zompist bboard

If anyone wants to take on Guop or Dragolm religion, they're welcome too. I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I have had a few basic ideas, so can share those with anyone that wants to use them. Otherwise, you can make something up from scratch.

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It was about time I changed this.

This is the current tkokyar, Sarksat. Her father is regent.

The Kasi Ceremony
The ceremony of sacrifice is the highlight of the year in most communities. The day of the event is announced about a month before hand, and the night before the principal families of the area will host a feast. The next day a religious official will arrive, usually a priest, and announce the sacrifice to Kasi (a legendary hero). Now the members of the community have an opportunity to come forward and give individual offerings to Kasi. Later that day the village as a whole will make its joint contribution, which usually makes up the majority of the sacrifice. Typical sacrifices include fish and vegetables, cloth, alcohol, game or fowl, furs, or finished items if the community produces any, such as glue, paper, wax, paint, ink, bowls, pitch, furniture, bronze, gold, or exotic plants and animals. Slaves cannot be offered in lieu of material goods, but there are often children sent in the wake of the Kasi officials to seek employment in the church or the palace. The following day, a messenger from the tkokyar (king/queen) will arrive bearing a gift to the village. Usually this will be many times less valuable than the gift given to the Kasi, but it may be something the village cannot make on its own, and the gesture is largely ceremonial. This final day of the ceremony will usually involve a small feast consisting of whatever leftovers survived the festivities so far. The spoils from the sacrifice are turned over to the tkokyar, who then distributes them to the church and the employees of the state.

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"I'm sorry, when you have all As in every class in every semester, it's not easy to treat the idea that your views are fundamentally incoherent as a serious proposition."

Dragolm Religion

The Dragolm believe that the world is made entirely of tiny dragons. They vibrate at different frequencies, giving the various observable properties of matter. Once every year on the summer solstice, the elders of each Dragolm village perform the ritual dance of Celestial Resonance. In this ceremony, the elders attempt to ungulate their bodies in tune with the invisible vibrations of the tiny dragons beneath their feet, in their lungs, and all around them. Many dragons claim they can see the vibrations resonate out from the elders' bodies. If this ceremony is performed correctly, the gods, who are themselves enormous dragons wrapped perpendicularly around the axes of space and time, will grant another year of prosperity and happiness to the dragons. Every Dragolm child is taught the terrible stories of young dragons who did not eat their dragon vegetables, or who talked back to their dragon parents, and subsequently found themselves oscillating back and forth at just the right frequency to fall through the layer of tiny dragons that make up the Earth, into a lake of molten metal below. In addition, Dragolm story tellers are quite fond of heroic fables, including the one about the great warrior who struck his dragon sword against a rock until it sounded out with such a piercing noise that his enemies were instantly subdued. It should come as no surprise that the Dragolm conceptualize time as a series of peaks and valleys on a wave form. Time proceeds linearly, but themes and events repeat according to a pattern. This pattern, if not perturbed by evil or misdeeds, is predictable and allows the Dragolm to flourish in peace and harmony. In fact, harmony sums up, in a word, the entire aim of Dragolm spirituality. Every Dragolm seeks, in their own dragony, vibratey way, to move in time to the rhythms of the world around them.

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"I'm sorry, when you have all As in every class in every semester, it's not easy to treat the idea that your views are fundamentally incoherent as a serious proposition."

I honestly don't know if you're for real or not, Hydro.

Question to you:

Should I use one of the naming languages when making a religion for Nolo, or should I just make this up off the cuff? Trying to streamline as much as I can, and if I can work with stuff already in here and diversify, that would be fun.

I already have an idea for the basic rubrics of the Nolo Belief, but want to fit it to context as best I can.

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Formerly a vegetable

Go ahead and make up your own language, your own everything. Even though in this round, people will only be voting on the religions, that doesn't mean you can't make up your culture and language from scratch any way you want (and it's at least somewhat likely that a fleshed-out culture and language may subtly influence people's votes on the religions). The only difference between starting your culture at the beginning, as most of us have, and starting it in this round, as you are doing, is that you've missed a couple chances to expand your culture's range and influence, so you are sitting at one square while several others already have multiple squares. If you invent a religion that everyone likes and votes for, your culture will immediately be able to expand (assuming zompist keeps the reward for this round the same as the previous ones).

SWEEEEEEEEEEET

DRAGOOOOOOOOOOOONS AHOOOY

Taking over space and sea! You see that? No you didn't! But it was a dragon.

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Formerly a vegetable

So I'm going to get started here, and I'll do a compendium later on. I'll also describe the conlang later, but the names and usages here follow this.

I'm in square N5r right now, and this is the indigenous belief of the Dragons who live in Nolo.

NB - I use the word Earth here since I don't know what to call the planet. At first I thought it was called Mac, and then I read Zompist's post at more than a blink.

Sunha: The Religion of Nolo

For the Dragons of Nolo, they have long held a religion which they name Sunha. This name, in the Nolo language, means Dragon's Thought or Dragon's Belief. It encompasses many matters from creation, cataclysm, how knowledge ought to be sought, how to pursue glory, and various other things more mundane. Though there is a pantheon, the main focus comes down to the 5 main Dracomorphic Divinities who were major in the Creation of the planet, and this cosmology is a rather large focus of belief. It is much less interested in creation before this period.

