Wonao mythology

The **mythology of the Wonao people**, the native peoples of the island of Bujan, is an extensive and deep lore that stretches back to the latter First Age when the island was first populated.

While it has been codified and standardised in the form of the Rumai Kor religion of modern Bujanski society, parts of it are carried over into other religions practiced on the kingdom, including Bujanski Rodnovery.

## Rumai Kor

Rumai Kor, the "Way of the Gods", is the native religion of the Wonao people. It is a polytheistic faith, codified like its Slavic counterpart, Rodnovery, under the authority of the Royal Council of Ketamaau Priests.

Like the Rodnover state religion of Bujan, each High Ketama priest governs one of the thirty-three traditional provinces of Bujan, with any extra regions being administered under the nearest province.

### Rumai Jel, the Way of Torment

Its opposite is not a specific faith or religion, but sadism, brutality, and abuse itself. In Wonao culture, this is called "Rumai Jel", the way of pain and and worship of destruction, the antithesis of honour and justice in Rumai Kor.

The only known cases of "Rumai Jel" in actual Bujanski history were from death gangs who formed demonic equivalents of existing religions to justify terrorist activity. These raiders were defeated and killed by the revolutionaries, ending their terror for good.

## Deities

Popular gods in the Wonao religion include:

* Kran Tsadurok, later Tsatuno - thunder god. Syncretised as a friend of Svetovid.
	+ Tsatuno is Yojel's brother, and both are the grandsons of Daara, the second Sun.
	+ Tsatuno is depicted as a muscular man with a black and white beard, armed with a spear of lightning and iron.
* Kran Yojel (or Ijojel) - sun god, the Fourth Sun.
	+ Yojel is the king of the gods in Wonao mythology. He is depicted as a muscular man with golden robes and a fiery crown. Yojel's weapon is a halberd of gold and bronze, wreathed in flames.
	+ The "Suns" before him, his father, grandfather, and ancestor, are Tanænom, Daara, and Duma, who created life, the stars, and the universe. As the Fourth Sun and ruler of the gods, he created the Celestials to cultivate the heavens.
	+ After that, he created humanity and sapient living beings to cultivate the worlds.
	+ Saoranda is one of his children.
* Krane Miresa - sun and farming goddess
* Krane Anesse - moon goddess. Consecrator of Bujan's kings and monarchs.
	+ According to legend, Anesse was the goddess who bestowed the Kalamot to Jerde, to consecrate and empower a chosen monarch as the gods' representative on the mortal world.
	+ For this, Bujanski monarchs pray to Anesse to be blessed by her light at the end of coronation, by kneeling or raising their hands under moonlight.
* Kran Iluvo, Kran Nundak, and Kran Roraivu - sea gods
* Kran Ljolomob - god of the forests
* Kran Nanolko - god of horses and good luck. Considered a student of Svetovid; in turn, Wonao folklore mentions of his friend, Gorjoscho the son of Svetovid, being Nanolko's student.
* Star and wind gods - Various deities worshipped in winter as protectors of mankind against blizzards.
	+ Zuokran, Zuokranau - wind gods
	+ Akidatau - star gods. Alongside the Ārujolau, these heavenly beings are the warriors of the gods, protectors of other planets and stellar systems.
	+ The Akidatau and Ārujolau were among the countless armies of Heaven who defeated the wicked Celestials and their demons, preventing the Celestials from destroying the universe.
* Kran Kaononai - god of volcanoes, mountains; later of war, the forge, metals, industry. In modern times, Kaononai became the god of liberation, revolutions, justice, repentance, and the Bujanski system of penance.
	+ Venerated by Wonaos (and even some Bujanski Slavs) as an equivalent and friend of Svarog, and popular among engineers and mechanics. Images of the two forge gods crafting tools together are used to represent the coexistence of the two peoples.
	+ Before the reign of Motakol, people were killed as sacrifices to him and other mountain deities. Kaononai was furious as he saw hundreds of souls of sacrificial victims crying out to him, so he chose Motakol as his champion.
	+ When Motakol unified Bujan, he built shrines and temples all over the country to house the spirits of sacrificial victims, so they would become gods or wights. Some of the rituals conducted there were supposed to ensure that as many wandering souls would reincarnate, to compensate for whatever lives that their enemies put to waste. Some of those victims' spirits became among the warriors of the volcano god.
	+ Kaononai was also invoked many years later during the Bujanski Revolution and the war against the anti-Terran massacres. He is also worshipped in modern times as a god of war, revolutions, reforms, penance, and liberation of victims; using a lot of imagery depicting reforging metal to a cleaner, stronger steel.
	+ Some criminals who undergo penance would pray at shrines to Kaononai for the forge god's help, especially to change their own attitude and overcome obsessions.
* Krane Īrura - goddess of water
* Kran Saoranda - young solar god of agriculture, the calendar, and the seasons. He is the husband of Īrura, and from them the crane and tiger gods were born.
* Kran Otamjo - elderly god of fire, death, and cremations. Also the god of teachers and executions.
* Kran Akkavaro - god of fire, torches, and lighthouses. Also the god of happiness, anger, vengeance, and strong emotions.
	+ He is believed to unleash forest fires towards wicked people or renew forests, unlike demons who use it to kill the innocent for their amusement.
* Kran Imutorri - dwarf god of fires, hearths, furnaces, warmth, and braziers.
* Kran Sorjundau, Kran Sorjon - king of the Zuokranau wind gods. God of the wind, the weather, conscience, harmony, generosity, defensiveness, and justice.
	+ He is believed to be a friend of Stribog, but the eternal arch-enemy of Yolunva, god of typhoons. Because of this, he also represents civilisation and justice, as opposed to chaos and wickedness.
* Kran Sörau - god of hunters, tigers, warriors, writing, the lost, executions, punishment, and the forest. He is known as the "hunting god" or the "tiger god".
	+ Wonaos mark his sanctuaries or invoke Sörau by drawing an X with chalk, ink, dye, or ash. It also resembled swastikas, old symbols that were considered as Sörau's mark.
	+ Another symbol used for Sörau is a pan with three vertical lines, representing a hand holding an archery bow.
	+ Sörau's weapons are a spear and javelins, which take the form of lightning bolts. One legend claimed that when a foolish king and his army put golden swastikas on their banners, a lightning storm burned all the flags. It was a sign that Sörau forbids the misuse of his symbol without his direct approval; it was also why when Terran armies invaded Bujan, the Wonao armies shot at any Terran who used a swastika, to punish them for waging destruction and war against their gods.
	+ However, Buddhist and Hindu temples are allowed to use swastikas in Bujan, as these are considered symbols of other deities.
* Kran Kīradan and Kran Kīran - gods of the crane, horses, travel, communication, and transmissions. They are known as the "crane brothers".
	+ Nearly every radio and television station in Bujan has two white paper cranes, to invoke the brothers' blessings.
* Kran Ujerol, Kran Yarol - god of writing, books, and wisdom
	+ Some schools in Wonao neighbourhoods pray to him before they begin classes and tests. People attended or finishing tests also worship him.
* Kran Matorod - god of freedom and the wind. He was invoked during the revolt against Tuksharan colonial rule.
* Kran Ajokota, Kran Ajukod, Kran Ajokoz, Kran Alukod - god of the mangrove tree, defence, agriculture, farmers, and survival.
* Džorinun, Džuljonon - the wind god, the national god of the Kingdom of Makkadal.
* Ārujolau - gods of fire, the sun, and heat. The heavenly servants and warriors of Yojel, king of the gods.
* They once fought the Celestials for betraying the gods, oppressing mortals, and bringing demons to the world.

