Uhazuism

Uhazuism is a polytheistic, animistic religion based on the worship of natural spirits and gods that is believed to exist within nature. One of the core of the religion is the belief that nature, in itself, is divine, and gives birth to magical spirits and deities that should be revered.

Beliefs

Uhazu is not concerned with the creation of the world - and there are multiple canons on how the world came about, each of them contradicting each other. The core beliefs center around two types of entity with magical, ethereal power - Uha (Gods) and Yonro (Spirits). The latter of which are real to some extent in Runra, while the former is not necessarily confirmed to exist - but Uhazu followers believe in them, anyway.

Uha (Deities)

Uha refers to a type of abstract deity that is seen as unlikely to intervene directly with the mortal world. They reside in a higher plane of existence - often a heavenly realm or an underworld realm, and do not intervene in the mortal worlds. Sometimes, they transform and become lesser beings, or use spirits and envoys and appear in visions before the faithful. Uha never intervene directly against people who act against their interests.

Unlike most other pantheistic religions, the Uhas are seldomly worshiped frequently by people - instead, a lot of minor deities are instead venerated throughout the land - It is seen as appropriate to offer donations and sacrifices to different deities for different blessings.

Nature of Souls

Uhazo followers believe that there are multiple types of souls, each belonging to a different kind of plane of existence with different attributes. A soul can ascend upon meeting criterias, but seldomly, if ever get demoted. Tiered conventionally from “above” to “below”.

• Uha: The highest tier of soul. They are the most powerful, and can appear in vision, but must live in a different realm of existence from the mortal world, where they can interact with each other. Their power is directly proportional to beliefs, and it is said that forgotten Uha can only make little inscriptions and miracles in an attempt to be remembered again. Though powerful and nigh invincible, their ability to intervene in the mortal world is very much limited, and Uha cannot intervene directly in the mortal world - only by transforming into their avatar and losing most of their divine power and memories could they inhabit it directly. A Uha, in some text, may choose to discard their divinity to become human - a common theme throughout the texts of Uhazoism, often involving a Uha falling in love with a mortal.
• Saryun: The soul of a regular human being. Those capable of thinking and inhabiting. There are benevolent, normal spirits - that of most people alive, and some malevolent spirits, belonging to truly evil people who cannot move onto the afterlife, or those whose body were improperly cared of, or those with lingering regrets - especially those who were murdered outside of a war.
• Bapegun: Spirit that rivals that of the Saryun in intelligence, but differs in that they cannot inhabit or take over that of a human body unless after death - often treated as malevolent but also impulsive, and easily trickable spirits, and they are impulsively controlled by some kind of desires. A corrupted Saryun may become a Bapegun, and a Bapegun that overcomes its base impulse - often through interaction with humans, may ascend to become a Bapegun. They are often servants of Uhas.
• Pesu: The spirit of intelligent animals, animals that have gained ability to cast magic, converse with humans. They ascend directly to a Saryun spirit if they are intelligent and have a sense of morals - but stay as an animal level as long as they do not acquire a human sense of moral compass.
• An: An is less so an individual spirit but more of a collective spirit - so despite being of the “lowest” tier, it is in a way, just as powerful as a Uha - but more abstract. The collective spirit split into the will of the least intelligent animals - insects, small critters, bears, animals of all kinds, trees, and are often collective to an area as a whole - with a mountain or a forest gaining an entire An spirit. One that is revered and worshiped enough may spawn a true Uha that has command of the An, but most places stay at the level of an An. When spirituality is concentrated enough, Pesu spirit might be created - and sometimes Bapegun (Often in response to violations of the collective spirit’s space or interests). Rarely a Saryun might be made from An - and it is said this is the origin of Kemonomimis.

Afterlife

When an intelligent person (not an animal, nor a magical animal) dies, their spirit is believed to depart their body, and malevolent spirits start to process the body instead, and if not handled, the spirits of malevolence will spread diseases, death, mayhem, and may even turn them into the undead. As a result, it is seen as key to cremate their body as it purifies it and prevents malevolence from taking over.

When an animal of intelligence or a normal animal dies, it is seen as returning to a whole - the whole of nature instead, and malevolent spirits cannot take over, for those animals are seen as not of a level of existence that can tempt them to be taken over by nature.