The 5 Divinities:

Gorlum, The Ancient:

Gorlum is the oldest of the Divinities. A pale blue dragon with a long whispy beard, Gorlum is a deep thinker, slow to act, and over time has come to be completely blind. For the Nolo, this Divinity represents Hope, and when they are despairing, it is not uncommon to seek Gorlum's assistance, however, this practice has been weakening over the past generations. Despite being the progenitor of the other 4 Divinities, Gorlum is not viewed as highly influential or exerting any semblance of rule, since, after the Creation, disappointment set in as a result of the Cataclysm of the Creation, this Divinity fled to the Distant Abyss to regroup and recollect, hoping to find a solution to the fracture forced into it.

Silar, The Just:

Silar is one child of the triplets born of Gorlum, being sister to Diwa and Minlu. She is regarded as brave and valiant, the symbol of Justice and Duty in Nolo. Recent fashion has had judges in Nolo make an oath to her. Silar was created by Gorlum to be the guardian and foundress of the sky, as such she is a bright golden yellow in depictions. Those who turn to her believe that she can illuminate the mind so that a clear and honest choice may be made. In Creation's Cataclysm, she fought and defeated her siblings Diwa and Minlu with the assistance of Hano. She holds a place of authority to the Dragons of Nolo, both because of her Justice, but also due to this strength, however, this battle is held apprehensively since it forced Gorlum into hermitage, and there exists a case at least on the behalf of Diwa.

Diwa, The Condemned:

Diwa is the brother of Silar and Minlu. Though not always fast on his feet, he is recognized for the sobriety and softness of his heart, being depicted as a Purple Dragon. During the Cataclysm, he acted as advocate for Minlu to their sister, and this advocacy is the reason for his condemnation. Though he did fight valiantly against Silar, when he saw Minlu fall, his decision was that, for the sake of peace, he should resign himself to Silar. He waits for Gorlum, begging for freedom from the night.

Minlu, The Vanquished:

Minlu is the third of the triplets. Very little is said concerning him, since he is regarded as dead, killed by Silar and Hano. After their birth and orders from Gorlum to guard the earth, Minlu, being the most powerful, decided that he should take the creation for himself, forcing his impression upon it. When Silar trapped and was ready to kill, many believe, he repented, for which Diwa begged that he be pardoned. He was killed still. Due to his death, no one in Nolo actively seeks him, nor are many concerned with him outside of the Creation account.

Hano, The Hatchling:

Hano is sibling to the other three, but a later child of Gorlum. Far younger than the others, he entered the Creation Cataclysm in the heat of the fighting between Minlu and Silar, and his genesis marks the beginning of solid land, thus he is regarded as the Divinity of Earth. Silar, knowing she could not overcome Minlu, asked this little Dragon's help. Minlu considered him as nothing, which was the reason for his death, since Hano is clever and was able to trick Minlu into his deathtrap.

Creation And Cataclysm

In the age that began the Earth's Birth, Gorlum came to an empty place, and finding it fitting, created an expanse. Wild colors rushed back and forth with the spirits of unconstrained hope, waiting for guidance and formation, looking for instruction on how best to be formed into something wondrous. Heat rose in the midst of the wilderness, bubbling the rushings, began to give a small amount of order to the expanse. Gorlum, seeking help and muse, reclined and decided to bring more dragons into this place. After a while, and egg was laid, soft white like the clouds and silent like the night. 1000 years later, this Egg hatched, and three young dragons crawled forth from it. Gorlum named them Silar, Diwa, and Minlu, and, showing them the wild expanse, commended them to form it into a beautiful work suitable for many many lives. Silar, Golden like the spirit she possessed, was entrusted to the form of the upper regions, seeing that the winds and clouds would float on the canvas of the Sky. Diwa, purple like the sobriety of his emotion, was entrusted to guide the lower region in its surging and rushings. Minlu was entrusted and given power to hold the wilderness in line for the other two, maintaining harmony. Overjoyed, they darted forth to the wilderness, and Gorlum retreated to consider what should come.

Quickly, Silar formed clouds and instructed them on their paths, and they followed her firm order. She was often flying the skies. Meanwhile, in the waters below, Diwa struggled. The oceans felt overworked by the commands, and would often disobey, which Minlu would swiftly come and settle with a sharp blow. After being struck many times, Diwa came to try and alleviate their work, but Minlu never missed when his duty ought to be executed. Eventually, the seas began disrupting the skies, and, when the refused to listen to Diwa, Minlu would strike them down. Seeing this cycle, and that it could not persist, Diwa sought out Gorlum.

Diwa left the other two, leaving the seas to their own devices so that he might ask on their behalf, Gorlum's help.

Shortly after he left, the seas roared higher, both for they were uncontained and dearly missed their loving guardian, Diwa. They could not understand, for they were wild. Minlu again and again would strike them down from the clouds they would disrupt.

"Minlu, my clouds do not deserve thus" roared Silar "Calm them or I shall do act justly so that the clouds are not treated wrongly! They do not deserve this torment!"

Minlu again and again would oblige this plea, but after a long time, he grew impatient with her. "Why must I rest the sea for you! If I can lower it, why can you not raise the skies?" he finally bellowed, not understanding the limits of Silar's powers.