### Other divine figures

* Duma - the First God, who appears as a great sun, the creator of the Universe.
	+ In the Wonao creation myth, dating back to the time of King Motakol in the Third Age, Duma was born from a whirlpool within a dark, endless ocean. His firstborn was Daara (grandfather of Yojel), the first sun, who orbited around him. Then, he created the true sea of water from the dark ocean, then albatrosses from the foam of the waves, the stars, the sky, the lands and islands, and the plants.
* Daara - the first Sun, "son" of Duma and father of Tanænom.
	+ Daara creates planets and worlds.
* Tanænom - the second Sun, father of Yojel and Tsadurok.
	+ Tanænom is seen as the "Father of Life", for creating plants, sea creatures, and eventually birds and land creatures.
* Olin, Olijæn - god of mirrors
* Vaintme Larulau - the Thirteen Rivers, thirteen river gods representing the main rivers of Resovjant or Bujan. Invoked as bringers of good luck and courage, so Wonaos and Bujanski use blue ribbons and tie them around their shoulders to invoke the river gods.
	+ The Great Rivers are Slonin, Roisa, Nesar, Chanij, Estanij, Riezan, Choren, Noshad, Solerin, Olanij, Taeglo, Irunari, and Mihiwon.
* The Lost Saints - the many victims of the Dark Times, or the war that broke out before Motakol's unification. Later in his reign, these victims were worshipped as celestials and heavenly protectors of Bujan.
* Saints of Lidongrad - various men, women, and children who were murdered by cannibals. After Motakol killed the cannibals, he planted a forest to house the ghosts, so the gods elevated them to more deities to protect the land.
	+ As more of them ascended to Heaven as star deities, more forests were cut down as the trees were believed to have lost their holiness. Only several groves remain, shrines to the saints where students leave garlands and burn food for the spirits' blessings.
* Kran Jamadan - a mountain god from central Bujan.
* Atmagal, Kotjamtaz, Šolluča - three brothers and hunters who ascended to godhood as spirits of three great volcanoes. Their mountains, named after them, are depicted in the provincial flag of Starij Province, honoured in Naonaere folklore as protectors of the eastern coast.
	+ After their deaths, their souls were claimed by Kaononai, the volcano and forge god. They were raised to godhood to protect the east from demons.
* The equivalent of the Four Guardian Animals of Vozonid folklore, by coincidence, were four animals worshipped by Wonaos as divine animals: the tiger, the crane, the turtle (represented by dragons), and the shark.
	+ Tiger gods - not the same as ordinary tigers, but a race of deities created by two other gods, Saora and Īrura, from sunlight and sea water. Divine protectors of monarchs and royal artifacts, and patrons of tigers, felines, and hunters.
	+ Crane gods - another race of wind gods associated with sunlight, clouds, and the day. The red cranes are from this race.
	+ Dragon gods - different from bajandaau, their relatives, these are the ministers of Heaven and assistants of the wind gods.
	+ Shark gods - gods of the currents and ocean depths, they are the ancestors of the hanenolau and other water fairies. They are the ministers of the sea and ocean deities.

## Foreign deities

Like most Bujanski denizens, syncretism is sometimes commonly-practiced by even Wonao, who invoke and pray to other deities for their blessings.

"Kran" is for gods, while "Krane" is for goddesses.

