Chernurga

A Chernurga (pronounced SHER-nuh-gah) is an central doctrine of Jiralhanae totemic ancestor worship, and hero cultism. Roughly translated as "blood celebration" the Chernurga consists of a totem, the Menhilith, and three addittional elements, where all three can be present, or none. These are often established by clans, packs, or tribes, to memorialise fallen leaders, or to give worship to a particular ancestor. Often, wherever Jiralhanae settle, a Chernurga is established. The practice was tolerated by the Covenant, but fell in popularity, but Jiralhanae cultural revival after the Schism has brought it back into mainstream use. There are an undocumented multitude of variations for the Chernurga, with beliefs from Tribe to Pack, and even individual decisions affecting these. 
==Elements==
===Menhilith===
The centre of the Chernurga ritual is the Menhilith. While its form varies, it is usually a standing stone, carved totem, stele, or monument, dedicated to an individual. The form varies massively across the cultures of the Jiralhanae, with no two being the same. They may include a bust of the enshrined individual, a full statue, a relief, inscription, or in some modern interpretations, a hologram or recorded voice. These are commonly made from stone, sometimes carved and polished, but there are examples made from nanolaminate, metal, bone, or wood. 
Examples: 
*The Vartekeos Chernurga was established by the Ukristax Clan before the Immolation, and features a 10 metre tall polished stone stele, with a low-relief depicting the battles and victories of Vartekeos. It was further inscribed with testimonies to his strength and skill. 
*At Ghoren, in the Tarkid low lands, a pre-Immolation Chernuga features a Menhilith made from stone, with extensive inscriptions and a bust. However, it has been extensively vandalised, and heavily weathered by the elements. 
*The Ahrenoc Tribe have a unusual practice of using hollowed tree trunks as their Menhilith, and combine it with the Kartiv by stuffing it with skulls of fallen enemies. This morbid practice is most well seen in the Zardanus Chernurga, in the middle of the Sanavik Marsh. It is a hollowed out tree with a circumference of 8 metres, exposed at the top, and stuffed with an estimated 700 skulls. When it rains, water gathers in the lower depths and floods out of the empty eye sockets of the collected skulls. 
===Kartiv===
One of the most common elements of the Chernurga is the Kartiv, which are offerings and trophies dedicated to the enshrined hero or chieftain. These are taken from the enemy on the filed of battle, and displayed, most commonly at the base of the Menhilith. While this can vary wildly, the most common form is for armour taken from defeated enemies, or their skulls, to be displayed on spikes. Weapons bay also be planted around the totem too, or larger, more graphic displays. Most commonly, these tributes come from warriors and from a share of their glory, but some are votive offerings, the result of vows made before the monument, to destroy a certain hated foe, and display their remains for the glory of their honoured ancestor or beloved hero. The Kartiv does not always have to be an object, or mortal remains. Sometimes a captive is brought to be held there, as a display to pay tribute to the enshrined ancestor. 
Examples:
*The Banished typically present their offerings as body armour from captured of fallen enemies impaled on spikes around the base of the Menhilith. Most prized was the armour of fallen Spartans. 
*Warriors of the Parascel Bloodriders present their Kartiv offerings as a spike with as many skulls impaled on it as possible. Warriors will return with significant trophies, with as many as a half-dozen impaled on an offering spike. 
*The Svearna Tribe assemble their Kartivs as broken enemy weapons hug on hooks around the Menhilith, a monument to the strength of arms of their foes, and symbolically broken to represent their defeat. 
===Ortag===
The Ortag is the third physical element of the Chernurga, and is the ritual space that is placed in front of the Menhilith totem. This usually takes the form of a ring, or pit, shaped like the clan sigil, and is a place for the Clan's rituals to be performed. Marriage ceremonies, feasts, ancestor worship, gladiatorial fights, battle challenges, or sacrifices are often performed in the Ortag. Sometimes the Ortag may be part of the Kartiv offering, with opponents, their arms, or armour buried in the Ortag as a sacrifice to the enshrined ancestor. Often its design informs of its use, with pits being used for combats, while larger circles being used for social gatherings. 
Examples: 
*For the Clans of the Kardimagra the Ortag often takes the shape of a pit, dug to height eight, with blue dye used to paint the clan's emblem into the dust. It is lined with spikes aside from a guarded entrance. This is used for ceremonial battles, such as battle challenges, gladiatorial combat, animal fights. 
===Verngist===
==Use==
==Beliefs==