Sjanumisla

The "burning skull" symbol is the most common visual identifier of the Sjanumisla faith, although some may use a more literal depiction of a burning skull, the more abstract one is most popular today.

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### Region

Auuvsia, Matria, Oldfoundland, Nunnshire, Azurial, Halovin

### Number of followers

1,200,000-1,500,000

**Sjanumisla** or Shanumisla is a Cyanic religion and one of the worlds oldest religious traditions. It is based upon the various writings and traditions observed by the Cyanic community. It has a pantheistic ontology and unique cosmology as well as a multitude of rich traditions and rituals.

Originating as early as 2000 BB, it may be one of the oldest continuously existing faiths in the world.

## Background

Sjanumisla was not any particular organized religion, rather, it was a comprehensive belief system and philosophy that varied between tribes. The core belief that united all variations was the belief in The Divine Mechanism, alternatively called That Which Is. Rather than being personified as a particular anthropomorphic deity, the divine mechanism was observed to be an omnipotent, omniscient, abstract force that meticulously operated the universe to keep it in harmony. Incomprehensible to man, The Divine Mechanism was both everything and operated within everything. In this sense, Sjanumisla is both pantheistic and animistic.

While all mainstream beliefs accepted this, each tribe personified the divine mechanism differently. Some chose to personify the Divine Mechanism as a singular deity, while others chose to personify it as being multiple gods, forming a pantheon. While others chose to interpret it as being more abstract and formless. In this sense, Sjanumisla could also be considered monotheistic or polytheistic, depending on the specific interpretation being used.

## Structure and beliefs

### Mythology

Sjanumisla believes that everything possesses a force called "insight", which grants its possesses power and sentience. The lowest, most inanimate objects, possess little to virtually no insight, while humans possess the most. The only thing that surpasses humanity's insight is the Divine Mechanism and its manifestations, which possesses infinite insight. It is the goal of every good Sjanumisluk to maximize their insight through contemplation and obtaining wisdom. Sjanumisla mythology states that those who achieved very high levels of insight obtained bizarre, unnatural abilities.

One such man, named the Observant One, was gifted such abilities due to his insight and wisdom. His gift was the ability to manipulate flame and ash, which subsequently made him the first king of the Cyans. He gradually fell to tyranny, and was punished by having his mind and flesh disfigured and mutated. Stripped of his humanity, the people built a living tomb which contained him for many centuries. The people spoke of a prophecy, about a boy who would slaughter the beast, named the Wau, and become the true, uncorrupted king of the Cyans. Upon the fulfillment of this prophecy, the boy achieved an insight so great he shed his mortal coil, with his true self becoming completely formless and abstract, and ascended to the stars, where he would eternally guide the Cyan people and act as a mediator between the Divine and the flesh.

### Structure and Organization

Sjanumisla was decentralized, with no overarching religious authority or codified texts and practices. While plenty of writings do survive to this day, their scope is often limited to the specific tribe the author originated from. Each tribe structured their religion differently. A common theme found throughout the various tribes is the glorification of Áslaiwaig, or "Wise men", who sought to dedicate their lives toward greater understanding of the Divine Mechanism. While not all tribes practiced religious worship or ritual, those that did often used outdoor shrines maintained by priests and priestesses. The Axusa were notable for defying this trend, constructing many ornate temples and houses of worship.

### Practices and Ritual

The most notable aspect of Sjanumisla ritual is the sanctity of nature and esotericism. Due to its pantheistic nature, adherents of Sjanumisla revered all things, both living and non-living, as being worthy of dignity and respect. Humans were assumed to be guests and stewards of the planet who must be responsible and take care of their surrounding environments. This belief influenced Sjanumisla life in multiple ways, such as their refusal to bury their dead; viewing it as a form of pollution, and instead opting for cremation and (in some specific locations only) sky burials. It is thought this view also influenced the Cyans more nomadic and pastoral nature relative to the sedentary Lazhan and Namdai peoples early on, viewing long-term sedentary life as irresponsible and eventually damaging to the lands which were affected.

Esotericism was the main form of religious observance in Sjanumisla, esotericism being defined as a duty for all mankind to individually gain a greater understanding of the abstract world and obtain higher insight. It is thought adherents could do this through meditation, contemplation and study of the natural and metaphysical world as well as living a peaceful live in accordance with traditional Cyanic values. Those who dedicated their lives to this endeavor were called Áslaiwaig, or "Wise men" and were revered and played a large social and political role in Cyanic society. Unlike monastic society in other religions such as in the Blue Dawn, Áslaiwaig were quite integrated in broader, secular society and often held vital roles such as judges or elders in the community.