### Hindu

* Kran Seivan, Kran Mehaseivan - Lord Shiva
* Krane Kaleja, Krane Mehakali - Lady Kali Ma
	+ The Wonaos even venerated Her as the goddess of eternity and purification. This may be one reason why they wrap cursed sites in saffron, to invoke Kali Ma and cleanse an area of spiritual contamination.
* Kran Kanesua - Lord Ganesha
* Kran Karteka - Lord Karttikeya (Murugan)
* Kran Jōmra - Lord Yamaraja, judge of the dead. Veneration and belief in him was introduced by Daizhouvian merchants, where he was believed to examine the deeds of every deceased soul. The worthy and innocent were allowed to pass into peace, while the wicked and the abusive were sent into any of various hells, including the ice wastes of Notluna where the worst evildoers are banished.

### Slavic

* Kran Perau - Lord Perun
* Krane Maikena - Lady Mokosh
* Kran Soarana - Lord Svarog
* Kran Sveitovæi, Kran Sreitaræ - Lord Svetovid
* Kran Jauloi - Lord Jarilo
* Kran Moessoi - Lord Morskoi

### Vozonid

* Kran Mjesura - Lord Pjosaroz
* Kran Kilantei - Lord Kalandil
* Kran Neivo - Lord Nimboz
* Kran Somjoro - Lord Zomjonor

## Evil deities and destroyers

* Nommitul - goddess of blizzards, torture, abuse, hate, cruelty, and great cold.
* Oktolvaroh - god of earthquakes, instability, panic, fear, and catastrophes.
* Mivolvura - goddess of infernos, forest fires, and droughts.
* Yolunva - god of storms, floods, and typhoons; and also theft, murder, robbery, cheating, and barbarism. He is embodied by typhoons and powerful storms that destroy whatever land they cross into.
	+ Yolunva is also known as the Stealer of Lands, because his storms destroying mangrove forests leads to floods and losses of farmland.
	+ He is also the evil god who is strengthened by robbery, theft, greed, and depriving innocents of what they need to survive. Because it destroys lives and turns people into monsters, he is the eternal enemy of the wind gods, especially their leader, Sorjundau.
* Unarumo - goddess of cannibals, mutilation, bodily abuse, and desecration.
	+ Considered as the consort of Yolunva, because both of them represent the loss of sanity from losing one's own morals.
	+ Yolunva represents one's loss of morals by committing crimes, and Unarumo represents sadism, ending in cannibalism, murder, and the death of the criminal.
	+ Those who commit the worst sins, like cannibalism and human sacrifice, are claimed by Unarumo, as no god would want the soul for committing such excessive evil. If the criminal dies, it will be Unarumo who will accelerate its transformation into a demon, as she enjoys destroying the world. To prevent this from happening, Wonaos destroy the bodies of cannibals to erase the criminal's soul, denying Unarumo from another chance to destroy the world.
* Darotilau - the "Celestials", the first angels who eventually betrayed the Gods by torturing, killing, and eating mortals.
	+ The Gods turned the Darotilau against each other, manipulating their own arrogance against themselves, so they would be able to kill the demons the Celestials unleashed and save their creations.
	+ Some of their members were thrown into the frozen wastes of Notluna, where they were turned into demons as a punishment for their crimes

## Locations

* Džōju - "The Greatest Good"; the realm of the gods in the sky, where they walk on islands made of clouds and light.
* Kranakōrara - the starlit night sky, the middle section of Džōju, where many gods live.
	+ It is also the Multiverse, as the space between realities.
* Korokorura - an upper section of Heaven, beyond the throne of the King of the Gods. It is a realm of endless stars and beauty.
* Džokōra - the "Empyrean", a distant realm far from the Universe and Heaven, where Duma the god-sun dwells.

### Notluna and its regions

* Notluna - Hell: a great wasteland of endless ice and snow, where evildoers are sentenced to after they die.
	+ It may had been derived from very harsh winters that killed their people, including one that started a great war where Motakol was born into.
	+ Notluna was traditionally associated with the endless ice wastes of the far north.
	+ This was also the prison of many Darotilau, or Celestials, stripped of their powers and turned into demons.
* Vaivura, Vaivukara - two volcano cities that burst from the northern reaches of Notluna. They represent war and hate, the prisons of the souls of war criminals and murderers.
	+ The fiery demons of Vaivura's peaks wage an eternal war against the ice demons that ravage the endless wastes, creating blizzards and thunderstorms.
* Vaivurin, Vajavol - more volcanoes in Notluna, among the few sources of light and heat. They instead burn mortals and souls with hellfire.
	+ Those are the domain of savage monsters and demons.
* Džōnogom - the Great Silence, the vast plain of ice and ash at the middle of furthest north of Notluna.
	+ Also used as a name for Hell.
* Jeltæuri - the House of Pain, a great mansion hidden by snow where the screams of evil people can be heard among the howling winds
	+ The halls of Jeltæuri are yellow and brightly-lit, but every room has one prisoner who is tortured and repeatedly revived for the sin they committed in life.
	+ It has only a single man inside, Bintoddamak the Butcher, who is their sole executioner. He is able to project himself to every soul imprisoned in his mansion, yet in reality there is only one Bintodmak. He feasts on the blood and meat of some of the souls, knowing they will instantly be revived in full health on the next day, which begins when the last soul dies. But he also enjoys eating and chewing upon the flesh of demons and evil creatures that are unfortunate enough to walk into his mansion's doors.
	+ No evil soul actually dies in Jeltaeuri, due to a magical curse upon every evil person thrown inside its walls. However, demons that enter and get killed there are never revived.
	+ It is one of several destinations where evil souls go to after their deaths, especially sadists and people who enjoy traumatising others.
	+ With the arrival of the Internet, Jeltæuri is also the hell where online criminals and bullies go to after their deaths, should they fail to undo their crimes by compensating their victims. In fact, whenever a bully dies, and he did not apologise or pay any compensation to his victim, Wonaos would throw a party and wish for his soul to be sent to one of Jeltæuri's rooms.
	+ The estimated number of souls that can be held in each room of Jeltaeuri is around 400,000. No new evil souls are added until any room is empty, usually when any of the souls' terms expires, ranging from one month to as long as 40,000 years. Those who are thrown out of Jeltaeuri regain their flesh, and rags grow to cover their bodies as they struggle to survive the cold. Their end at last, is to be killed or eaten by the demons lurking in the icy wastes.

