Rituals and Celebrations of the Sian Ku

Okay, before we start today's post, I want to remind all of you that I'll be at the Sunridge Chapters in Calgary, Alberta for a signing on Sunday, June 9th, from noon to 3pm. Come in, pick up a signed copy of the book, or let me know what you enjoyed most about the book! I'd love to see all of you out there! With that out of the way, today is our final post on the religion of the Sian Ku. We'll discuss symbols and then move on to their calendar, holy days and rituals. 

The symbol which the people consider the holiest is a three-tongued flame surrounded by ten interlocking animals; the dragon, the rat, the turtle, the koi, the crane, the fox, the kirin(an Asian mythological creature, usually compared to the western unicorn, with the body of a deer, the cloven hooves of a goat, the scales of a dragon and the whiskers of a fish. Its horns are usually deerlike as well, and while they are sometimes drawn with a single horn they are just as often drawn with two or more. This artist is amazing and their picture is exactly what the ones in my world look like, though in Japan they look a lot more dragonish), the Phoenix, the tiger, and the fairy pitta (a type of bird known as the eight-coloured bird Japan. Beautiful, ne?).  Lesser symbols are a knife blade (usually made of obsidian) and the symbol of a waxing crescent moon.

Koi Image by Анна Куликова from Pixabay 

Sian Ku’s calendar is set according to the lunar cycle, though Himiko and the other Sian Ku in Hidan only use it for rituals, having converted to the one the Drevens use, a mythic cycle created using the heroes of each age as a guideline. There are nine holy days in a calendar year that are celebrated by everyone and three ritual days that are personal to the family. Five of those celebrated by all focus on past revelations and stories of the deities associated with them. The remaining four commemorate astronomical events that happen yearly, and the birthdays of the current rulers of Sian Ku. The last three are done to celebrate all the members of the family in the past year; those who are alive, those who are dead and a personal birthday.

Holy days are often celebrated by raucous parades and half somber praying followed by games of chance being played in the streets (cards, of course, but also dice, and games you might see played at fair or festival in Japan, like throwing hoops at bottles or catching goldfish with paper hoops), food and ostentatious gift-giving. The more extravagant a gift, the more it is supposed to be appreciated. To clarify, the gift doesn't have to be expensive by any means. However, it should be large, many or impressive. 

One memorable gift that is still spoken of in shocked whispers was the gift of eight hundred of the most beautiful women in the country wearing nothing but jewels and smiles, given to a recent Empress by her (supposedly blessed) female consort.

While holy celebrations are raucous events that show little solemnity except by the clergy or when anyone else is giving the kami or rulers their justly due respect, the rituals of family include fasting, meditation and sometimes the preparation of objects to be laid out in ritual (usually for the ancestors). Aside from music, played by a member of the family, rituals are silent, usually taking place in the home.

The highest forms of art are writing, papermaking, and more rarely, wood carving and all noble-born in Sian Ku learn at least one of these arts. For Himiko and Kuzunoha, while a high emphasis was placed on writing, neither particularly enjoyed the art. Himiko did take a liking to the Dreven preferences of music and song, a preference her father accepted. All of Kuzunoha’s preferred “arts” were considered unacceptable for one reason or another.

The only thing left to talk about is the afterlife. The Sian Ku believe that when one finally dies, they are judged and spend a period of timelessness atoning for any sins they committed. Once finished, it is believed that you will spend the rest of eternity devoted to your descendants.

There is one out from this future.  A select few return; those re-birthed are outed when at puberty, they become eleden. Such people are considered to have fallen from a place of grace, having abandoned their familiar duty to return to the land of the living. Some continue to watch over their new family for generations, though from afar since they are usually spurned by their families.

One day, I would like to hire an artist to make the holy symbol of the Sian Ku for me… most likely an expense for a future book, maybe book three when we get to see a lot more of the religion as it applies to the characters. What do you find most interesting about the Sian Ku religion? Let me know in the comments below. 

The Profane and the Sacred of the Sian Ku

Alright, I apologize in advance for the length... this one definitely went a bit longer than I was hoping for.

