THE KASHGARI PANTHEON

[kipps 726]

 

 

 

THE KASHGARI PANTHEON

The creation of the world, chronicled by the scholarly Karamanoğlu

 

Kashgarism is the loosely amalgamated pantheon that stems from many individual religions followed by neo-Turkic tribes. It stands as a polytheistic religion with strong aspects of ancestral worship, shamanism and morality.

 

A depiction of Kasghar, ‘The one from Above’, giving life to the Tree of Life. 

 

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

 

Once the world was but a tree upon which Kashgar, in the form of a beautiful white goose, rested. Beneath him, was the void that stretched infinitely across the cosmic planes. Even though Kargash had the comforts of eternal harmony, with a space wherein he could spread his wings as he pleased, he felt lonely in his thousands of years of existence. 

 

Thus, he held his tree with his grotesque beeks, spreading his cosmic energy into the tree: giving it a conscience. The tree would now speak to Kashgar., wielding her own given name of Eje. Having the same cosmic energy flow through their veins, Kashgar & Eje could both create life from their own energy. 

 

Kashgar wished that his harmonious bond of energy could be felt anywhere in his infinite universe, shaping lesser versions of him to accompany him on his flights. Eje, who was immobile, became tormented by her periodic loneliness. She wanted to be closer to Kashgar, wherever he went. Thus, she expanded her roots to stretch a thousand realms: artistically terraforming herself to entertain Kashgar and his children as they flew over.  

 

The entourage of Kashgar, made up by his offspring. 

 

For if they wished to feel cold they could bathe into Eje’s waters, if they sought heat they could venture to her deserts. As the offspring of Kashgar grew, so did the diversity of Eje’s many roots. By this time, Kashgar had made two sons and a daughter known as İyeler: a collective name for all the spirits and celestial beings that were shaped by Kargash and his offspring, excluding ancestral spirits and forefathers.

 

Güneş, made in his own image, was the original İyeler. His pure and strong energy made him a radiant being, embracing his kin with his pure heat wherever he flew.

 

Ay, made in the image of Eje, was his second born. She would be the mirror to Güneş’ divine energy, as Eje was to Kashgar.

 

Erklik was the third born to Kashgar. He would fly below Kargash, Güneş & Ay.

 

The conscience and autonomy of Kashgar’s offspring caused them to develop their own traits, desires and sentiments towards Kashgar. While the cosmic realm was in harmony, Erklik became frustrated with his lack of purpose. He spoke to his father: 

 

“Why can I not radiate like Güneş, or be his mirror like Ay? Why am I below you, for I am the same as you?” to which Kargash responded “My son, you still fly above Eje’s roots, separating you from our realm and that of the void below us. Are you not grateful my son, for letting you fly where the light shines and Eje’s roots grow?”.

 

Erklik felt rejected by his father regardless, unhappy that he was below them every time they flew. Thus, he created new İyeler to fly above himself. The embodiment of his spirits wouldn’t have wings, but legs, crawling beneath Erklik wherever he went. Kashgar found such dishonor a threat to the harmony of his realm, demanding Erklik to give his İyeler wings so that they could fly with him. Erklik refused, becoming The Original Rebel.

 

Kashgar broke off his celestial connection to his son: pushing him through Eje’s roots towards the void, and sealing the hole behind him. Though the void always demanded energy from whatever fell in it, this time it did not. It let Erklik fly below Eje’s roots for all of eternity. 

 

Above the void, Erklik shaped a realm in his own view: spawning many İyeler in his image. Though the energy from the void corrupted this image through time, rendering their sentiments and conscience less harmonious as the years passed.

 

Karash Han, his firstborn, became the deity of plots and conspiracy. Shaped in the image of the Original Rebel, who through time turned from a Goose to a green serpentine.

 

Komur Han, his second born, became the deity of dominance and subjugation. Shaped by the pain that Erklik felt for being cast out of his father’s realm. Usually depicted as a man, wielding a baton in one hand and chains in the other.

 

Uchar Han, the deity of informants and spies. Shaped by Erklik’s many attempts to breach Eje’s roots and return to the realm. Turned from a Goose to a fox, and occasionally a rat. 

 

Matyr Han, the deity of bravery, selfishness and arrogance. Turned from a Goose to a lion.

 

Temir Han, the deity of ambition, revolution and greed. Usually depicted as a  man, but one with a bare chest. 

 

Matoch Han, the deity of the marginalized and ostracized, the cursed and the abandoned. Usually depicted as a prostitute. 

 

Kerey Han, the deity of decadence, seduction and perversion. Originally depicted as a man in a dress, but modern renditions show a man wearing Helenian clothing. 

 

As Erklik and his İyeler sought to break Eje’s physical barrier below, Kashgar anticipated their future offensive from above. Diversifying his own İyeler to wield different powers, grades of energy and purposes in his realm. So there came to be the Savunna:

 

Andar or ‘The king born from fire’: king of fire and purity. Fire can cleanse even souls and spirits. Every hearth has a protector spirit sent from Andar, who is a dual deity that can purify whilst also being destructive. He is often depicted as a dragon

 

Kyrzhaghan, The warmonger and warrior spirit. Provides fighting men with vigor and bravery. Patron deity of the military. Depicted as a bannerman on horseback.

 

Umuyash, The mother, deity of beauty, fertility and children. Depicted as an elephant most of the time

 

Koy Ata, The moon, watcher of the night and protector of all Erklik’s kin.

 

Gun Ana, The sun, watcher of the day and closest deity to humans.

 

Yel Ata, God of the north, east,west and south.Depicted as a giant that often holds a compass in one hand while pointing to the stars with the other

 

Yel Ana, Goddess of the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. Often portrayed with Yel Ata as a woman holding a map

 

Su’na, Deity of water and guardian of all aquatic animals, often portrayed as a stream of water

 

Etugen, Patron of the ground, crops and trees. Portrayed as a tree. 

