Luangese folk religion

天相

Standard and calligraphic writing of Tsiāndué in Luangese

**Luangese folk religion**, also known as **Luangese popular religion** or **Tsiāndué** (天相*; "heavenly belief" in Luangese*), refers to various religious, philosophical and cultural traditions of the Luangese people. It is a polytheistic faith without any central organisation, and as such may vary heavily between practitioners and groups. Central tradition include the veneration of spirits, often in animal or animal-like form, a belief in the rational and omnipresent order of nature, universal balance, and a reality that can be influenced by both mundane and divine beings (although the line between those barely exists in many Luangese worldviews).

Worship is devoted to higher spirits and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or traditionally also family ancestors. Stories of these gods are collected into the body of Luangese mythology. In common Luangese religion the worship and ritualism involving animal deities and spirits is particularly common, as well as the divination of mundane items and the usage of enchanted items such as luck-bringing cloth parts, statues, or accessoires. The foundation of Luangese theology is the belief that the cosmos is formed by four basic elemental forces, air, water, and earth, with each of these forces represented by an animal-god, which in turn has 9 associated animals and animal spirits.

## History

As any other religious tradition, Luangese folk religion has undergone many changes and developments over time, both externally and internally. After the death of King Dorei and during the Yua Dynasty, a religious and philosophical movement known as Pohinduwi or "Snailism" gained much influence and its traditions grew to become a cornerstone of the Luangese religious landscape.

Before and continuing through the Yua Dynasty the worship and veneration of ancestors was one of the central identifying elements of the religion, and descent and lineage played an important rule in both the cultural and the political landscape of pre-republican Luang. However, with the country-wide Saffron Revolution led by Ho Kianpuai, the cultural landscape was upended alongside the political. With the rise of strict anti-aristocratic guildist revolutionaries and statesmen, and with the Yua royals mass-executed, the veneration of ancestors, and particularly the cultural importance of ancestry began to not only be strictly despised by many revolutionaries but also persecuted and largely oppressed. Despite the often drastic and brutal efforts of revolutionaries and guildists, many communities (primarily in the countryside) still hold to these traditions, be it often largely in secret from authorities.

## Spirits

### Animal Spirits

Animals represent several kinds of spirits, and are associated with particular emotions, energies, prophecies, and other cultural phenomena. Of all the world's animals, there are 27 creatures that are considered to have spiritual power, and are associated with the four main natural elements. The animals' individual associations and powers are often based on their words' sound-alikes, as Luangese has many homophones and the idea of homophones follows the philosophical tradition of universal harmony.

## Numerology

Numbers, like animals, have their own particular associations and powers based upon homophones.

There are a number of combinations of these, which have their own meanings:

* 29: Interpreted as "two/loving wives", and thus the number 29 is associated with lesbians. The 29th of a month is thus often ideal for female-female couples to marry on.
* 42: "big love". 42 thus often said between lovers, and "to give 42“ of an object is to signify that one loves another a lot.
* 45: "big bay". Can refer to the Sea of (PLACEHOLDER), or to an incredibly massive feat. A 45th task or question is often said to be the hardest.
* 60: "Warm cream". Can be in reference to sauces or gelatinous foods, or to more mature topics.
* 68 and 86: When 八 is paired with 六, the words "cooked warm" come out, and as such 68 and 86 are associated with food. Restaurants may incorporate these numbers into their names. 6-8 AM is traditionally considered breakfast time, and 6-8 PM are considered dinner time.
* 80: "Cooked cream”, in reference to various sauces and creams used in cooking. Like 60, 68, and 86, 80 is a number associated with restauranteering.
* 87: "Experienced foundation". 87 is a number associated with wisdom and experience. It is said that those few individuals who age past 87 are wise, and to say that someone is "of 87 years" means that they are a sage or scholar.
* 90: "wife cream" means something very dirty. Therefore, 90 is considered a number associated with risque and unclean adult behavior.
* 700: "foundational thought" or "based thought". 700 is associated with monumental concepts and ideas, and in recent years, the Saffron Revolution.