Re: Constructed Religions

Kristian Jensen wrote:

>  I'm sure many of you guys/gals have
> created belief systems to accompany the con-culture speaking your
> respective conlangs. So here I am asking, what are your religions
> like? Monotheistic, polytheistic, animistic? What are the creations
> myths? Are there specific religious institutions, temples, places of
> worship associated with your con-religions? How is the world seen
> through the religion - cosmology? I can go on but I'm sure you all
> get my drift.
I have not fount much on Hangkerim religion yet (read I'm still inventing=
 it).
The only I've found is that most people is actively ateist or they don't =
care,
but the religion and the life philosophy involved by it is part of every =
day
life for Hangkerimians.

What is found in the books which are publish by the monastic clubs and to=
ught at
schools is something like this:

It was a Creator who concived the universe, in the universe the earth as =
a
little nich hidden from the darks and the thunders for concive life.  The=
 Darks
and Thunders existed where the universe was created are still there and h=
ere.
For the Earth the Creator put a sun and a moon as guards for keeping the =
Darks
and Thunders away and for feed the life the Creator wanted to plant on Ea=
rth.

So the life was planted and from the plants and the spirits that emaned f=
rom the
creator the animals where born and the humans with them.  But the humans =
were
not sentient, were just as any other animals living in the praires, in th=
e
jungle and in the mountain.

And then, some spirits of the Dark were envious when they discovered the =
Earth
and covered it with ice and water, and many of the creatures died.  Human=
s begun
to cooperate for surviving and proved this way to the Creator they where
precious, so the Creator send a spirit with them and the spirite tought h=
umans
the language, the use of tools and the fire, so at humans themselves woul=
d
resist any other attempt of the Darks or the Thunders for conquering or
destruying the world.

The Creator still send spirits when ever humans have problems and the Cre=
ator
hasn't chose any particular people or culture.  Some times the spirits ma=
nifest
in the voice and the acts of a particular person.  Some times the spirits=
 would
take a human form, or an animal form or even the form of a plant or an ob=
ject.
Some times the spirits give courage, but the Creator has never reveal
him/her/itself because is affraid that his/her/its name would be used
incorrectily.  So it is wrong to adore the Creator.

Hangkerim religious people have a cult for the sun and a cult for the moo=
n, as
the guards and feeders of the Earth.  They adore nature.  They adore the =
jungle,
the rivers, the sea and the mountains, with a special cult for volcans an=
d snow
covered picks.  But they are not animist.  They _know_ that the Sun, the =
Moon,
the nature, the jungle, the rivers and the mountains are not deities.   T=
hey are
just part of the creation and therefor they reverence them because they c=
annot
adore the Creator.

They believe that in every human being there are a spirit from the Creato=
r, but
also spirits from the Dark and the Thunder.  It is important to dame the =
evil
spirits and cult the good one.  In order to achieve it they must protect =
the
creation, inluding other humans and begining with their own family.

Cooperation is very important for them.  But they know they cannot cooper=
ate if
nobody is leading.  Leadership is an important concept for them but they
stablish a great difference between ruling or having followers and leadin=
g.
Leading is not about being follow but about serving for the purposes of
achieving goals and being better.

There are monastic clubs and priests.  Munks preserve the beliefes and th=
e
books, and help society.  Priests teach.  A priest should be a leader, an=
d
actually most of them are natural leaders from the monastic clubs.  If a =
priest
cannot lead society (s)he fails.  Priests teach at schools or at clubs or=
 in
formal asociations.  They don't have special places.

--
                                      o_o
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   - =BFPor qu=E9 no?
   - No tiene sentido.
   - =BFQu=E9 sentido?  El sentido no existe.
   - El sentido inverso.  O el sentido norte.  El sentido com=FAn, tal ve=
z.  O sin
sentido, como aqu=ED.
    (-- Graeville 2)