Duwiaerynys

Duwiaerynys is the state religion of Tir Zavira. It is often regarded as the indiginous religion of Grand Zavira, with Dauwerynus (the Barkalor variant) splitting of in 1740. The head of the religion is the monarch of Tir Zavira. Duwiaerynys is a polytheistic religion centered around deities or spirits, centered around 7 main deities. The deities and spirits are mostly attributed to parts of the landscape, like a river, forest or hill. The name Duwiaerynys is often shortened to Duwi for convenience.

## Etymology

The name Duwiaerynys is believed to be a combination of the old Tiran words Duwia, meaning gods, and Erynys, which means island. So the name translate to gods of the island.

## Beliefs

### Deities

The Duwi religion is centered around 7 head deities, which are:

* Daida, the mother of all the lower gods and Yuzoa itself
* Tadwyr, the sea god and father of all the lower gods
* Cymulau, the god of the clouds and the first son, represented by the Albatross
* Gedwiga, the goddess of the forest and the first daughter, represented by the deer
* Madarch, goddess of death and the second daugther, represented by the mushroom
* Rhyfel, god of war and the second son, represented by the bear

Beside the 7 head deities there are thousands of local deities.

### Origin story

It is believed that when the Zavirs fled from an old evil spirit that was after their tribe, Daida and Tadwyr took pity on the Zavirs. Daida made an island in the ocean and a bridge for the Zavirs to walk on, and when all the Zavirs were on the island, the evil spirit tried to follow them. But Tadwyr sent a mighty tidal wave, destroying the bridge and imprisoning the evil spirit in the depths of the sea. To show their gratefulness the Zavirs build shrines and made offerings to the gods.The gods were pleased with the Zavirs and each gave them a boon. Cymulau made sure that there would always be enough rain for the land, Gedwiga made sure the forests was plentiful with food, Madarch made sure the dead Zavirs could return to nature. Daida made the land fertile and Tadwyr made the sea bountiful. But Rhyfel slept, for the Zavirs were peaceful and did not seek war, however he promised to Zavirs to help them were they ever attacked.

### Modern beliefs

In modern times most of the purposes of the gods are left mostly unchanged, besides Rhyfel. Although still a god of war, who is seen as the deity of the army, he also represents justice. The theory is that Rhyfel merged, and replaced, the goddes of righteousness Gyfia. The image of Rhyfel can be found in some court rooms. Daida is still seen as the head goddess and is worshipped around Tir Zavira. Tadwyr and Cymulau are worshipped more on the coast. In the rural parts of the island, Gedwiga is worshipped more.

## Practices

### Shrines and Temples

The places of worship are generally divided into Cyse and Arlais, translated as shrine and temple respectively. A Cyse is a smaller place of worship that appear in almost every town and are generally attributed to a single deity. An Arlais is a place of worship for one of the main deities, with 6 known temples for all the deities exept Madarch, as it was believed that only those who dealt with death worshipped her. These temples are located in the following cities:

* The Arlais of Vygdaw, which is attributed to Daida
* The Arlais of Sgile, which is attributed to Tadwyr
* The Arlais of Onatre,which is attributed to Cymulau
* The Arlais of Kalré, which is attributed to Gedwiga
* The Arlais of Tamanon, which is attributed to Rhyfel

It is tradition to make an offering and/or pray at a Cyse or Arlais for good  luck and to make wishes.

### New Year

The New Year in Tir Zavira and Barkalor is historically celebrated on the 20th of March. The New Year, or Athblian in Tira, is generally celebrated with a great feast in the evening of the 19th of March, followed by making offerings at Cyse or Arlais on the 20th.

### Priesthood

The caretakers of the Arlais, and of some Cyse, are called Sagair. They are learned in the myths and traditions of the Religion and clean the Arlais and Cyse. Besides the Sagair there are also the Mynach, which are priest of the sects of certain deities. These Mynach spend their time learning about a certain deity and trying to gain a better understanding of said deity.

### Head of Religion

The head of Religion for Duwiaerynys is the monarch of Tir Zavira, that has been crowned at Vygdaw under the eye of Daida. This practice has probably been around since around the 4th century BC. Before the monarchy of Tir Zavira became hereditary, it was an elected office and only held religious power. This was changed however in 712 AD by High King Gazaíd.

## History

It is believed that the religion of Duwiaerynys was brought to Grand Zavira by the Zavirs around 8000 BC. It has been theorised that the current system has been largely unchanged since then. The biggest changes have been in the Religious Head title and in the shifting purpose of the Sagair and Mynach. The Sagair and Mynach in the middle ages held both religious and secular power, but their secular power lessened after the split with Barkalor in 1422. When Barkalor and Tir Zavira split, the clergy was split too. Although the religion functioned the same in both countries, this changed in 1740, a year after the forming of the Republic of Barkalor. The democratic government of Barkalor made the office of head of religion independent of the government, which led to the schism that created Dauwerynus. The Dauwerynus and Duwiaerynys function similarly and cooperate with eachother, the only difference being the head of religion.