### Legendary real places

* Ñruñarant - "the Land of Bronze", Daizhou. From the ancient Daizhouvian word "tong" or "ngrum" (彤), meaning "copper" or "bronze", which Daizhouvians introduced to the ancient Wonaos.
	+ Ancient Daizhouvians are known as Röjondakrönö or Ñruñarönö, "Men of Bronze".
* Tlōjorant - "Land of Clay", ancient Iozae
	+ Tlōrönö - "Men of Clay", ancient Iozaeans. Now considered insulting to Iozaeans, who prefer Kjerarönö or Ñrolulönö, both meaning "Men of the Chariots".
* Kjerurant - "the Land of Chariots", Iozae. From ancient Daizhouvian "che" or "qra" (車), meaning "chariot".
	+ Ancient Iozaeans are known as Kjerarönö, "Men of the Carriages". They independently created their own chariots, different from Daizhou's chariots, but when the ancient Wonaos first encountered Iozaean chariots they named them after the Daizhouvian war carriages.
	+ Ñrolulant is another name suggested by Iozaeans in honour of their beloved chariots. It comes from the Iozaean word for a chariot, "ñroluk".
	+ In ancient Wonao folklore, Iozae was also known as "Summer Land" due to its tropical climate. Only after the founding of Iozae was its name changed to Ñrolulant, the Chariot Land.

### Holy sites

* Mount Lheum Džogros (Dēdogron)
* Mount Lheum Rheen (Detsogron)
* Mount Lheum Wok (Matjegron)
* Lidongrad Groves - home to murder victims, raised to godhood as protector deities. The local students tend to pray to these forest gods, even though most of them are now housed in shrines and new groves, for good luck.
* Mt. Atmagal, Mt. Kotjamtaz, and Mt. Šolluča - three sacred mountains of Starij Province, housing three hunting gods.
* Mount Kalakorin - the central volcano of Bujonvenchas Island, Kalkorant Province. Sacred to the moon goddess Anessa, patron of monarchs.
* Mount Jonmauna - in Slavjætja Province, the domain of the mountain god Jamadan.
* Thirteen Great Rivers of Resovjant
* Bay of Koscheigrad - venerated for its whirlpools

## Events

* Darokauta, Daldamlo - according to Wonao mythology, the birth of the Sun marked the beginning of the world and time. It just emerged from a black sea of mud, shaping it into the seas and continents.
	+ This is considered as New Year's Day in the Wonao calendar.
* Birth of the Constellations - when the greater stars were formed from clouds, arranged into constellations. Other star systems emerge and produce alien lifeforms and other gods.
* The Birth of Resovjant - recalled in several hymns, it describes the volcanic eruption that led to the creation of Resovjant, now Bujan.
* The first humans were created, three male-female pairs.
* Other races of humans develop from descendants that move west and south.
	+ In ancient Resovjant, the Daizhouvians were known as the Men of Bronze, the Hiriwans (and related peoples) as the Men of Jade, and the Iozaeans as the Men of Clay or Men of the Chariots.
* One hundred and thirty clans sail from the Summer Lands to Resovjant, populating it for the first time.
	+ They were originally from Iozae when the land was torn by a great war.
* Bajomlo, Bajamlarada - the Distant Past, the Paradise Age
* The Paradise Age - when the Wonao peoples were protected from all kinds of danger, allowing them to live in prosperity.
* The first sins were found, leading to gradual decline of divine protection. The first pirates of the Men of Bronze begin attacking the western seaports.
* Notulvan - the great blizzard that ended the first of all ages, destroying a paradise that existed in ancient Resovjant.
	+ It was believed to be the result of a drunk god pouring ice upon the world. That god was condemned to become an ice demon of cannibals, just as he also dipped several humans he snatched in his wine to eat them.
* Old Hiranol - a great war when cannibalism and mass murder was widespread. Motakol was born during that time, but he ended it as he won the support of his people and even some of his enemies.
* The Kalamot is bestowed as a gift from Anessa, the moon goddess, to King Motakol to bless his nation.
* Reign of Motakol - an age of peace occasionally interrupted by traumatic nightmares. Several people helped people heal from the trauma to avoid Resovjant collapsing into another age of chaos.
* Mangrove trees were later used to expand the southern coast of Bujan.
* The first cats and cherry trees were introduced from Daizhou.
* Hiragu - the supposed end of the world, when an unstoppable blizzard freezes the now-old Sun and stars, plunging everything into ice and frost. To Wonaos, who picture Hell as endless cold, this is literally Hell on earth. Eventually, even Hell will shatter into dust, and everything will become dark.