"Place them down!" She yelled, "or I shall do so to you!"

And thus began their war. The waters and Minlu would surge to attack up high, and Silar would repel and repel them. Slowly she exhausted, for she know that she could not resist Minlu forever; he would overcome.

Diwa, knowing the needs of the sea, petitioned Gorlum for a containment to the waters. "Please, Gorlum, something to hold them down, where they may flow with joy, and that they may not be struck for their surgings! Minlu does as he must, but it pains my heart!" Reclining, Gorlum decided that land would be needed to solve this. So, Diwa was sent back with a new egg to bring resolution.

Upon arrival, the egg hatched and the land formed, and the dragon that flew from the egg was Hano. Young and energetic, he sought to help Diwa contain the seas by guiding the hills. And very soon, the waters were sated for they had a friend in the land. Both Hano and Diwa were happy in this, and flew so as to look on the new beauty.

But in that flight, unbeknownst to them, Minlu and Silar continued to fight. In a bout, Minlu missed a blow, and ruptured the land, causing hot blood to spew forth, and Hano felt this pain in his heart as well. He had been struck like the land.

Diwa, seeking to resolve this petitioned the two. "Look, the sea is sated. We have no more need to quarrel over the sea disrupting the clouds."

"But he must be dealt with, for he and the sea struck me and the clouds!" She yelled. "I held them off, but they continued to assail us."

"Hogwash!" cried Minlu, "I was unduely burdened by you, and had to defend myself from you!" And thus he attacked again.

Seeing this, Hano noticed that indeed Minlu deserved a punishment, and that he ought to help Silar in doing this, both because he owed it to the land, and because he saw that Silar could not manage Minlu alone.

Now, Minlu did not regard Hano at all, since he was small, and Hano know he could not handle Minlu, for he was powerful. So Hano crafted a small trap on the land. Thin rock veiling quicksands, which would catch the feet of any who were large enough to step on it, leaving them open to a strike. And since he was small, he did this out of Minlu's sight.

Quickly, he informed Silar of the trap, for she was exhausting of the fight. They agreed that Minlu needed justice, and trapping him, they could execute it.

Hano then began to pester Minlu, convincing him that he was trying to pull a fight to avenge the land, and that Hano believed he could win. Taking one blow, Hano began to fall, and Minlu pursued him to the ground. Upon landing, Hano ran across his trap safely for he was small, and Minlu chased him. With a rush, Minlu fell and was trapped in the sands, unable to break free. Hano went and got Silar to bring justice.

Before they could return, Diwa came to Minlu, and was able to show him the beauty he had been trapped in and missed in his anger, and Minlu's heart was cooled.

"If I advocate for you, surely we can all live in harmony again." said Diwa.

When Silar arrived with Hano, Diwa addressed them, "our brother has cooled his anger and sees the beauty intended by Gorlum. Silar, I beg you, free our brother."

"No for what he has done he deserves punishment so that we can have assured peace."

"But we shall have that since peace is in his heart!"

"He does not deserve this, nor is your advocacy in line. There is that which is owed, and Minlu must pay this debt."

And swiftly, she and Hano killed Minlu, so that the earth might have its calmness and beauty as Gorlum ordered. And Diwa began to weep as the rain began to flood around them, for he did not want the death of his brother; he believed in a different path. After a while, his body left, but left a cavity in the ground, which is now the Great Scar in our city of Sirbem.

"And as for you" she cried, "go to the shadow and advocate for that now on. For when I needed mercy, you were absent. But when a villian was condemned, you begged. You did not act justly, so you shall, like the one you plead for, be condemned away from this beauty."

Exhausted, and hoping for a better future, Diwa obliged and left.

Now upon arriving and seeing this, Gorlum was upset, and said to Silar "what has happened? Where is my son? What is this mess?"

"We have vanquished Minlu, who rose and attacked us in anger. He has received as he deserved."

Now, there was no contention at this statement, for it was true. But Gorlum, noticing Diwa was gone asked "and what of my other son? Where is he?"

"He has been condemned too, for he advocated for the condemned, but would not advocate for me."

Gorlum heard this, and though upset, decided not to dispute it for Silar gave an honest account. "I am not pleased with this. Mercy would have been fitting here. I trust you both still with my creation, but for now I will depart until a better course of action appears. I have left other eggs here so that dragons may populate the lands, as may you, and other creatures too shall rise. If ever should I return, I hope not to find a similar demise among my children."

And so Gorlum left for the abyss with the only potential for future change.

And as the earth aged, Gorlum's eggs hatched, and soon after Silar and Hano's as well. Some, though lesser, were fathered by Diwa, who still resided in the shadow, condemned for his advocacy. Those young hatchlings grew, as did other creatures in the earth. And as those hatchlings grew, they learned from Silar and Hano of the cataclysm, and some learned of mercy and harmony from Diwa. Great Dragons would arise from those offspring, who would provide the seeds for the land of Nolo. Learning from this, the dragons of Nolo came to value patience and harmony, which are still, this day, two of the strongest pillars in Nolo culture and thought.

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Formerly a vegetable

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ʾAšol ḵavad pulqam ʾifbižen lav ʾifšimeḻ lit maseḡrad lav lit n͛ubad. ʾUpulasim ṗal sa-panžun lav sa-ḥadṇ lav ṗal šarmaḵeš lit ʾaẏṭ waẏyadanun wižqanam.
- Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I'll get my submissions for this soon, but I may not get the map done in time. Oh well.

