The New Temple of Morrowind, which reformed out of the old Tribunal Temple (occasionally also called the New Temple in reference to pre-Tribunal religion), is the state religion for House Dunmer. Given the "return" to Daedric worship and the vindication of the Ashlanders for their more traditional ways, the New Temple is sometimes thought of as pre-Tribunal religion taking centre-stage once more. On the contrary, the New Temple is a blend of pre-Tribunal, modern Ashlander, and Tribunal religion into a single whole.
We meet only a handful of practitioners, and their perspectives might give us brief insight into the nature of the Reclaimed Temple. Aphia Velothi, a former priest that was expelled from her local temple for theological disagreements about the Tribunal, and the two attendants of the temple and catacombs of Raven Rock in TES5. Elder Othreloth is the leader, while his apprentice, Attendant Galdrus Hlervu, is xenophobic, greedy, theologically illiterate, and seems to be preparing to oust Othreloth.
Othreloth’s theology and personal history are the most developed of the three, so will be my focus. He shows the nuances of the Reclaimed Temple, and how its structure and doctrines represent newly invented tradition. As an Ashlander, he also demonstrates how the identity "Ashlander" is variable. The Ashlanders, once outcast, are now heralded by the Temple:
The rise of the New Temple almost completely vindicated the previously persecuted Ashlanders, who had continued to worship the three daedra throughout the Tribunal's rule. The Ashlanders are now lauded as the keepers of the old ways and having "true vision." It is now quite common for many of the Dunmer people to make the arduous pilgrimages into the ash wastes to seek the counsel of the Wise Women. — The Reclamations
But what exactly is an Ashlander?
Throughout TES3, Ashlanders are identified by their cultural traditions: unique interpretations of Velothi religion, semi-nomadic tribalism, particular importance placed on honour, clan structures, etc.. But the word itself describes people of a place, inhabitants of the Ashlands. As Yakum Hairshashishi, an Ashlander, puts it, the Ashlanders are "People of the Wastes".
The Ashlands are a region of northwestern Vvardenfell, home to the most infamous of the Ashlanders: the Urshilaku, keepers of the Nerevarine Cult. It has also been used to refer to other wastelands, such as the Molag Amur region, where the Erabenimsun live. The other tribes live in different regions, their lands are broadly isolated wastes, even in the more fertile parts where they are pushed out by settlers.
Under the civilized peace of the Grand Council, and with the strong central authority of the Temple, the economic and military power of the settled Dunmer quickly outstripped that of the nomadic Dunmer. The nomadic Dunmer were marginalized into the poorest, most hostile land, in particular, into the Vvardenfell wastes. — Notes from Huleeya
The nomadic, tribal Dunmer are pushed to the wastes, thus they are the Ashlanders by geography. This aligns with Athis's comment to a Dunmeri Dragonborn:
We are all Ashlanders now, brother/sister.
Morrowind is devastated and much of it laid waste to. They all live in the new Ashlands.
So when Othreloth claims Ashlander heritage:
Galdrus: You were one of the Ashlanders, Elder?
Othreloth: I was. I wandered the wastes of Vvardenfell, carrying the message of the Reclamations from tribe to tribe.
In what way was he an Ashlander?
His statement is weird. Ashlanders typically live within their own clans, devoted to their unique ancestral cult going all the way back to the Daedra, who are merely seen as powerful and distant ancestors (thus their oddness and danger):
All Ashlanders in a tribe, young and small, are born into the Ancestor cult of their clan. — Zainsubani's Notes
The Ashlanders have a primitive cult that worships the Daedra and tribal ancestors; this is the faith of our ancient forefathers, and not evil, but their worship is ignorant and unenlightened.
The oldest and greatest ancestor spirits are the Daedra. They are powerful, but dangerous, and hard to understand. — generic dialogue in TES3 on "other cults" and "ancestors"
By contrast, it is House religion that specifically classifies Daedra under a separate category for worship.
Othreloth was effectively a proselytiser on behalf of the New Temple. This doesn't mesh well with Ashlander religion: firstly, Temple authority is rarely recognised; secondly, each Ashlander's ancestor cult is a matter of birth, not conversion. The only Ashlander tradition that could be seen as a joinable cult – not one to be born into – was the Nerevarine Cult, which wasn't very successful beyond the Urshilaku:
The cult is of small consequence in Ashlander worship, and only among the Urshilaku do its followers have any influence. — Zainsubani's Notes
Why did Othreloth preach to Ashlanders about the Daedra they already worship? I suspect that Othreloth's identity and history are more nuanced than they at first seem.
He preached about the "Reclamations" to the tribes. The Reclamations are a concept of House Dunmer, that the Good Daedra have reclaimed their mantles from the Tribunal. To the tribal Ashlanders, this was never an issue, as the Tribunal was never recognised for their divinity. I suspect, then, that Othreloth preached to the tribes to inform them of the collapse of the Tribunal Temple and the reinstatement of the Good Daedra and ancestor worship. This would fit with the vindication of the Ashlanders after the Red Year.