## Beings

### Good beings

* iwan - fairy
* Džōdaarörata - heroic king or queen who ascended to godhood
* džōrara - a sacred red crane. One of the traditional symbols of the Wonao people and their nation.
* radakara - a stork whose body shines like diamonds, representing truth and correct actions. Considered a divine symbol to the Wonaos.
* ranga - a falcon man who is the messenger or warrior of the wind gods, the Zuokranau. They are usually benevolent creatures who also inspire people to fight against abuse.
* džōrægjom - a tiger god
* iraja - a rainbow bird
* bajanda, bajonda - a dragon with its torso-scales coloured in a rainbow. Believed to be one of the countless servants and heralds of rain and wind gods.
	+ Wonao myths also claim that bajandaau are among the blessed spirits who take the souls of heroes. From the pyres and whirlpools, the bajandaau carry the heroic by their hands as they escort them to Heaven. They and other holy beings prepare armour and robes as the souls transform into new gods, ready to defend Bujan from supernatural enemies.
	+ Bajandaau are also the enemies of Yolunva, the evil god of typhoons and robbery, because they weaken storms to protect the land.
	+ Although the bajandar are spirits of rainbows and rainstorms, they are not associated with war. In spite of this, depictions of bajanda dragons sometimes do appear in armour, shields, weapons, and banners, as warriors and soldiers invoked them among various divinities for their blessings.
* hanenol - a shark merperson. In spite of their ferocious appearance, they are actually quite affectionate and playful.
	+ In archaic Eosome, they are "hjanenol"; in Bujanski, it became "ainenjol", a sea fairy.
* ileidan, irodana - star-spirits, ascended heavenly beings from slain innocents or deceased saints.
* airada - star-angels, assistants of the gods and lesser spirits and beings of Heaven.
	+ Ileidanau and airadaau who are archers mostly use arrows that are literally made of rainbows or lightning. These shots can burn anyone the arrows touch, even by killing them. They are also believed to be made of the same substance as the Sun and the stars, later syncretised with the discovery of plasma's existence in lightning and the Sun.
* Maatimijo - slender, frail blonde fairies who love water. In some myths, these fairies take young men and women to marry them and start mixed families.
	+ Maatimijo are sometimes seen as a related race of vodjanoi or rusalka.

### Neutral beings

* nik - goblin, imp
* itigoren - a mischievious ghost with a bean-shaped mouth
* næntul - a wooden blue bird that pecks liars
* ñöru, ñötnö - a ghost, undead spirit
	+ "Ñönnö", later "gönnö" or "gonnik", is a racist slur towards Bujanski Slavs, comparing them to the Darroskei invaders who supported the Terrans. Comparing Bujanski Slavs during Koschei's rule to undead spirits and ice demons led to the Slavs calling for a referendum for a new name. It is now seen to Bujanski Slavs as the worst of all slurs.
* turi - a gremlin with big, noisy feet.
	+ Turiau are not necessarily evil, but can also be good, even though they are ugly.

### Evil beings

* loluk - shadow fiend
* mogurok - lava monster
* ondurok - cannibal ghost
	+ Cannibalism is believed to be among the most unforgivable of sins anyone can commit. Anyone who willingly eats human flesh or blood is forever condemned to eternal torment in the afterlife, or annihilation.
	+ Ondurokau are believed to be very powerful due to the evil that corrupts their own souls. To prevent them from unleashing total destruction upon the living world, the bodies of cannibals are to be torn to pieces and burned to ash.
	+ Occasionally an ondurok ends up in Notluna, to become food for the ravenous nourota spirits. The nourota freeze and crumble the demon's body until it shatters into ice crystals and frost, scattered into the winds.
* taerori - a Terran demon warrior
* nōurota, nōutör - ice wraiths, demons
	+ Frozen wastes are seen as hellscapes in Wonao mythology.
	+ The evil demons that are native to Notluna, preying on unfortunate travellers and the souls of evil people.
* vaivuraka, vajarak - fire demons
	+ Demonic monsters and beasts that emerge from the volcanoes of Notluna, the icy inferno of the far north. They endlessly wage war against the nourota ice horrors, creating thunderstorms and blizzards.
* Nōtmoli - ice demons
	+ Often depicted wearing Darroskei clothing; the men wear fur caps and jackets, and the women wear kokoshniks and queens' robes. Attracted to abuse, corruption, warmongering, and imperialism, though they arrive on blizzards.
	+ Later a slur towards Slavic people for certain Terran guerillas' attacks on Bujan during World War III.
* shadows - spirits who represent grudges, sins, and offenses by every person.
	+ Every person has their own shadow-wraiths, who can be felt whenever they are feeling guilt or bitterness.
* enčal, ončal - "non-zero", "nothing of nothings", "nothing among the void"; an abomination that defies nature.
	+ Depicted as a grey shadow, or a man-shaped shade in negative colours. A monster from outside the universe, attracted to grief, delusion, cruelty, and fanaticism.
	+ Enchalau are among the most feared of all demons, because they are parasitical beings who only live by destroying others, the opposite of creation.
* Katamak, Katomak - the cursed souls of cannibals from the Old Hiranol war. Anyone who tasted human flesh and killed people to eat their bodies and blood, was doomed to become this. They are considered as the first and the most powerful form of ondurokau, cannibal demons.
	+ Because they were killed in battles and the wars of Motakol, they were not ritually destroyed and exorcised, so they became into demons. They also represent hypocrisy, especially pleading for mercy to allow others to commit greater evil.