Họzọngluism and Taladdãnism, the two sects of Nyasĩngiism
The En religion, generally referred to as Nyasĩngiism, gradually split into two different and mutually incompatible forms: Nyasĩngiistic Polytheism, or Họzọngluism, and Nyasĩngiistic Monotheism, or Taladdãnism.

This description presumes a basic understanding of primitive Nyasĩngiism as described in .

For those who don’t have time to read it, I have written a a basic description here. Followers believed they lived in the third world, the first two having been reformed in turn by the Zo Pãlishima. Each world had its own characteristics by which the inhabitants needed to live in harmony in order to preserve that world as long as possible. This lifestyle of living in harmony with the world was known as nyasĩngi. Every time the world was reformed, some spirits acquired a direct connection to the Zo Pãlishima. These people become shamans, known as bughuddọ̃sọlos, who advised people on how best to follow nyasĩngi, and they gained significant power among the people. I forgot to mention it in the original post, but they believed in reincarnation, and those who became bughuddọ̃sọlos were believed to be reincarnations of previous bughuddọ̃sọlos.

Họzọngluism (Nyasĩngiistic Polytheism)
Họzọngluism cannot be described as a single, unified system, but it can be outlined based on the common beliefs held by all the members of the Họzọngluistic continuum. The practice evolved in the regions that would eventually become the states of Ghụfoso, Pọmụ̃, and Faichesi, from the primitive Nyasĩngiistic traditions that were common throughout the En Ulubbọ̃.

The Zo Pãlishima and the idea of the changing worlds, so central to the primitive Nyasĩngiistic traditions, is much less important in Họzọngluism as a guiding principle for everyday life, and remains primarily as the creation myth. Họzọnglus believe that the Zo Pãlishima, known to them as Lomtụppọ, created the world multiple times in order to create the perfect world, and to form the zịppas, or lesser gods, who would rule over it. Họzọnglus do not believe Lomtụppọ is infallible and perfect; instead, Lomtụppọ is simply the father of the zịppas and the world.

The first major development in Proto-Họzọngluism was the reverence and worship of deceased bughuddọ̃sọlos. The passed bughuddọ̃sọlos came to be regarded as lesser gods, which they called zịppas, as mentioned previously. The particular zịppas who were worshipped differed from region to region, each region of city having its own important zịppas who were not necessarily known elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the word of the deeds of more prominent zịppas often spread far beyond the locations where they held power when alive. Eventually, these zịppas became legendary and divine in nature, with much elaboration on their lives. These zịppas took hold throughout Họzọngluism and were worshipped by all.

A few of the zịppas common among all Họzọnglus:

Eghemi – zịppa of all directions and places
Ukpony – zịppa of agriculture, luck, health, childbirth
Shanụk – zịppa of wealth and prosperity
Rụkwọ – zịppa of fishing and hunting
Agga – zịppa of seasons

In addition to patron/matron zịppas of various locations, there are also many minor zịppas who represent various aspects of life and work.

Worship takes place in three main locations, with decreasing frequency or worship: most commonly is in shrines at home, the next is sporadic attendance at public places of worship with ceremonies conducted by bughuddọ̃sọlos, and finally at festivals and special ceremonies which occasionally take place at caves and supposed burial places of zịppas.

Taladdãnism (Nyasĩngiistic Monotheism)
The tradition of Taladdãnism developed in the Lãzem and En regions and became the state religion of the Kingdom of En. It is named after Sokosokoshọksọ̃ pili Taladdã, who defined the original principles upon which it is based, particularly in opposition to the encroaching Họzọngluism. As its name implies, Taladdãnism’s most prominent difference from Họzọngluism is its belief in a single deity, the Zo Pãlishima. In this sense, it is more conservative than Họzọngluism, in that it preserves the belief in the Zo Pãlishima as a lone, all-powerful entity, a core concept of primitive Nyasĩngiism.

Taladdãnists are highly opposed to the Họzọngluistic concept of zịppas, which undermine the position of the Zo Pãlishima as the ultimate power.

The primitive Nyasĩngiistic belief in multiple worlds is retained, however, the transition to the next world is no longer considered an inevitability, but rather a warning for what can happen if society fails to uphold nyasĩngi. If the world is reformed, it is because the people proved themselves unable to live in that world. The bughuddọ̃sọlos advise the population on how best to uphold nyasĩngi and avoid the destruction and reformation of the world.

Larger cities each have their own head bughuddọ̃sọlo, known as the paihenti, who wield much power. Smaller towns and settlements fall under the domain of the nearby paihenti. Often, however, the paihentis have little real control over these faraway regions, and local bughuddọ̃sọlos end up occupying a role similar to the paihenti. The role of the paihentis is to make decisions regarding how the bughuddọ̃sọlos should interact with the people.

