Nangism

**Nangism** (Chutagshin *nangethe,* pronounced ['naŋɛthɛ]), is a polytheistic religion that developed in the Deshonic area of Charin prior to the start of Deshonic history. It is based upon the writings of five prophets, listed chronologically: Gomath of Rrykumh, Yharim the Lady, Admus Abhenditralh, Gomath the Younger, and Loureq the Bearded. These writings expound upon ten ancient deities, each of which represents two opposing sides of a particular concept. Nangists believe in the idea of eternal salvation, chance, and free will, and Nangism has been a notable instrument in defining Deshonic culture since its agreed-upon inception.

Nangism is a religion heavily reliant upon symbolism and sacred tradition, and different forms of the religion are theologically and philosophically at odds with one another. Different denominations of the religion have throughout history come into direct conflict. Its origin is obscure, but likely emerged from a unilineally-evolved proto-religion in the area. Its name is from the Shokhla *nangei*, meaning "hands," as the ten gods of the religion are directly represented by the ten fingers on the human hands.

## Beliefs

### Central texts

One cornerstone of the Nangist faith is a collected text called *Deklar na Nangei*, which is Shokhla for "The Scrolls of Hands." This is often shortened to "Deklar," or "The Scrolls." The Scrolls begin by elucidating a central bloodline of Deshonic peoples, the Family of Gyumath. As such, the words for Nangism in non-Deshonic cultures often include some element of the name "Gyumath." They proceed by showing the interactions of the gods and their interactions with humans. Notably, Nangism has no creation myth, and most theologists suggest that, whether the universe is tied to the nature of the gods or not, it is infinite and not created. The Scrolls contain the entire (brief) writings of Gomath of Rrykumh and the early writings of Yharim the Lady.

The second and equally important holy text of the religion is *Demyur*, Shokhla for "The Words." It contains the latter three-quarters of the prophecies and teachings of Yharim the Lady, as well as the entire writings of the final three prophets. These prophets, excluding Yharim the Lady, are known as the apostolic prophets, since they gathered apostles whose writings are also included in the Words. The ideas of divine favour, rule of law by man, honour court, and providential evangelism are all contained entirely within the Words, which is the later text; as such, its interpretation is the crux of most denominative conflict.

### Soteriology

#### **Overview**

Nangism is preoccupied with the concept of liberation from chaos and induction into law. Nangism's concept of heaven is a spiritually physical area where the gods and their angels live, and where tragedy cannot occur because of the elimination of chance. Human sin, defined in totality as the subversion of the perfect law that the gods represent, is shown as a direct cause of chaos.

In order to attain salvation, Nangism teaches several forms of worship, called "acts of piety," including prayer, confession, ritual weeping ("tears of contrition"), and active self-control. Chaos as the profane and law as the sacred lead naturally to philosophical meditation, and as such meditation is also a form of worship in the Nangist religion. Several prayer forms have names in the Nangist Church, the original organization of the religion. Salvation, once attained, cannot be lost, but since there is no earthly guarantee that a person is saved, constant prayer and behavioral reform is important.

#### **History**

Current Nangist soteriology differs from older eras of Nangism. The idea of law as inherent to the universe and the gods likely arose from the tumultuous Gheht Brum Dynasty, characterized by the Ye-Mohmaq War. In Ds3, scholar and theologist Bahn Adeb Omaq wrote *Elements of Grace*, a confessional that popularly addressed the chaos of Gheht Brum rule and attributed it to madness and evil. Throughout the Deshon Empire period, the Nangist church slowly reformed under this mindset, reinterpreting the idea of self-consummation as a natural step in the divine process of a god. Many older myths were recontextualized to fit this theory.

Before *Elements of Grace*, Nangist profanity/sacristy was based on the idea of the natural and the commune. Actions that disgusted or outraged a community at large were profane due to the reaction they caused. This is consistent with prerevisionist myths in which the activities of some gods would be considered unethical or sinful by current standards. This is called the **problem of the dupe**, from the most egregious example, Hyteram and the Brothel.

### Chance and Randomness

Control and chaos are important concepts in Nangist theology. Control and law are equated with power and divinity and the gods are the beings that represent this order. The concepts they represent are considered inalienable and fundamental. Everything except the gods, e.g. the entire material realm and all beings within, are subject to chaos and the instability and tragedy that follow it. The gods, rather than having direct control over the chaotic material realm, by their existence exude power that naturally negates chaos. In Nangism, humans can sympathize with the powers of the gods in order to reduce what the Scrolls call the *pain of chance*.

The reduction of chaos is a large element of Nangism mysticism, including much of Nangist magic and several Midcountry denominations. Ascetic meditation is a core focus of these communities.

### Immanence

The gods of Nangism are taught in the Words to be semiphysical avatars of the dual concepts they represent. As such, they are present in all events that concern those concepts. One branch of Nangism, called Presentism (*yondhethe*), asserts that the gods are physically present in these events, and teaches that these events (called *yondher*) are sacred and must be treated with both reverence and caution.

## Gods & Divine Beings

### Gods

There are ten gods in Nangism, "god" being defined in the religion as "immanent being of fundamental power." Gods in Nangism have personalities and storied histories, which are primarily represented in the Scrolls and partially in the Words. However, there is a strict canon of the activities of the gods, only ever added to or changed by the rare position of High Oracle.

The Nangist gods each represent dual and opposing concepts, representing the entire sphere of the concept; the positive is usually correlated with the day, and the negative usually correlated with the night. They are also each correlated with a finger on the hands. Gods are represented here from the left thumb to the right thumb, palms up.