## Characters

### Legendary figures

* Paisolan - a wise peasant who discovered that mangrove forests used their sediment to grow more land from the sea. He became a folk hero after his practice led to the creation of more farmland in southern Bujan.
	+ Paisolan's soul ascended to Heaven, where the gods made him a guardian deity of forests and agriculture.
	+ As a farming god, Paisolan became an accountant of Motakol's heavenly court, recording the deeds of righteous and evil people who are alive to be rewarded or punished. These will also be added to any records of their lives when their souls will be judged by Jōmra.
* Horuvira - an explorer who ventured south, beyond Rasumotu.
* Inobuje Vitasonda - one of the most-famous warriors in the Kingdom of Resovjant. A former scribe who joined the crusaders rallied by the King, his protection and rescue of civilians won him more supporters and fame. For helping turn the tide of battle in favour of the Wonaos against the Pinogunian imperials and saving his homeland, he was one of many warriors who were knighted and honoured as living saints.
	+ Although he was of Pinogunian blood, he rejected the empire's offers to turn to the imperial armies. He instead cursed back at the empire, declaring that he will fight the imperials to avenge those the invaders murdered.
	+ All he wanted was to find his friends. Only a few survived, protected by resistance movements that he aided against the imperials.

### Deified people

* Motakol - an ancient king who unified Resovjant under its first islandwide government. After his death, he was placed in a boat and cast into a whirlpool, where he was believed to undergo ascension into godhood.

### Evil people

* Gula - the greatest cannibal to lay waste in the Old Hiranol war. He was very notorious for killing hundreds of people and using their remains to make decorations of blood and teeth.
	+ Although he was ultimately slain by Motakol, his demonic spirit continued to haunt the hill where he used to live. It returned when the Terrans who served the Wannaenids used dark rites to steal whatever magical powers it had.
	+ The most recent known appearance of Gula was during a crusade to defeat the demonic cult on the hill, during the Bujanski war of independence. After every Terran soldier was killed, the revolutionaries tried to secure the hill and clear any valuables to be studied and investigated. A strange monster made of blood and teeth mauled some of the soldiers and crushed them to death, but before it was able to eat one of their corpses, the soldiers cried out to Kali Ma. Hearing that name, the monster stopped. When a few of them started singing a hymn to the Mother Goddess, the monster started to crumble, until the song ended and it crumbled to dust.
	+ To prevent Gula from ever returning, the revolutionaries requested Dharmic priests to consecrate the site to Kali Ma, destroying Gula's spirit for ever.

## Folktales

* Mokortei and Hiratonro (Naonaere) - two merpeople, a woman and a man, who fell in love. They come from a peaceful tribe of shark merpeople, who aid the sea gods. As popular Naonaere folk characters, they became into symbols of love and marriage.

## Things

* Kalamot, Kalmot - the Alatyr stone, a sacred white stone said to bear the powers of the Moon. Due to its sanctity, it is housed in the National Temple of Svetovid, enthroned and enshrined in a red hall.
* Korurai - whirlpool, the divine symbol of order and the Gods.
* džārarōja - a blessed ship or barge that supposedly brings righteous souls to Heaven; also used by gods and heavenly spirits as a form of travel.
	+ In a battle, sighting a thundercloud with rain is a sign that a džārarōja is near, along with divine spirits who might aid the combatants.

## Religious practices

Rumaikori priests are known as *njakutaau*. High priests are known as *ketamau*. Temples are known as *jaknata* (smaller) or *mauktoko/maukoto* (larger).

Tigers are considered holy animals in Rumai Kor. However, kings and some high priests wear pelts cut from the bodies of tigers who die from old age, never from hunts. A tiger who dies from old age will be skinned and cremated with the same honours as a king.

Sea turtles and cranes are also considered sacred in Rumai Kor.

Spirals and circles are holy symbols in Rumai Kor. The kolovrat in Bujanski religion may have been syncretised from preexisting korurai, spirals seen in Koscheigradian native temples.

The *baikorai*, from *bajambi korurai* (walk of the korurai), is a practice since ancient times when worshippers wear white or gold robes, follow someone bearing a pole with a holy symbol, and pray for the gods to bless a place. When the bells are heard, other people usually stop to pray, but it is not a sin if one refuses to pray. This practice has also been adopted into Bujanski Rodnovery, perhaps due to its similarity with other processions in Slavic and Vozonid countries.

*Baikorai* with white or crystal orbs are for prayers wishing for the well-being of the King or nation, as the orbs represent the Alatyr or Kalamot, a symbol of royal authority.

Saffron, the traditional colour of the Wonao people, is wrapped in little sashes around a devotee's arm to call upon the gods to bless the wearer. Saffron-coloured banners are held on joyous occasions, like a wedding, a heroic funeral, a coronation, or a victory. People also wrap saffron sashes around a cursed location, praying that the gods will cleanse the area by making it into holy ground.

Thirteen blue sashes are worn on a person's arm or shoulder, to invoke the river gods of Bujan and their protection against bad luck.

Killing any human being, even an evildoer, as a sacrifice to any god, spirit, or demon, is considered to be the same sin as cannibalism. These are believed to create a desire to kill more, especially innocent and weak people. Therefore anyone who kills a person as a sacrifice to the Wonao gods would be cursed by the same gods, to be tormented in the afterlife. The victim's soul is instead raised into Heaven as a minor deity.