The exact path to upholding nyasĩngi is not agreed on by all paihentis. While the main tenets of the religion, i.e. the general explanation of how to follow nyasĩngi, were set down by Taladdã and elaborated on by subsequent bughuddọ̃sọlos, the resulting mass of religious texts has never been sorted into an official canon. Nevertheless, all Taladdãnists agree on most of the original tenets nyasĩngi as defined by Taladdã, which cover a range of codes of conduct involving relations with people, relations with the land, relations with animals, relations between people and bughuddọ̃sọlos, proper methods of worship, codes of conduct including food rationing for Ingise and Onọfo, and so on.

While the Taladdãnist belief is that only bughuddọ̃sọlos can communicate with the Zo Pãlishima, Taladdãnists nevertheless typically worship at home. This is done by praying to talismans sanctified by bughuddọ̃sọlos, which are thought to record their prayers. These talismans are brought semi-regularly to temple ceremonies, where the people take part in a ritual in which the bughuddọ̃sọlo allows the prayers recorded within the talisman to be communicated to the Zo Pãlishima. During these ceremonies, the bughuddọ̃sọlo advises the people on the ways to uphold nyasĩngi in the various situations of their everyday life.

History, 4000-5000
This millennium saw relations between the En and Faichesi kingdoms began to decay due to religious denouncements from either side regarding their differing beliefs. Early in the Faichesi Kingdom attempted to form an alliance with the Ghụfoso Kingdom, but the leaders of Ghụfoso were uninterested in entering a conflict with the En Kingdom when they already felt pressure from the Mailengwe people to the north, who had already conquered a number of other northern people. In 4237, the Faichesi declared war on the En Kingdom and launched an attack focusing on the the Ngwịt river estuary.

The attack was initially successful, and the cities of Kpị and Gbengwe quickly fell to the Faichesi. Unexpectedly, however, this attack was quickly followed by a vicious and not entirely coincidental attack by the Maihãĩ on the settlement of Ngwai Pushulõ, on Maihãĩ Island. The victorious Maihãĩ continued on to the island of Ọddonyo and instigated a slave revolt of the slave Maihãĩ. The Faichesi government was forced to break off the attack on the En and regroup to deal with this internal threat. The Faichesi Kingdom, faced with an attack both from the En and from the Maihãĩ eventually capitulated, and agreements were struck with the En and the Maihãĩ.

The Faichesi Kingdom, however, struggled to operate under these difficult arrangements, and the central government became unable to exercise control over its territory. Soon, the Faichesi Kingdom was shattered into a number of smaller states. Some of these states, influenced by the En, adopted Taladdãnism, while others remained Họzọngluist. The Ghụfoso Kingdom extended its influence into the northernmost portion of Ọddonyo.

In 4370, war broke out between the Ghụfoso and the Mailengwe, but the Mailengwe were successfully repelled. A second invasion came in 4443, which was also repelled, but not without plunging the kingdom into chaos. The kingdom’s central leadership were undermined, and a number of independent states arose. These were once again eventually reunited into a new Ghụfoso kingdom.

The Ujjut city of Ngwirit, due to its favourable position, became very rich due to trade between various cultures. Its influence expanded, and it broke away from the influence of central Ujjut, becoming an independent state.

The En Kingdom expanded southward, displacing the nearby Ãĩpang. However, lucrative trade of tulosọnghọ (sugarcane) and other exotic products with the western Ãĩpang led to the En Kingdom establishing colonies on some atolls to the far west of the kingdom.

The Beautiful Game (raʃimale̤̤ rṳt'osele̤̤): Part 2

Organisation

Every one of the regiments sponsors a team (often several) which are financed by the lord, or the merchants' or craftsmen's guild with which the regiment is affiliated. Each one has a flag, and a shield granted by the College of Heralds. Not every team is affiliated with a military order. Sponsors include gods, lords, academies, enterprise consortia and even individual entrepreneurs.

The players wear a plain tabard in the heraldic colour while on the pitch, and an embroidered tabard while parading.

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Figure 1: The K'olo Seals Shield.
The Pitch

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Figure 2: Image of the pitch from K'ows'ilu's XIIth Letter.
The pitch consists of a rectangular ground 90 by 70 feet long, containing 36 munkee posts arranged in a diamond pattern, joined diagonally and horizontally by brachiation ropes.

The goal posts are similar to rugby goal posts but with two crossbars instead of one. To score, the ball must be thrown between the crossbars, not over or under them, and neither one may be dislodged.

The four munkee posts around each goal are off limits to the attacking team and are not joined to the other posts by ropes.

The Rules (some of them)

Each team has a maximum of 11 players: five munkees and five humans, male or female, plus one goalkeeper who may be either.

The munkees swing from the ropes, while humans (or dragons, if they are playing) run on the ground.

(Usually, but there have been several human players who have played the munkee role very competently, and vice versa).

Substitution is normally only allowed in the case of injury or foul. The exception is in the case of a penalty throw. If the goalkeeper is the opposite species to the penalty taker, another team member of the right species must replace him or her in goal.

Humans may bounce the ball or throw it, but not carry it or kick it. Munkees may not throw the ball with the hands, and they may carry it, but only with the tail.

The aim is, of course, to score more goals than the other team.

The umpire's decision is final.

(Theoretically. But some tie-breakers have provided food for theological controversies for years.)

Fouls

1. Punching another player is banned. So is grabbing any part of the anatomy while tackling.
2. (Munkees only). Dropping onto a human player from above.
3. (Munkees only). Attacking player using the defending posts.
4. (Humans only). Attacking player entering the area behind the defending posts.
5. More than two defending players of each species in the defending area or on the defending posts.
6. Using magic before or during the game (players AND fans).