Sian Ku tend to be serious people. Not to say that they don’t have fun, but they seem more aware that their every action is on display for the world to see than any other race. Good and Evil are complex points, not a single yes/no answer.

In Sian Ku good people are expected to be reverent of the kami, regardless of their standing or what they stand for. A Kami of pain, suffering or death is just as worthy of your respect, honour, and fear as a kami of prosperity, sunlight and hope. Both are unknowable, powerful and able to grant boons or punishments as they seem fit. The same applies to a Sian Ku’s ancestors. An ancestor who was a jerk and did evil things is to be respected in death by their descendants just as much as your ancestor who was granted the highest honours for protecting the Sian Ku nation. Unless that family member was disowned by your family’s current leader, they are still family, and family is everything.

The average Sian Ku will only mention their ancestors directly (for religious reasons) during rituals, most of which require saying their names and leaving offerings of food and incense for them. For angry ancestors, you may place small gifts on their graves in hopes of appeasement.

Evil is defined by bringing dishonour to your family falling to wrath or anger and ignoring your ancestors or the kami. Dishonour is a catch-all term. Embarrassing yourself sufficiently, or doing something that will embarrass your family is the biggest way to bring dishonour to you or your family. In most cases, the payment will fit the crime, though there are always some who always pay back more than they feel the need to, or are trying to get back more than they deserve. Most punishments are chosen by priests, though you can allow the person you originally dishonoured to choose an appropriate punishment if you don’t wish for the church to be involved. Anger and wrath are seen as a loss of control and showing that side of yourself to anyone directly outside of the immediate family is considered a high offence. You can take revenge for a slight of any size, of course, and be angry to the point of taking down a person’s entire family, but in Sian Ku, it’s a dish best served cold. Showing your emotions, any emotion is considered a bit of a faux pau, but while people will simply avert their eyes from glee, love or pleasure, showing anger, crying out in frustration or even weeping in a public place, will lead to censure and punishment by your family and friends.

There are a few other rules. Talk about most bodily excretions (shit, piss, spit, sweat, farts… etc) is taboo and all but the bawdiest of bards will avoid such talk, even to close friends.

Another taboo is engaging in incest. Any connection, even that of step-siblings or family by marriage is strictly forbidden. You will never find two brothers or sisters married into the same family; the connection is too close. In extreme cases, even the death of a spouse will not allow a new marriage into that family. For this rule, “family” is considered to be your sisters, brothers, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, first and second aunts/uncles/cousins and grandparents/grandchildren. Even in rural locations, marriages are routinely arranged to people from different towns and cities from their birthplace and each marriage requires a meeting with your local chronicler to make sure that the bloodlines are diverse enough to satisfy the gods.  

Eating the flesh of any monster is to be avoided at all costs. Even if you are starving, eating their flesh is considered to taint you, a taint which can travel through your family ties and lines, tainting your entire family. Stringent purification rituals are required for any who happen to take in the flesh. Strangely, despite eating the flesh of a monster being one of the biggest taboo of the religion, the rules are vastly less stringent about associating, befriending, copulating or even marrying such a creature. The person who does such is still expected to cleanse themselves and their family ties by regularly being attended by a priest who is willing to cleanse the family and their home.

Historians will tell you the answers lie in beguiling, intelligent monsters that once lived in peace with the Sian Ku on their island. This does not mean that there weren't deaths on both sides or that humans and monsters did not try to cleanse the others from their homes, but in general, meeting a monster was considered little different than meeting with a kami or a human from a clan you didn’t know; such a meeting could end in sadness and grief or pleasure and happiness. You never knew. However, as humans became more and more civilized, they chased more and more of the monsters and creatures from their shores and fell closer to the belief of the Dreven. In general, most monsters are decried as such and "good" people will either avoid them and their areas, or they will try to save others by destroying the creatures. 

Well, if you made it this far, you deserve a medal for reading your way through all this. Next week may not get a blog post, unfortunately. I burned myself semi-severely on Wednesday while taking a pan out of the oven. I've ended up with a heat blister the size of a Canadian nickel on my thumb. I can write with it, but I want to give it a couple of days to heal before I start getting back to my regular schedule. While I hope that I won't have to take any time away from this blog, I just want to let you guys know in case I end up having to skip next week. Either way, keep an eye here or on Facebook. I'll make sure to keep you guys updated, most likely on Wednesday on whether you can expect my next offering on the rituals and celebrations of the Sian Ku. 