 

Izıh, Spirit of wild and freed animals. Portrayed as an owl

 

Shalyk, Spirit of the hunters, often portrayed as a well-built man with a bow in one hand and a dog on a leech in the other

 

Zarlık, Goddess of law and justice, patron of lawyers/magistrates. Portrayed as a woman with a scale in her hand, perfectly in balance

 

These are the main Savunna, countless others exist and are worshipped by humans everywhere.

 

Kashgar’s parliament of İyeler

 

In this great diversification, he gave Erklik’s crawlers a new purpose as well, for he felt sympathy for such unmajestic creatures that eternally had to look up to others. If a crawling beast earned an honorable life, he would be able to stand up on two feet like the Geese and their thousands of renditions. Even though they would not fly: they would be above the crawlers who chose dishonor and decadence instead. From these honorable crawlers, came the modern man, who was welcomed in Kashgar’s parliament. 

 

But Kashgar, his offspring and his new mankind had underestimated the power of the void, for the void gave Erklik enough energy to break through Eje’s roots. Thus, his İyeler faced against Kashgar’s, and The First Conflict commenced.

 

İyeler versus İyeler in The First Conflict

 

The First Conflict was won by Kashgar’s İyeler, but at a large cost. Banishing Erklik and his followers back into the void required so much energy from the realm: that it had almost depleted Eje & Kashgar himself. It would mean that all life, except for Kashgar’s dearest, would no longer live eternally.

 

Everything that lived on Eje’s realm now had a timetable in which they had to create offspring to make their celestial presence continuous. This changed the way that all lived, and created the cycles, seasons and obstacles that life faces today. 

 

THE BELOW AND ABOVE

 

When a İyeler or his offspring dies, he faces judgment by Kashgar. Not all souls can be preserved in Kashgar’s parliament due to the limited amount of cosmic energy that his realm has. If one had lived honorably, Kashgar would embrace the soil with his claws and fly him to his realm above Eje. If one had lived dishonorably, he would be consumed and be defecated into the realm below: the realm of Erklik. 

 

 

Uçmah

Those honored by Kashgar will live near Güneş and Ay, in a realm with enough food for all and under the perfect temperature. Those who deserve their soul to eternally reside in his realm, must have lived with: the valor of the brave, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good and the words of the wise.

 

Souls that reside in this realm are considered White Souls, and their counsel to those in the mortal realm are of good nature. Mortals that follow their counsel can count that they are performings acts that Kashgar judges positively. 

 

 

Tamuk

Those that are unfit to join Kashgar and the other White Souls in Uçmah but still were created upon leaving the mortal realm, are defecated by Kashgar into Tamuk, where Erklik and gets enjoyment out of the torture of the sinners. Tamuk is described as a hellish environment, where demonic entities and evil spirits roam free. Searching for souls they can torment. When their will is broken, they are handed to Erklik himself and are distributed to serve under one of Erklik’s kin

 

Souls that reside in Erklik’s realm are considered Black Souls, and their counsel to those in the mortal realm are of evil nature. If a Black Soul convinces a mortal to follow its counsel, it will be rewarded by Erklik either through liberation or less torture. 

 

Böö mörgöl

 

To listen to the wise words of the İyeler and make it comprehensible in the tongue of the humans, there are the Böö Nar. A Böö is a highly respected person of the community that specializes in the communication between the İyeler and humans. A variety of rituals are available to the Böö to invoke the İyeler. Böö Nar are the only people that can communicate with the spirits, to that rule there is only one exception. 

 

When a child reaches the age of 11, they are to communicate with their ancestors for the only time in their lives, if they do not become Böö Nar later in life. Various ritualistic leaves, herbs and potions are taken in. After this the child will be able to talk with their ancestors, which will most of the time give them advice. Not every soul is strong enough to hear the words of their ancestors, a child may refuse to listen to their ancestors. For a child to do this, is frowned upon.

 

A Böö may dedicate himself to one of the İyeler or to a wider group, like Erklik’s kin or perhaps the spirits of nature. It is favourable for the khamgiin tom Böö to be neutral in terms of worship. Even if a spirit is not worshipped by a certain Böö, that Böö will still be able to communicate with the spirit, be it in a friendly or a hostile manner.

 

A person that wants to become a Böö, is to seek out an already active Böö.The initiate shall take various ailments that will make the initiate more resistant to pain. Then, a non-lethal wound shall be inflicted to him, until he bleeds enough for his spirit to leave his body for a small amount of time. The initiate shall venture into Erklik’s abyss from there, uncovering all sorts of cruelties and hidden wisdoms on his way there. The initiate shall be halted by Kurmez, who will decide if the initiate is worthy of becoming a Böö. If he decides against it, then the initiate’s ferry, which was Kurmez shall bring his soul back to his mortal body. If however, Kurmez sees the initiate is strong enough, then he shall let him pass into Erklik’s chambers. There he will see Erklik himself. A conversation with Erklik and his Han shall ensue, the contents of which shall be never outspoken by the Böö until his soul passes. Kurmez shall bring the initiate all the way up to Uçmah itself. There, another conversation with Kashgar and his loyal kin shall ensue. From there, Kurmez shall bring the initiate back to his mortal flesh. When the Initiate awakens, he shall be questioned by the Böö, if he was allowed to converse with Erklik and Kashgar, then a new Böö was brought upon the earth, if not, then the initiate shall be healed and be excluded from becoming a Böö.

 

 

 

 

[Guzr 2050]

A Raguk Rex grumbles as competition arises. . . 

((Good post, looks cool

 

[Enlightenment 2295]

A roach-like creature’s eyes water as he smells Karamani spices...