#### Kanag

Kanag, depicted as an imposing and armored bearded man, represents the sphere of "War and Peace," or the political state of the nation. Kanag, as the first god to wage war against demons, is considered serious and grim, and is often prayed to in the civilian world for difficult decisions. However, he remains almost strictly a politician's and warrior's god. His maxim (in Shokla) is "Idor La," meaning "It is Pure."

#### Teshiro

Teshiro, depicted as a well-dressed and long-haired clean-shaven man, represents the sphere of "Love and Hate," or the emotional state of the individual. He often operates as a sort of trickster god, involving himself in matters he has no business in, but is always well-spoken and charismatic, as well as flighty and emotional. In some sects, he is represented as a woman, and in sects that utilize the halved depiction of the gods, he is often represented with half a beard. His maxim is "Bhon ghut Bhon," meaning "Eye and Eye."

#### Markem

Markem, depicted as a scarred bearded man, represents the sphere of "Courage and Fear," or the state of behavior towards and power over the external. Markem is often represented carrying a spear, which is considered a coward's weapon, seen as an oxymoron in Markem theology. Markem is seen as wise and underspoken, and most of his passages in the Scrolls and the Words have to do with chivalry and wartime ethics. His maxim is "Rhas ghut Huohk," meaning "Fat and Bone."

#### Ileem

Ileem is the only god represented consistently as female, and may be a stand-in or adaptation of the traditional mother goddess. Her sphere is "Strength and Frailty," which is very controversial in its core meaning, but often simply represents health. She is prayed to for healing and her clergy are some of the few that are allowed by the true church to use magic. Ironically, her maxim is "Shimer Chutager," meaning "We are Men," though in Shokhla, "chutag" used to simply mean "person."

#### Fash

Fash is represented as nonhuman, sometimes as a canine, and is the only god never represented as humanoid. His sphere is "Earth and Sky," or the natural world, most especially flora and fauna. He is rarely prayed to, but his neutrality is considered warm, as compared to his foil Ontoste. A common greeting blessing is "Fash bless you," essentially a blessing of crops. His maxim is "Inkai Kuelem," meaning "Open World."

#### Ontoste

Ontoste, depicted as a broad and squat, sometimes fat, bearded man, represents the sphere of "Life and Death," or natural processes and time. Compared to his foil, Fash, he represents decay, burial, and the deathbed as well as conjugation, childbirth, and naming. However, his neutrality is considered cold and amoral, and he is often blamed for natural disasters. A common idiom for a storm is "Ontoste's sneeze." His maxim is "Untr na Wastal," meaning "Cycle of Life."

#### Ahisor

Ahisor is depicted as a clean-shaven, very tan man in flowing yellow or white dress, and represents the sphere of "Light and Darkness." This sphere covers both literal day and night as well as morality, justice, and order. As his finger is the right hand's pointer finger, he is after a fashion the representative god, devoted to the very notion of law. He is prayed to by judges and most traditions of the courtroom concern him. His maxim is "Istender," meaning "Celestial Bodies."

#### Panel

Panel, depicted as a robed scholar with a traditional scholar's hat and robe, represents the sphere of "Wisdom and Madness," or the individual approach to perception and rationality. He is the patron god of academics, philosophers, and artists, and in some sects that use the halved depiction of the gods, his "Madness" half is simply invisible or absent. His maxim is "Kalimat na Debalaq," meaning "Drink of the Mind."

#### Hyteram

Hyteram, depicted as a beautiful bearded man wearing a marriage wreath, represents the sphere of "Soul and Body," or the individual as a whole both spiritually and physically. Hyteram is often expressed as the most human of the gods, with a cheery and kind disposition, extremely empathetic and even romantic. In the popular consciousness, he represents faith, trust, friendship, mercy, sex, marriage, and other interpersonal relationships less dramatic than his foil's "Love and Hate." His maxim is "Isht," meaning "To Be."

#### Edeb

Edeb, depicted as the exact twin of his foil Kanag, represents the sphere of "Slave and Master," or social hierarchy, responsibility, and the economy. Edeb's law is not a law of justice, like Ahisor's, but instead is a low of natural order, which delineates between the peasantry and the upper-class. Where Kanag unites, Edeb categorizes. His maxim is "Banghat Sig Kidahisad," meaning "Know Your Place."

### Divine Beings

There are non-deity divine beings in Nangism, mentioned entirely in the Scrolls with the exception of several demons which make their way into the Words. Under revisionist Nangism, and according to the High Oracle Emheirah, non-deity divine beings are broken into a strict hierarchy which is seemingly derived from their presence in Nangist holy tests. This hierarchy follows:

* Attendants (*bojruger*),who directly serve the gods and have no physical presence. Attendants are represented as a series of concentric and decorative circles, sometimes with limbs, in religious art.
* Servants (*lunareger*), who directly serve Attendants and maintain armies of Belligerents. Servants are shown as humanoid, but have some physical attributes of animals and are identified by these attributes; however, their faces are always human in appearance.
* Belligerents (*kilremiger*), who exist for holy combat against demons. There is no myth in which a single Belligerent is distinct from any other Belligerent.
* Rangers or Scouts (*odmager*), who commune with mortals on the gods' behalf. They are low angels, represented as humans with golden tattoos and irises, usually nude or seminude.
* Avatars (*ovurivanuger*), who represent a small concept in the physical realm. They are considered non-angels which the gods created to rule over an element of the universe. They vary highly in appearance.

Angels in Nangism are never winged, and are rarely seen to fly, though some myths refer to battles taking place in the air. The realm of the gods is immaterial, so most divine beings have no need for wings.