Twelve Lijoch

The Twelve Lijoch, according to Lemilaki Maderi, are the twelve spirits sent to the world to deliver them from pain and suffering. In traditional teaching, the universe is considered eternal and not as having been created in the sense that it is in Agiosinity and other faiths. As a result, there are no creation stories relating to the origin of the planet, plants, animals and most human beings. In contrast, the Lijoch people are considered to be God's children, sent down from heaven or the sky in response to God's disappointment at the discord in the world. 
Different accounts exist about whether the Lijoch were created explicitly for this purpose or whether they existed in heaven prior to their arrival on the planet. Twelve individuals were selected by God from among his community in the sky to bring peace and harmony to the planet and their leader was his own son Tesfai. The number twelve retains a special significance in Lijoch culture as a consequence. The twelve Lijoch were:
*Tesfai
*Abeselome
*Menelik
*Gebrekristos
*Negus
*Ketema
*Lakech
*Tigrigna
*Amsalech
*Safia
*Hosanna
*Metasebiya
==Names==
In Lemilaki Maderi, a great emphasis is placed on oral storytelling and one important aspect of this is that the spirit of a deceased individual can be strengthened by speaking of them. Even the act of repeating someone's name can be beneficial and this has led to a common tradition of naming children after the Twelve Lijoch. 
The most notable example of this can be seen in the fact that every Lijoch Emperor and Empress has been named after one of the Twelve. The numbering of Lijoch Emperors also reflects that each of the Twelves is considered the "first" of their name. For example, this means that Negus II was the first Emperor named Negus.
==Dynasties==
The Twelve Lijoch's claimed direct descendents form the twelve most important noble families in the country. Each takes their name from one of the Twelve. Among them, the Tesfai dynasty is the most powerful as the Imperial family.
Category:Lemilaki Maderi