The same restriction and its curse is also extended to anyone who sacrifices a sapient being. For example, Ontemazei, Arnadjanai, and even Terrans who were sacrificed had their souls brought back to the world as forest and sea wights.

"Spirit poles" are raised on various locations, especially at windy weather, to invoke the gods and other good beings to bless these places and their visitors. They consist of wood, coral, or metal, topped with a sacred symbol and accompanied with up to four or eight orange banners. Some spirit poles are the same ones used on *baikorai* processions. During the removal and placement of the spirit poles, worshippers sometimes pray that the gods would place the poles' spiritual powers upon the processions' members to protect them.

Mangrove wood is considered to be blessed. Statues, tools, houses, shields, tables, and so on carved from mangrove wood are considered holy due to divine blessings.

The *bajandaau* dragons are invoked when Wonaos put up three-coloured banners outside their homes or at their gates, coloured in white-yellow-blue or white-red-green. They are believed to bring good luck and plentiful harvests.

The *nokranbai* is a ritual where five cups of different objects are offered to the gods. They correspond to the wu xing of Daizhouvian belief: one cup is for water, one cup for wheat (wood), one cup for fire, one cup for sand (earth), and one cup for knives or coins (metal).

### Ancient Wonao penance and collective punishment

Since the days of Motakol, a system of forgiveness was implemented in Wonao culture. It involves forcing offenders to confess their crimes to their victims, if they were not sentenced to death. The victims or society will pose several conditions for an offender to stop being an outcast and a scapegoat, such as rebuilding, working in construction or menial labour, or being forced to pay a fee or work as a humiliated servant of the victim.

During that time, the offender would live in a prison cell, or (if the victim permits) a lowly room near the victim as the victim's servant. The offender was forced to wear a bronze gauntlet that may be occasionally heated to burn the offender's wrist, and publicly shamed and cursed by other people. However, as soon as other people could see the gauntlet of shame, they will not beat up or kill the offender so they would live in shame.

Although collective punishment was a standard practice in ancient Wonao culture, other people associated with the offender were subjected only to public shaming, bans from certain venues, people avoiding sitting near them, and prohibitions from owning certain objects (like luxury items and very colourful clothes). In some eras, they were ordered to wear white or grey rags, and only permitted to work in menial jobs or workplaces with small blue banners, where criminals undergoing probation also worked.

The period of penance, by law, was mandated to last for up to eight months in maximum. In some eras, some penances lasted for up to three or nine years, with one notorious case leading to a penance of twenty-one years without any extension. After that, the offender was forced to kneel and bow to the victim as the victim declares the offender forgiven.

### Grudges

Traditionally, grudges were also considered sins, if the offense was considered small enough (like shunning, rudeness, or bullying). To avoid possible cycles of murder and revenge, the system of penance was imposed to force offenders to repent to their victims.

Before a Wonao passes away from old age, one custom was to write down every grudge they kept in life. They must relinquish each grudge, one by one, until all of their grudges were abandoned. For grudges involving greater sins, the tablets or notes where they were written were put to a temple, and shown in a hall. Those offenses were elevated to grievances, which would curse the perpetrators to misery or death, even extending to their relatives and descendants.

### Unforgivable sins

Some offenses were unforgivable, such as cannibalism, violation of the body, and human sacrifice. Since those who committed such crimes were never forgiven, they were subjected to the death penalty.

In historical records, executions involved beheading, impalement, burning on stakes, and being shot with arrows.

### Bujanski penance

The practice continued through Koschei's founding of Bujan, as one of the terms suggested by the Wonao kings and most of their subjects. The Slavic arrivals were not subjected to such restrictions, but instead mocked for their association with earlier invaders, until a campaign to choose a new Eosome-language name for themselves led to fairer treatment of the Slavs.

In the Bujanski Slavs' veneration of justice, the system of forgiveness became part of their traditional culture. Offenders were not forgiven until they did whatever their victims demanded, and brothers had to keep proving themselves by being nice to each other.

It eventually led to harsh punishments upon Terrans after independence. Nearly every Terran who was not a member of the Free North group was subjected to such punishments, forced to answer for their collective crimes to condition them to abandon their supremacist and militant views for good.

## Glossary

### Religious terms

* Nantaau Korurai - Rays of the Sun, Rays of the Kolovrat, blessing of the Gods
	+ A very formal way to say "May the Gods bless me".
* -lanjel - to sin, to commit evil, to become an enemy
* maimonö - praise, glory to
* Maimonö Džōju - Praise the Gods!, Glory to Heaven!
* -motoksöl - to make a place holy, to consecrate, to purify, to exorcise
* bakatoksöl - great consecration, great blessing, a gift that affects many people and makes them very powerful
* -mauk - to pray
* muvak - a prayer
* korsön - to consecrate, to bring to be claimed by a god, to make holy
* korsöna, kossön - blessed by a god, sanctified, consecrated
* džarana - faith, courage
* džerena - faith, trust
* -džire - to trust in someone
* bajambi - a procession
* baikorai, bajambi korurai - a walk of the korurai, a sacred procession, a prayer march
* džo - great, high, sublime
* džoand - the greatest
* džronra - courage, bravery, fuelled by a belief (like faith, wisdom, love, etc.)
* raiti - star
* -soj, -soi, -swoi - to dance
* sojau - dance
* solan - music
* wai - bow, prostration, worship, salute, humble, silent, silence

### Divinities

* kor - a god
* kran - a god
* krane - a goddess
* džōju - the Gods, Heaven, the Greatest Good, the Highest Good
* bakora - all the gods, Heaven, all that is good
* Bakrana - by all the Gods, by the Gods, all the Gods, oh my gods
* kanamyn - household god, a wight who protects the home
	+ Equivalent to devatas in Hinduism, or domovoi in Rodnovery. Due to the millennia of coexistence between Wonaos and Bujanski, kanamynau and domovoroi (Bujanski singular: domovoi) are seen as the same species, though of different races, similar to the two races who worship them.

