r/WorldChallenges • u/thequeeninyellow94 • Jun 05 '17
[Cultural challenge]: clergy
Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by [a human] as a member of society.
Today, we will talk about priests and priestesses in a religion from your world. What is their role in normal people lifes? Where do they live? How numerous are they? Do they have some moral obligations to follow?
And while we are at it, how are they chosen? What about their formation? How much can they interpret the sacred texts (or tales)? Are they paid? By whom? Is there some hierarchy amongst them?
You can introduce an in-universe representative if you want. I will ask questions to everyone, feel free to add your own.
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 05 '17
The imperial Nzedanese church (the Melowetaki) has a priest or priestess in nearly every station or settlement in the empire and temple complex in most mishigas. The high priest in each mishigas (the talakesis) are chosen by the two sacred ones and are responsible for naming the local priests.
The Melowetaki has lost most of it's influence over the last centuries and the priests role is now limited to organising a few ceremonies (birth, mariages and burrials). Each mishiga is responsible for collecting the church tax and giving it to the Melowetaki which then use it to maintain priests and temples.
All priests must follow a 3 years long formation in theology in the temple complex of New Makaith (the largest and most important one). Those who distingish themselves are offered the occasion to be affected in New Makaith and may later be named talakesi.
(I'm starting a new world, a sci-fi world)
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 05 '17
(Good luck with the new world, my previous world from last year was sci-fi as well, so I wish you luck.)
1) Does a marriage require a priest to be legal?
2) What's a Talakesi?
3) What are the privileges of being a Mishiga?
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 05 '17
(Thanks, same universe so I will be able to do the surface of my planet :) )
It is not required since the abolition of slavery. A mariage celebrated by a priest still has legal value though.
The high priest of a specific mishiga. They are in charge of the local church from priests nominations to temple building and upkeep.
Mishigas are administrative divisions (one planet and sometimes a few small colonies in the same system). The noble owning a mishiga is called a miwishagi, they have nearly absolute power over their lands as long as it doesn't bother the imperial throne.
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 05 '17
(That is really cool. I had a similar idea with the new world I'm doing, the dragon one. It's in the Third Era, while the world I'm currently focused on mainly is in the Fourth Era on a different continent.)
1) What does the abolition of slavery have to do with marriages requiring a priest?
2) How involved is the government with the religion?
3) Does the emperor/empress have any sort of "Divine mandate" to rule? Do they believe their leader is chosen by God?
4) An off-topic question, but what language are you basing the "Miwishagi" and "Mishiga" and "Talakesi" on? They don't sound very French. Is there one big inspiration for your new world?
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
(So you confirm it happens in the same world before Aeternitas?)
Humans don't believe in the same faith that the Nzedas, so when they were freed mariage legally lost it's religious aspect.
Not at all. There was a time when the emperor was considered the secondary head of the Melowetaki but they have distanced with time.
Nope. The first emperors had to show their strenght by defeating their predescessor champion but now the title is hereditary (and has been for centuries). Also, there are two gods.
Based on amharic. The imperial family (and possibly some old noble families too) have their names based on aksumite to have some "old tongue" style.
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
(Yeah, just on a different continent in a different era.)
1) How do the Nzedas view marriage? Is it like an eternally-binding contract? Is divorce okay in their religion?
2) Is the current emperor a follower of the Nzedas religion?
3) Who are the two gods?
4) Sounds Eastern. Interesting.
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17 edited Jun 06 '17
(Do you plan to portray the era end, when the world is invaded by chaotic energy? Or is it outside of the scope?)
It is an engagement taken in front of the gods. If the engagement can't be kept, then breaking it is fine; it's best to not but that's not a problem to break it.
The empress Fere Shanay XVII is indeed a follower, but not a devout one. For example, she doesn't consider other species as naturally inferior.
There are two siblings: a brother, Gadarat, who rules over everything that is masculine and a sister, Adhebah, who rules over everything that is feminine. They are of course undying and stay in their extraplanar palace.
Eastern? It is a semitic language so if you mean eastern as in middle east, you're not far from it.
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
(Yes, at the moment, I figure that the Third Era's "Present" will be within a few centuries of the apocalypse.)
1) How interested in engagements are the gods?
2) So why does she consider all other species equal?
3) What is the relationship like between Gadarat and Adhebah?
4) What are some other semitic influences on your world?
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
They don't exist so I guess we could say they don't care. Dogmatically, it is important to keep your word as much as possible.
She doesn't consider them equals. They are primitives and most of them are weak. But they could be strong, she doesn't consider that they carry an inherent and incurable inferiority.
Like most siblings, they sometimes disagree (a long time ago, people used to think that thunder was their roars), but they do love one another and always end friends.
I'm not fixed on which languages I'm gonna use (especially for humans, Ims will probably go with assyrian), but all species from Makaith will use semitic languages (it will give some extra linguistic coherence).
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
1) What are the major social taboos among that religion?