Most major pitches are now covered by nullification spells. Healing magics are allowed off the pitch in case of injury.

This is not an exhaustive account of ʃimale̤̤. I haven't mentioned the oblique rule, which can confuse even experienced players and umpires, just like its soccer analogue “offside”.

The Beautiful Game (raʃimale̤̤ rṳt'osele̤̤): Part 3.

An Illustration: Munkee Penalty Taking

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When a munkee takes a penalty shot, he (or she) and the goalkeeper face each other, and both start swinging on their ropes to build momentum. The penalty taker has at least three options.

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The penalty taker may try and throw the ball over the goalkeeper. To block this attack, the goalkeeper should swing right up.

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The penalty taker may try dodging quickly to the goalkeeper's right or left.[Above] The penalty taker may try shooting at one of the posts and get the ball into goal that way. [Below] This is one of the hardest shots to block, but is also probably the most difficult to bring off.

Controversies

What religion worth its salt doesn't have its disputes and quarrels?

1. Whether any particular goal is fair or not.
2. Whether winning is more important than fair play. Both qualities are highly valued by the Č'ira̤̤, but the one has been known to eclipse the other.
3. Whether professional players should be allowed.
4. Whether gambling should be allowed, and if so, who may gamble.

Prince ?obadžano's Reform.

Some fifty years after Dizk'ake's death (and sixty-five years after K'ows'ilu's), the character of the Beautiful Game had changed a lot for the worse. Now many of the teams had nothing to do with the military orders and guilds but were, as often as not, the folly of some lord or rich merchant. The players were likely to be mercenaries from other towns, seedy characters with links to gambling rackets or even organised crime. The “priests” were even worse, often ex-players who could get no other type of work. They were often underpaid and open to bribery. However ʃimale̤̤ was still wildly popular with the people.

After a huge match-fixing scandal that nearly led to the lynching of the players and the umpire involved, Prince ?obadžano stepped in to clean up the sport. He implementated a series of reforms, including:

1. Only those of good character were now permitted to umpire.
2. Spectators were still allowed to gamble, but players were not.
3. Players could be fined or suspended for associating with bookies, or for any moral lapses that left them open to blackmail.
4. Bookmakers cannot operate without a royal licence (or city licence in the case of republics), which can be withdrawn for the offence of approaching players.
5. Players can only play for their regimental or home city team.

He also limited the number of teams and set the regiments on a better footing, abolishing some which were moribund or hopelessly corrupt, and making sure that the others were financially sound.

It remains to be seen how long it will be before the religion needs reforming again, but currently standards are high again.

Somehow, I don't think football and the like really count as religions...

There is, in fact, scholarly literature on the subject of spectator sports as religions.

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Adúljôžal ônal kol ví éža únah kex yaxlr gmlĥ hôga jô ônal kru ansu frú.
Ansu frú ônal savel zaš gmlĥ a vek Adúljôžal vé jaga čaþ kex.
Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh.

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"I'm sorry, when you have all As in every class in every semester, it's not easy to treat the idea that your views are fundamentally incoherent as a serious proposition."

Tetratheonism - F[1]r
The gods and the creation
At the beginning there were only Qart, the living wind and his wife Zet, the rocky goddess. Upon looking on the emptiness of the universe Zet cried and of her tears came the land and the moons.

Rejoiced by her creation, Qart took Zet, his wife, in love and of this meeting came Qarten and Zetyn, the living fire and the water nymph. Happy in motherhood, Zet cried tears of joy and created multitude of small rocks and one large rock that oversaw the land in shifts with the moon; Qarten, amused, touched this rock and lit them in fire, thus creating the Sun and stars.

One time as they played, Qarten touched and hurt Zetyn, who cried in pain. Her tears covered most of the land and created the oceans, rivers, lakes and springs.

Qart gazed upon the creation his wife and offspring made and blew his wind of life upon it, chipping rocks from the land to make every kind of living beast, plant, bug, bird and fish upon it. And done so, he blew once more, this time, winds of law, so every living creature on the land knew the law of Qart and Zet and their offspring and knew to uphold it; but he saw the land to be static and stagnant, so he blew his winds of change to create from the lighest of breezes to the strongest of storms and renew the land time and time again.

Eons after, when men formed societies and families and needed to work of the land for food and shelter, Zet took a piece of her body and gave it to the wise men, so they could make workers out of rock and rest and rejoice.

The main dogmas

As men grew more and more they forgot the message of Qart's wind of law and grew wicked. So from the Qartenai raised Teir to the mountains so he could get close to Qart and ask him his laws. And on the fourth day of meditation did he come from the heavens to talk to Teir.

“Qart, wife of Zet, father of all, please take mercy on my people and once more tell us your rules so we can be no longer wicked” said Teir with a bow, for he dared not to stand or even try to look upon Qart.

“Since my wife and daughter take pity on your people, I shall once more tell you the law.” he said with a bellow “Do not use your voice to lie, for when you do when you blow wicked winds and that enrages me.

Do not use stone to kill living creatures for when you do it saddens Zet, who took pity on you.

Do not use fire to dispose of those who lived but live no more, for out of rocks you were born and to rocks you must return.