The religion of Sian Ku

Most of the religions of my world tend to treat with each other like cats in a cage; while the fur does occasionally fly, for the most part, they live in peace. Some are more popular, some are less but none have any belief that non-believers are doomed or must be converted, which has cut down on most religious wars. In general, only those who remain outside the systems and choose to follow no religion are the only ones treated as social pariahs. It is almost universally believed that these people, atheists and agnostics alike, don't have a place to go when they die, that no gods will judge their souls and no one will weep for them at their graves.

Kuzunoha skates this edge and is part of the reason why she is treated with contempt and wariness in Hidan, despite her striking looks and family connections. Most of the priests in Hidan treat her with veiled contempt as well. However, since she has always been free with her money, all but the head priestess of the Sian religion in Hidan ignore her heathenish tendencies. That head priestess hates Kuzunoha, but since it's well known that she didn't like Kuzunoha before she took the position, she has simply taken to ignoring her completely, believing her lost and due any punishment she will receive upon her death. The only priest who seems to be straight out friendly is priest Bendigo, the jovial priest that Kuzunoha asks for a blessing in Hunter's Gambit. Though he hasn't told her this, he believes that she is not irreligious, but that she has been called to service by a deity that she hasn't found yet.

The Sian Ku have a vibrant religion, a tiered polytheistic system. On the lowest level are the multitude of  "little gods". Little gods are created by simple interaction. Every tree, rock, or animal has its own god or spirit and even man-made objects, such as favourite umbrellas or favourite plates can develop their own little god. Thus, the Sian Ku tend to hold nearly everything with a small amount of reverence, since you never know when you may be angering one of the little gods.

On the next tier are the ancestors. Although, they aren't gods, they are honoured and remembered through ritual. It is believed that after death, ancestors will continue to watch over their descendants, influencing their lives and the direction the family takes. Rebirth is allowed for ancestors who wish to return to earth to aid their families in a more physical way, though a few unpopular sects say that there is no rebirth, only a pit of flame in the center of the world for those ancestors who try to avoid their duty to their descendants.

Every Sian ku family has a deity that they are specifically devoted to. The reason why is explained in their creation story. At the beginning of the universe, the world was grey and lonely. Finally, the light rose above the dark, shedding light upon the world for the first time. With light, seeds, long sleeping in the soil, began to flourish. The gods created of this separation (the major deities) were pleased but saddened that there was no movement to the rest of the world. So each chose their favourite plants and plucked them from the earth, turning them into humans, so that they could explore the world created and lay their roots into every land. Every family honours the deity that they believe plucked their ancestors, oh so long ago.

All of the deities can be male, female, both or neither as they choose, though most have a preference that they adhere to. For ease, I've labelled them as their preferences below.

On the same tier as the ancestors, honoured, but usually not worshipped widely are the minor deities. These gods include the goddesses of battle and sacrifice, the deities of service (twelve in all) and Nandemo, Isashi's patron, the god of twilight and between places.

Above them are the major gods, which until recently were led by the goddess of law, Amiterri, Himiko's family's patron. Nearly a century ago, Tomi took over the position as leader of the gods, bringing chaos with him, but also untold wealth for a few. The other major deities are the god of love, the eightfold gods of misery (six male and two female), the thief (the only deity whose preferences are both or neither rather than a specific gender) and the Innkeeper gods, Kisenya, Yusenya and Tonoma, known as the gods of hospitality and guesting rules.

Next week, I'll discuss how the Sian Ku worship, their holy days and their guiding principles.

A reminder that I'll be at the Sunridge Chapters bookstore for a signing on June 9th, from 12-3pm. Please stop by to say hi or get your book signed if you haven't already.

Lastly, one of my favourite authors, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, has a new book coming out soon! All of the details, as well as a chance for you to check out her incredible cover will be going up on Tuesday. Come back to check it out!