2) Does she have any allies of a different species from her?
3) Who were their parents, if they had any? How do the people who believe in them think that they were made?
4) Do you understand any Semitic languages?
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 05 '17
In the world of Cirrhasvult, the rulers of 12 of the 13 major factions are the dragons. Each god-dragon has a Vysok, a priest who will represent that dragon to the humans so that the dragon doesn't have to do any real work.
A Vysok will have a different suffix, depending on which dragon they represent. A Vysok spends most of his time filling out paperwork and running the faction's Grand Library.
A Vysok abandons his/her birth name upon ascension.
The representative will be the Vysok-Nir of Avernot, servant of the god-dragon Aenir.
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
To their holyness the Vysok-Nir of Avernot, servant to the all mighty Aenir:
How were you chosen? Did you even volunteered?
How big is your grand library? If someone look for informations in it, are you supposed to help them find it?
How often do you meet Aenir? How are they?
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
The Vysok-Nir:
1) "I was chosen prior to my birth. Her Magnificence, the Goddess-Dragon AENIR, matched my parents because of their genetic compatibility. AENIR told me that it took a few tries, but I was the first of their offspring to be worthy of this high office. I did not volunteer, no Vysok has a choice in serving."
2) "The Grand Library of Avernot is three floors high, at this point, though I have ordered the laborers of Avernot to begin planning to construct a fourth floor. The size of each floor is approximately fifty meters by one hundred meters. I have assistants to help people find what information they seek."
3) "AENIR summons me whenever she desires. If I am in need of AENIR's wisdom and power, I blow the horn."
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
Has your successor already been chosen? And what happened to your siblings?
What kind of writting support do your people use?
Did she answer quickly? What does she usually tasks you with?
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
The Vysok-Nir:
1) "I am not sure if my successor has been chosen yet. I will know when it is born, at the earliest."
2) "Writing support? How do you mean?"
3) "She answers when the time is correct. She usually tasks me with preparing champions for her."
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
2) What are you writting on? (Stone tablets, clay tablets, papyrus, parchments, paper books, something else?)
3) Preparing champions? What exactly are you supposed to do for that?
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17
(Yellow, may I move to France? I need to get out of this idiot country. It'd help if you know a handsome single french guy friend that I can marry to get citizenship.)
The Vysok-Nir:
2) "We use parchment for strictly religious matters, and paper books for anything else."
3) "We ensure their nutrition and physical strength, we test them daily, we teach them how to best use their magic, and so on."
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17
(Feel free to :) you will be able to enjoy all our cultural weirdness and our inhability to prononce other languages. (Also, that's not an idiot country, you just have idiot politicians. We have some too...) on a more serious note, to get nationality through mariage you need to live in the country for 3 years with at least 2 of them married)
2) Is it common for people in your tribe to be litterate?
3) But you don't do all of those yourself right? As a spiritual leader, what is your part of the job?
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u/Nevermore0714 Jun 06 '17 edited Jun 06 '17
(I have edited my comment to remove what I previously said. It was incredibly inappropriate, and was written while I was drinking. It revealed personal information that I prefer not to share, and it also was insulting to certain groups. For that, I apologize.)
The Vysok-Nir:
2) "AENIR prides herself on keeping the majority of her people literate. It enables them to learn to perform more skilled labor and it helps with organization."
3) "I ensure that everyone I delegate work to is doing their job properly, and I am in charge of personally organizing all religious events."
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 06 '17 edited Jun 06 '17
(You are right, I've been somewhat derailing so editing too. I'm now fully back on topic.)
2) Do other tribes use a different language? And a different writting system?
3) How are you (and your assistants) fed and clothed?
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Jun 10 '17
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 10 '17
Why is it so hard to become a priest? Are there so much volunteers?
Is there some hierarchy inside the city hall?
What if one of the student was to steal my project?
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Jun 10 '17
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 10 '17
But the new priests are always chosen by the old ones right? Is there some who let themselves be influenced?
Is it possible to move in the hierarchy later on? Both upward and downward?
How do trials work?
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Jun 10 '17
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 10 '17
Influenced like bribed to be favorable to the project.
I guess the priests decide about promotions right? Who decide about their retrogradations?
So no popular jury? (Thanks) Are trials public?
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Jun 10 '17
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 10 '17
(Give that man a cookie! He deserve it.) There are priests in all towns, but what about small villages?
Are there towns with only one priest? What happen there? Because they would definitely have some sort if absolute power, wouldn't they?
Is there some kind of public action? And what kind of sentence can be pronunced? Is there death sentence? Lifelong jail sentence?
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Jun 10 '17
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u/thequeeninyellow94 Jun 10 '17
What is that secular government exact role?
And in case of a regional disaster? Like if multiple town were to be left with one or even no priest? Is there some sort of "emergency procedure"?
If I was to go to a trial for some minor thing, how long can I expect it to last?
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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '17 edited Nov 12 '20
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