Take only what you need of the land and no more than that.

You may only take physically those who want to be taken and use their voice to tell you so.

And last and more importantly of all, of all that lives you may kill, betray, take physically and else except those of who share your blood.

Those rules you should never break for they are punishable by death.” and when finished he blew strong winds to take Teir home and so his laws could be shared once more to the men on the land.


EDIT: I might write up a section on mean of worships, lesser deities and stuff.

Can't really concentrate on religion through the pain of paying taxes. So I'll extend the deadline to Friday.

I'm wondering if we should record the CCCP on Anthologica. It would certainly save zomp the time and effort of making a wiki.

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Adúljôžal ônal kol ví éža únah kex yaxlr gmlĥ hôga jô ônal kru ansu frú.
Ansu frú ônal savel zaš gmlĥ a vek Adúljôžal vé jaga čaþ kex.
Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh. Ônal zeh.

I started it as a ZBB project, so I'd rather keep it here. It would be more appropriate for Anthologica to develop its own collaborative projects. (Of course, the people may overlap.)

Zörachok religion
Creation myth
The moons have always existed. But at a certain time they wanted to create something new, and thus they decided to create the world.
The first moon started the creation by making land. By the time he had made all land, he had become rather tired, so he stopped. The world was however not finished yet.
Thus the next moon continued the creation by adding water. He also got tired and stopped.
The third and last moon added all living things. Just like the other two moons he stopped when he got tired.
The only thing that did not exist yet now was light. The moons therefore made the sun. Although the sun was only supposed to provide light, it saw the moons’ work and wanted to create something as well. But, as it didn’t know how to create things, it only messed up all that it did. That is why disasters happen, and also why everyone has to die once.

Worshipping
As suggested by the above section, the sun and the moons are considered deities, just like they were thousands of years ago. They are worshipped in aboveground temples (note that the Zörachok live in underground houses, the temples are the only aboveground buildings). Small villages tend to have one temple for all four of the “gods”, but the bigger ones have one for each of them and some cities have even more temples.
Every day (or perhaps I should say night) ceremonies are held in the temples. The ceremonies consist of three parts: making contact with the gods, making sacrifices to them, and praying. The main purpose of these ceremonies is to keep the gods happy.

How to live
“If the moons are happy with you, they will praise you. If they aren’t, they will punish you. So if all is fine, make sure to keep the moons happy. If something is going bad, think what you’ve done wrong and try to seek forgiveness.”

“Keeping the moons happy” means to perform the rituals correctly and to live like they want you to. That is, don’t kill any intelligent species, don’t be selfish, don’t make life hard for others. “Doing something wrong” means somehow insulting the moons, either by making a mistake during a religious ceremony or by acting in the wrong way. Note that the sun is excluded from this aspect of religion, as, according to Zörachok philosophy, the only thing which could possibly insult the sun would be to sleep wrongly, which doesn’t make any sense at all.

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"I'm sorry, when you have all As in every class in every semester, it's not easy to treat the idea that your views are fundamentally incoherent as a serious proposition."

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Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri
/ʃʷiː˩βa˥˩ ŋi˥ʒʷa˩˥ja˩ɖi˩/

Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri, roughly 'Awareness of Unending Love' or 'Understanding of Infinite Love,' is an influential system of religious thought originating on the northern coast of mainland Cwōsru. It emerged during a period of turmoil and uncertainty in the region brought about by internal conflicts in the nation of Kwhukhu, which had been the most powerful and stable Nggwoó polity for more than a century. The chaos quickly spread beyond the borders of that nation as piracy went unchecked, refugees and deserters turned to banditry to survive, and generations-old alliances and trade agreements broke down, ruining formerly wealthy and influential families. Into this age of fear and chaos emerged Mwazru, the visionary founder of Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri.

Mwazru

Mwazru was born in the city-state of Pūjwekhunge ('white water hill') to a family of seafaring merchants, and learned from an early age to track the cycles of the tides, to navigate by the stars, and to recognize the signs that presaged the changing of the weather. It was well understood at the time that the tides were influenced by the phases of the moons, particularly those of Phusrwa, the most prominent of the three. Likewise, the Nggwoó of Pūjwekhunge tracked time using a complex lunar calendar shared by many of the polities in the region, and there was a popular conception that the moons in some way governed the annual cycle of dry and wet seasons. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that bright Phusrwa was often regarded as an anthropomorphic being in the popular spirituality of the time.

By this point the luswiī (priests or shamans) in Pūjwekhunge, as in many of the larger settlements of Cwōsru, had largely isolated themselves from the day-to-day goings on of their community. The rituals through which they interceded with the spirit word were performed behind closed doors, and they selected their members almost exclusively from the most influential families of the city-state. Their role was believed to be a necessary one, but the average citizen knew next to nothing about the details of their beliefs and practices, and often resented the privileges they enjoyed through their close association with the ruling elite.

Mwazru's family had once counted themselves among this elite by virtue of owning several valuable ships, but the troubles of the age had not spared their fortunes, and thus as Mwazru came of age he found that he had far more in common with the working people of Pūjwekhunge than with its rulers. Then, on a night when he and his family were returning from a long voyage to negotiate a new contract with a distant trading partner, the young man had a mystical experience that would forever change his life. Gazing up at the face of Phusrwa, he began to believe that he could hear a voice speaking to him in a soothing, feminine tone. The voice spoke but a few words, and yet imparted upon Mwazru a new vision of the world and his people's place in it.