### Broader ethics, culture and society

Being an ethnic religion, Sjanumisla society focused heavily on communal identity and culture, conversion and proselytization to foreigners was often explicitly discouraged and viewed as potentially eroding to Cyanic society. Despite this, Sjanumisla society was mostly tolerant toward its contemporaries, viewing other religious beliefs as different interpretations of the one, all-encompassing abstract divinity.

Due to Sjanumisla's emphasis on communal identity, community and shared ethic values played a large role in Cyanic society. Families were larger and more interconnected than in Lazhan society out west, and things like interpersonal trust were far more prominent in Cyanic society than many places elsewhere. This system is thought to have been one of the more impactful legacies in Cyanic culture, even as observance of the Sjanumisla faith declined. Scholars have cited this as being one of the key reasons as to why Auuvsia has a relatively high-trust society structure relative to its socioeconomic status.

Sjanumisla was host to many rituals and holidays, many of which survive today in Cyanic communities. The most important was Aruza, the Cyanic New Year.

## History

### Early History

Sjanumisla has no founder, prophets, or clergy. Dating the origin of Sjanumisla is difficult, as there is no formal founding or organization, as such, all dates are both approximations and somewhat arbitrary. The issue arises when trying to define what exactly constitutes the Sjanumisla faith, as there is no standard definition. Additionally, it is likely many of the Cyanic religious and mythological traditions that eventually formed Sjanumisla existed in a pre-literate society, as such, there are very little to no written records for early Cyanic religious traditions. Most of our accounts come from Lazhan manuscripts made from their own observations. However, there is much debate over how accurate these records are, both due to embellishment as well as inaccuracies given the sources wholly originate from outside Cyans themselves. As such, much of our theories are speculative.

### Aquelia

Upon Aquelia's conquest of most of the Cyanic homelands, they instituted a new pluralistic system to rework the Sjanumislan faith. Rather than forcing upon any particular belief of others, they sought to codify and legitimize them all as operating under a single, broad and open religious institution. The Aquelieans were not concerned with proselytizing their beliefs to others, as they viewed their religion being inherently intertwined with Cyanic ethnicity and identity. They were, however, tolerating of other religious beliefs and sought to ensure that all religious traditions were accepted and respected by the Sjanumisla establishment under Aquelian rule. People were free to practice as they so fit as long as it did not violate pre-existing Aquelian secular law. As such, practices like human sacrifice were deemed barbaric and heavily prosecuted.

### After Balderlane

Upon Aquelia's conquest by Balderlane in 4 BB, the system developed by Aquelia would never re-establish itself. While Sjanumisla briefly resurged early into the Cyanic Confederation, increasing pressure and hostility from its neighbors pressured people to convert toward other contemporary religions. The most common being the Blue Dawn and Yamanaha Selenism. Mauvean advances into Cyanic territory also contributed to the decline. As such, Sjanumisla was increasingly replaced by the Lazhan religions. Many Sjanumisluk fled, particularly eastward. Even as monarchs embraced the Lazhan faiths, the Cyanic people continued to hold onto their beliefs for far longer, even despite increasing persecution. By 250 AB, despite most states disavowing the Sjanumisla, approximately half of the population held onto the faith, By 400 AB, this was around one third, 15 percent by 600 AB, and around 10 percent upon the formation of the United Blue Republic. Today, it is a little bit under 3 percent.

### Neo-Sjanumisla and other attempts at revival

A few hundred thousand people in Auuvsia self-identify with Sjanumisla and its subvariants, with a couple hundred thousand more in diaspora. Following the unification and secularization of Blue, a wide spread attempt of revitalization of the Sjanumislan faith began. A new temple in the original Aquelian style was constructed in Khisbaldee in 705 AB, with several more being built afterward. Due to the nature of the religion, it is nearly impossible to quantify membership; with many Cyans labeling themselves as irreligious whilst simultaneously embracing certain elements of the religion, and many Sjanumisluk rejecting the more theological elements of the religion. In addition to this, many aspects of the faith still permeate on in Cyanic society, particularly the mythological and cultural aspects of the religion.