testicles with the sun and moon upon them.
- Moru, sungod and unborn child of Amukai. Seen as the very personification of the sun. Related to Sała Maraman, also known as Moradin, the Melisternian and Elvish solar deity.
- Atisu, moongoddess and unborn child of Amukai. Praised as protector of sailors and others who need protection from the sea.
- Abetusara, godess of the sea, hated by sailors, loved by fish. She often spars with Atisu over control over the sea, resulting in the tides.
- Tantoryuzu, Saikoan name for Kaleisios' Pentapleisos, the legendary elvish senator who led the elvish exodus to Saiko. God of the elves. Mostly worshipped among the nobility.
- Mujin, god of the wind.
- Hoshima, god of war.
- Ryujin, dragon god of storms.
- Ronukatse, god of wisdom, father of philosophy.
- Yoratsu, god of poetry and the scripural arts.
- Kozutze Imawaru, first lord to climb Mt. Nobatsu, god of ambition.
- Hiruko, god of fishermen and one of the four gods of luck.
- Chichyoronu, god of profinity. Generally disliked by all other gods because they are constantly scolded by him. His presence gave birth to the moral stance to avoid profanity, since it would upset the other gods.
Yigoku Yūrei - Ghosts
The broadest category of them all, the Yūrei category embodies all supernatural spirits with a form among the living. The Yūrei come in hundreds of different types, yet uniquely a lot of these spirits are merely souls of the living who returned to Imanosekai, the living world. Others however are created here, with spiritual disbalance of any sort being able to result in the very creation of a Yūrei. Some Yūrei are benevolent and aid the living in their daily lives, some are malicious and incite death and terror with those lving in it's vacinity. Others exist for their own purposes on the living world, only bothering to communicate with the living if it serves their personal goals. Generally, Yūrei that have returned from heaven are called Enzeru, meaning angels, those that came from the abyss Akuma, meaning demons, with those created on the living world being called Chika Yūrei, or "Near Spirits"Ochita - Decension
When a Saikoan dies without proper burial rituals or with an inpure soul at the moment of their death, they are doomed to decend into Naruku, the abyss. In here, evil spirits often consume the spirits, draining them of their purity. Most of the time, this leaves their soul destroyed and empty, with only their impure parts not enough to sustain automy, as they reduced to the empty landscape of the abyss itself. Yet sometimes, beyond the drained purity of their heart and the sins that sunk their bodies beneath the waves to the abyss, the soul holds on through the torment to emotion. Sometimes love, sometimes hate, sometimes confusion, sometimes fear, but most of the time nothing more than unfinished errands. In these rare instances the sunken soul is said to go through a process called Genshū, which remakes the creature into a Yūrei, fueled by the tormented soul. Often, these creatures are over time able to claw their way back to the land of the living to finish their unfinishes tasks, or just to live out what remains of their broken mind. Often incredibly dangerous, these Ochita are counted as a type of demon.Priesthood & Monasticism
The faith makes a distinction between priests, hermits and monks, not only in purpose, but all other aspects of life as well. Priests, called Shisai, are people who are responsible for the maintainance of temples, execution of public ceremony and the appeasement of the spirits. They are often found in larger settlements where they act as oracles and mediators. They are often trained in temple-schools, where over the course of about 5 to 10 years they are made ready to serve. They lead material lives besides their holy work, with them being permitted to take a wife and own property. Hermits, called Sen'in, are people who tend to the often remote shrines, maintaining a very close relation with the land and the spirits. They tend to live lives as permanent pilgrims, walking from shrine to shrine, often avoiding civilisations exept to beg for food. They are sworn to silence and chastety, with them only being allowed to communicate with bamboo flutes, while also often covering their bodies with robes and masks. They are held in high reverance to the people, seeing them as conduits for the spirit world. Monks, called Sōryo, are people living in monastaries, documenting the spiritworld as well as venturing in them. Monastaries tend to be removed well away from the civilised world, so many monks tend to be highly capable warriors in order to not only defend the monastary against roming bandits, but more importantly rogue spirits. Due to this martial prowess, they occasionally have used their power to defend the interests of the monasteries against any who oppose them, including noble lords. The monastaries are therefore considered to be diplomatically independant entities, sometimes to the frustration of the lords.
The Mittsunosekai, a common marking seen at entrances of temple and monastery property.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Permeated Organizations
Related Ethnicities
Warrior-Monks have thanks to their diplomatic special status often access to weapons outlawed for the wider public.