### Holy people

* njakuta - a priest
* ketama - a priest

* džōketama - high priest of a province
* ketamantoi - supreme priest, pontifex
	+ For example, Supreme Volkhov of Bujan, High Priest of the Sarmelonid Empire.
* Bakoresubal - Great Victor
* Džōdaarörata, Džōdaurörata - Great Lord, Great King, holy king
* rereumol - one who properly follows steps
	+ evolved into Reumokau, a term for Bujanski Slavs who became more like the Wonaos.
* rerigal - a brave one, a hero
* sumaëha - a wise person, a genius
* susönoi - a saint, a holy person
* reruna - a sage, priest, or magician who is separated from both genders, an intersex person.
	+ If a person outside the genders is not a priest, it is disrespectful to refer them as a "reruna".
* orantæsad, orjantas - a "crusader", someone who fights in a Wonao crusade known as a "rainbow war".
	+ Not only does a surviving orjantas-crusader be treated as a living saint, but every member of his family will be blessed and welcomed with great honour.

### Concepts

* Kōruima - Peace, Harmony
* kaöna - holy, sacred
* kasöna - blessed, clean, radiant, happy
* kasönrai - very happy, joyous, pleasant
* kasönral - joy, satisfaction, rejoicing
* kasönrigal - as happy as saffron; brave and happy, happy courage, optimism
* sö- - sancto-, holy ...
* sön, söun - heart; holy, sacred
* söna - bright, radiant, clean, happy, hopeful; holy, divine
* sönjo - holy, blessed, good, saintly
* susöna - very holy, very good, very blessed, very beautiful
* burjand - great rise
* kaburjan, kammabujan, kaibujan - rise, ascent
* bakasobati, baisobati - great victory, end of a campaign or war
* karareumo - proper practice of Wonao culture
* kareumo - properness
* kariralan - hope, radiance, sunlight
* kārtaajan - blueness, joy, happiness, blessing, heavenly quality
* kawarian - eternity
* konö - bright
* nara(ha) - light, ray, beam, bright line, way, road, guide, trail
* orei- - to glow, to shine
* ori - glow
* rigal - brave, brave and happy
* rigala - happiness, joy, delight, hope, bravery; a state of happiness mixed with courage
* rigaula, rikaa - sunrise, dawn
* rikaa - saffron colour, orange, light of the rising sun, hope
* nwal, nwol - dark, darkness
* sjeh, sjehol - dark, shady
* korkōra, korokorura - a holy circle, the universe, Heaven, ultimate truth, enlightement, divine order
* korsön - to consecrate, to bring to be claimed by a god, to make holy
* korsöna, kossön - blessed by a god, sanctified, consecrated
* kōru - circle, peace, harmony
* korurai - harmonious summit, spiral, kolovrat (sacred symbol), Heaven, the Gods
* Maimonö Džōju - Praise the Gods!, Glory to Heaven!
* Naraja - the Good Way, Dharma, a righteous path, righteousness, justice
* ra’ehha - justice
* omtri - enlightened, cultured, civilised
* ohal - fear, terror
* rang - harmony
* ranna - balance, harmony, peace, contentment, serenity
* rumjakoro - holy path, path to righteousness, ascension, penance, enlightenment, purification, sanctification
* rannakoro - reconciliation, a path to peace, penance, purification
* subati - it is finished, it is done, completed, hurray
* sum - wise, intelligent, prudent
* vjonda - inspiration
* wusna, wusona, wusena - fear, terror, fright
* zōrokra - intelligence
* zōrukir, zōrir - smart
* antoræsat, antæsad - a "rainbow war", a war fought to destroy a threat in the name of the Wonao gods, a Wonao crusade

### Items

* keloiran - garland
* kaluoraijan - garland (respectful)
* horowan - a big fire, a bonfire
* korurai - a spiral or whirlpool used as a symbol of the gods; also used for the Slavic kolovrat
* Kalamot, Kalmot - Alatyr stone, moonstone; a holy relic
* orirana - charm, talisman
* saumæ - a gift
* kōsjul, kōhjul (archaic) - a mangrove tree
	+ Mangrove trees are sacred in Wonao culture. They are considered as bringers of land because their (or specifically Bujanski mangroves) roots deposit soil, creating more land for farms.
	+ Because mangroves are holy trees, their wood is considered sacred. They are mostly used for temple and religious items, idols, shrines, sacred poles, and temples.
* kamaimot - an idol, a statue
* pasjural - a household shrine

### Places

* jaknata - shrine
* mauktoko, mautoko - a temple
* toksöl - holy place, temple, shrine
* söamto - holy circle, holy field, khram or kapische (Slavic temple-field)
* Sö(n)savuand - the Holy Realm, Bujan
* kagōsjulan - mangrove forest, considered a holy site due to the sanctity of the trees.

## See also

* Ēosomê language
* Wonao calendar
* Wonao glossary
* Bujanski Rodnovery
* Bujanski folklore