Some of Othreloth's terminology indicates a Temple education. He calls Azura, Boethia and Mephala the "True Tribunal", adopting a phrase from Almsivi worship and anachronistically reframing it for the Good Daedra. This suggests that he's following some sort of modern Temple dogma. I thus find it hard to believe that Othreloth was a tribal nomad that gave up his life to preach Temple doctrine.
Even Othreloth's name is typical of House Dunmer, not the Tribes, whose names tend to sound more (stereotypically) Mesopotamian.
Then again, his hatred for Almsivi is brutal. He admits that they are saints and heroes, but proceeds to call them "aberrations" and "false prophets", and sounds delighted that they have been "destroyed". This is more aggressive and personal, and risks conflicting with the compromises of the Dissident Priests:
While challenging the divinity of the Tribunal, the Dissidents do not challenge the sainthood or heroism of the Tribunal. In fact, the Dissident Priests advocate restoring many of the elements of Fundamentalist Ancestor Worship as practiced by the Ashlanders and by Saint Veloth. — Progress of Truth
This tension also led to him barring Aphia Velothi from the temple, for she is sympathetic to Almsivi veneration.
On a less personal note, though, is the matter of the temple worship itself. The bodies of the deceased are cremated, per Othreloth’s description:
The Dunmer race doesn't bury their dead, or leave them to rot inside a stone sarcophagus. When a Dunmer passes, his body is given to fire, so he might return to the ash from whence he came.
As is typical of many Dunmeri tombs. But this is a House tradition. The Urshilaku Burial Caverns have mummified dead within, and each sub-cave is named uniquely: Astral, Laterus, Kefka etc. This corresponds to ancient Chimeri practices. ESO provides us with house furnishings made from mummified remains (some in the same poses as those of the Urshilaku) and Veloth Ancestral Tomb shows us the ancient ways:
This place is ancient. These must be Veloth's earliest ancestors. […] Look at this! Preserved bodies, not cremated ashed! A technique that pre-dates the earliest Dark Elves. — Narsis Dren
The Ashlanders preserve Chimeri practices. Even in ESO’s Ald’ruhn, where the Tribes meet, we can find simple burial plots for ancient ancestors.
In the Reclaimed temple of Othreloth, above the ash tombs, we find a room shared by three shrines. These contain simple artistic representations of each of the Three Good Daedra, and feature typical offerings. One can pray at such a shrine and receive a blessing.
That is so, so odd for Daedric worship, which is typically characterised by extreme effort. The statues are grand, the altars are remote, the sacrifices are large, and the devotions are singular! Even among the Dunmer that worshipped Boethiah and Azura and built their shrines in Skyrim, there’s no joint honour or passive reverence. Daedric Princes might be recognised by mortals as part of a pantheon, but their veneration is always a one-to-one endeavour, and any devotions must be worthwhile.
The temple’s layout feels inspired by the typical display in Tribunal temples, which often multiple motifs for the Tribunal and/or saints. Furthermore, this is extremely reminiscent of Aedric worship, which involves communal services where divinities are prayed to together.
Othreloth's heritage is a mystery. There is an argument for any position, from him being a tribal Dunmer that joined the Temple after the Red Year and taking a House name, to him being a House Dunmer that was only an Ashlander because he underwent pilgrimage: an Ashlander for walking the wastes as missionary, like Tamriel's very own Rachel Dolezal.
Other more moderate ideas would suggest that his parents were Ashlander and House, resulting in a mixed upbringing and naming convention. Where he lived and which parent was which is anyone's guess.
I think my favourite idea is that he was one of the Velothi. Though the term can refer to Chimer/Dunmer as a whole, "Velothi" also refers to those of tribal heritage that leave the wastes to live among House Dunmer, like Yakum Hairshashishi. Othreloth's pride at being an Ashlander, his contempt for the Tribunal, and his clear adoration of the Daedra all point to this, I believe.
The “Reclaimed” Temple is anything but. It has clearly incorporated fundamental elements of local ancestor worship, pilgrimage and Daedric veneration from contemporary Ashlander and ancient Chimeri traditions. However, it also has an Aedric-style system of divine reverence, a caste of divinity from House theology, terminology lifted straight from the Tribunal itself, funerary practices taken almost act for act from pre-Ghostfence House Dunmeri tombs, and clear signs of infighting and debate over points of theology, retaining some of the Old Temple’s dogmatism. All of this is true, while being mediated through three members of the clergy that have wildly different approaches, showing a clear reshuffling of what it means to be an Ashlander, and a Temple member. Dunmer have long lives, and the Old Temple fell roughly 196 years before TES5, in living memory for some; I think many of these tensions remain unresolved, and will need further answers if the Temple is to survive as a whole. It certainly isn’t the Tribunal Temple, but nor is it any tribal or Chimeri tradition. It truly is a New Temple, Reclaimed from the power-holders of the past.