Upon arriving back in Pūjwekhunge, Mwazru took to the streets and began to preach a radical new message. It was folly, he said, to believe, as the luswiī did, that the world was governed by a multitude of spirits, each one toiling away to make the wind blow or the rain fall, and each one requiring its own ritual of supplication. The truth was far simpler: it was Phusrwa herself, with the help of the sun and the lesser moons, were her husbands, who controlled all of these things, just as they presided over the season and the tides. This they did for the benefit of their children, the Nggwoó, for whom they had made all the world and whom they loved more dearly than any mortal parents could their own children.

Indeed, the celestial family’s power to influence the world and their love for their children were one and the same, manifesting as an omnipresent benevolent spirit that permeates all things. Mwazru called this spirit Zwáyadri, 'unending love,' and preached that anyone could learn to become aware of it if they opened themselves to the truth of his teachings. This was essential, he warned, because all earthly woes arose from a failure to understand the unending love of the celestial family, and not from a failure to perform the proper rituals and sacrifices. This was, naturally, not a popular message among the luswiī, and it was only a matter of time before they moved to silence Mwazru.

Mwazru was murdered by the hand of an unknown assassin less than a year after he had begun to preach his vision, but by that time he had already attracted a considerable following. His message had proven attractive to the common folk of Pūjwekhunge in part because it was intensely personal; it was up to every individual to discover Zwáyadri and to live their lives in accordance with the loving guidance of the celestial family, and even without a central figure to rally around this message continued to spread.

This is not to say that the movement had no leaders; indeed, prophets and gurus sprung up like weeds in the wake of Mwazru’s death. Wise or charismatic individuals often attracted followings of their own from among the many who sought guidance in their path to finding Zwáyadri, and from the earliest days of the faith these different teachers gave rise to a multitude of different schools of thought and codes of conduct.

Many of these leaders of the faithful would go on to lead popular uprisings against the leaders of Pūjwekhunge over the succeeding generations, while others would spread Mwazru's teachings beyond the borders of the city-state. It was through the latter that the faith eventually spread to the distant city of Qipuhe ('high cliff'), where it would find an unlikely ally that would prove instrumental in spreading Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri beyond the boundaries of Cwōsru.

Nggolu

The woman known to history as Nggolu was born to one of the leading families of Qipuhe more than a hundred years after the death of Mwazru, and was already one of the luswiī and a respected elder of her community when the adherents of Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri began to make inroads in the city. By that time the movement had been largely expunged from Pūjwekhunge and the other early centers of the faith, but itinerant holy people continued to preach various interpretations of Mwazru's message throughout northern Cwōsru. One thing that the preachers of the time had in common was that they were purely concerned with converting other Nggwoó, emphasizing their special importance as the children of Phusrwa.

Nggolu was initially an energetic opponent of Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri, and developed a reputation as a brilliant orator by publicly debating the followers of Mwazru and tearing holes in their rhetoric. It is said that it was in the midst of one of these debates that Nggolu experienced an epiphany and became suddenly aware of Zwáyadri in all its ineffable majesty. So powerful was this revelation that the priestess was said to have collapsed in the street as if physically struck, and to have fallen into a reverie from which she could not be roused for hours, days, or even years, depending on who’s telling the story. Afterward, Nggolu reversed her position, and turned her finely honed rhetorical skills to persuading her fellow luswiī of the error of their ways.

In what is considered by many to be a miracle brought about by the will of of Phusrwa herself, Nggolu was successful in converting her peers to the new faith, and Qipuhe became the first city in Cwōsru where the civic leaders officially embraced Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri. A call soon went out for all teachers of the faith to come and gather in the city, that they might freely share their wisdom regarding the message of Mwazru and the nature of Zwáyadri. Many answered the call and a great council ensued, but in the end it was Nggolu who emerged as the dominant voice among the assembled holy people. She rejected the premise that the world had been created for the Nggwoó alone, and that the love of the celestial family could be limited to any one culture or species. She argued vehemently that all beings with the capacity to hear the words of Mwazru could in turn come to know Zwáyadri and that, furthermore, this demonstrated that all speaking creatures were indeed children of Phusrwa. So powerful were her convictions and so moving her words that all of the assembled faithful accepted this as truth.

Although the most important legacy of Nggolu's teaching is considered to be her call for inclusion, she spent the remainder of her life working with other leaders of the faith to develop their collective teachings into a comprehensive creed that sought to incorporate and explain all facets of the observable world. This led to a proliferation of oral literature and an increasing focus on the teacher-student relationship over individualistic self-discovery in the pursuit of Zwáyadri. This, in turn, lent itself to a more hierarchically structured faith, and one that was more palatable to the religious elite of the other Nggwoó cities. Although there would be no more need for luswiī to intercede with the spirits on behalf of the community, there would still be a demand for erudite religious specialists to help guide the community along the path to embracing and understanding the unending love of the celestial family.

Under the leadership of Nggolu and her successors, Swiivà Ngīzwáyadri entered a new golden age, spreading with renewed vigor through Cwōsru and beyond.