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.