All beings that die head to the underworld - Sokenedo. They must pay the ferryman who moves them across a large river of the underworld - Hedo. If they do not have enough coins - usually said to be a silver - then they must toil at the mines of the Sokenedo until they earn their pay - and it is said no matter what it will take a hundred day for them to earn their toll - thus making it common to throw in ten bronze or copper coins into the funeral pyre of the deceased - often placed in their body’s hands if possible.

Once they cross the river, they happen upon Sokenbepe, the goddess of the underworld, who has many forms and many bodies - with many courts across the other coast of the world. A female deity who is depicted as a woman in long, white dress, with long white hair, red eyes, and the hat of a judge or an official on her head, sometimes depicted with multiple faces. She is present in multiple places at once, judging the dead as fast as they come in, based on the deeds they’ve done that are objectively good, the deeds that are objectively evil, and then she weighs their sins on the scale. Then they adjust the scale using the list of events where they have injured others for their own good, and see how much good they have produced versus the evil for the group they belong to, and render her final judgment.

On her left is the door to the penitentiary and on the left is the door to heaven. A sinner or a virtuous person will be judged up to nine hundred and ninety nine years in heaven or in the penitentiary. In the penitentiary the sinner must pray, work and provide for others and serve the gods by providing materials which they will use for divine interventions for goods in the overworld, but most of the time their labor provides for those in heaven. In heaven a person need not work but can socialize and frolics all day and enjoy all kinds of freedom and beautiful scenery.

But all people’s time in the afterlife are limited, and after they have paid their debt or enjoyed the fruit of their labor, they are ushered out by the agents of Sokenbepe (For people who went to heaven, this is often depicted as them being dragged sobbing and crying), and thrown into the Pool of Reincarnation, where they are thrown back into the mortal cycle and born again.

However, for the truly, truly, virtuous, those who have made great impact on the world, they need not have a temporary stay in heaven, and instead, Sokenbepe summon a jury of Uhas (Whose composition varies from text to text) for whether they are worthy of ascension, and those who are are offered a spot in the true heaven or the spot of a deity watching over a patch of land in the world above. It is commonly believed that people of great stature (even if they have done some evil in their life) become Uha this way and are venerated forever for their blessings.

Ancestor Worship

When a person who has died goes to the underworld, it is believed their spirits can still impart wisdom to you - and that many of the ancestors have passed the test of deitification and become minor and large Uha. Therefore, it is common to worship your nearest ancestor - up to a period of 50 years or so, and unless they are of great stature, worship usually ends after one or two generations of ancestor, as they are believed to have moved on and might have reincarnated somewhere else. Truly magnificent ancestors are venerated as Uha, but that is not common amongst all lineages.

It is also believed that if one’s ancestors have sinned or done wrong, by sacrificing and praying for them on their behalf one can shorten the time they spend in the penitentiary - there are elaborate systems for how the years are calculated, maintained by priests and priestesses. Except for truly villainous ancestors, it is seen as appropriate to pray for those ancestors to end their suffering, and it is also seen as a virtuous act in itself to use your time living to atone for the dead. Even if your ancestor is not sentenced to the penitentiary, prayer anand sacrifices can extend their life in heaven, and are greatly encouraged as it is seen as passing virtuous deeds down generational lines.

Other Beliefs

• Birth: When a baby is born, they are washed carefully with holy water to clean them of filth and symbolically blessed to be warded against evil spirits.
• Death: Cremation is the most appropriate burial method and the ashes of the ancestor are often enshrined and venerated if important. And scattered if not.
• Adulthood: Reaching the age of majority - that is 21 in Uhazu tradition, is an event to be greatly celebrated. The newly minted adult is introduced to other newly minted adults at the temple, and takes place in prayer and ritual cleaning, with them emerging with a new set of tailored clothes afterward. They also seek the blessing of local enshrined Uhas, and their relatives pray for lucky charms which they will wear for the rest of their life.
• Priesthood: A priest can marry and often have jobs that aren't just priesthood outside of the largest and most important shrines. Priesthoods are gender equal, but females are often preferred over male priests. Priesthoods are largely left to Kitsunes or Okaimimi, and priests are expected to practice magic and be proficient in its usage - especially that of Nature and Faith school. They serve an important role as community healers.
• Marriage, Polygamy and Polyandry: Uhazuism does not prescribe marriage norm and consider it to be a largely cultural matter.
• Gender and Sexuality: Uhazuism does not prescribe any gender or sexuality norm - but their deities are often fluid in gender and in religious texts and story, are portrayed as changing it as they want or need.
• Premarital and Extramarital Intimacy: Culture dependent.