Lost Isles- Religion of the Tarushi, the giants of Adu


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	Religion of the Tarushi, the giants of Adu . .

	Creation Myth (Intended to be sung during holy days, or chanted on a daily basis by the monks and clerics as part of their devotions) The Great Spirit is. The Great Spirit exists in an absence of anything. All is blank, unformed, undreamed, unsung. All form, all substance, all life, is vibration and resonance, from the tiniest particles to the most awesome lunar bodies. This the Great Spirit knows, as the Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit sings. A single tone, gloriously high and pure, pierces the nothingness. A single tone, a tangible note, arcs up and away, resonating in the eternal void. And suddenly, there is substance. The Heavens fill where once there was nothing. The Great Spirit soars through the Heavens, and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. Like a searing awareness, a sound spreads out to the Heavens, piercing its nature, shattering it, making it anew. A high note, but not Heaven high. As the tone spreads… so are the stars born, and scatter about the Heavens in a wondrous array of light. The Great Spirit dances from star to star, reveling in their perfection and their beauty, and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. A warm tone, a note filled with light and energy, an exquisite burst of radiance, sounds out amongst the Heavens and the Stars. The resonance coalesces into a seething force of energy and creation, and the Sun shines out upon the Heavens and the Stars. The Great Spirit is warmed by the Sun’s rays, cheered by its ever-boiling brightness, and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. The Great Spirit hums a new note, effortlessly pushing the vibrations out into the Heavens. A mid-range note, full of substance. As the tone swirls through the Heavens and between the Stars and around the Sun, the Great Spirit shapes the new forms and tosses them playfully about. The Planets and Moons spin into place. The Great Spirit is fascinated by the physical substance of the Planets and Moons, and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. The Great Spirit lies itself upon the surface of a planet near the Sun. It spreads itself out to engulf the planet, and it sings. A rich note, an earthy note, vibrating across the surface of the planet, and rocks and minerals and soil are formed. The Great Spirit sinks into the groundedness of the planet, feels the grainy substance of rocks and dirt, and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. A tone, clear and silky, powerful yet mutable, vibrates across the planet with its earth and rock. The low note rolls across the surface of the planet, and leaves water in its place. The oceans and rivers and lakes are born. The Great Spirit dives in the water, feeling the indescribable texture, the weightlessness. The Great Spirit laughs and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. A lower note, deep and full of verdant life, sounds out from the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit lays across land and sea, letting the note move through its substance into the planet. As the Great Spirit watches, green life appears across the earthen places and under the waters. The Great Spirit inhales the fragrance of emerald life, the heady aroma of sunshine mixed with plants rooted in earthy groundedness. The Great Spirit basks in the green life, the blue waters, the brown earth, the yellow sun… and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. Engulfing the world inside itself, the Great Spirit sings the final note… the lowest note of all. The sound is deeper than the earth, deeper than the rocks. The sound reverberates throughout the world, from the bottom of the oceans, to the highest mountain peaks. The note goes on and on and on… until at last, upon the surface of the earth, stand all manner of beast, bird, man and marine animal. The Great Spirit surveys its creation, awed by its promise, its potential, its power… and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit feels an incompleteness. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows what to do. The Great Spirit sings. No longer a single note. No longer a single, pure tone, designed for creation. The Great Spirit sings. The Great Spirit sings its song, a song of life, of movement, of kinetic energy, of passion and hungers and drives. A song full of longing and yearning, of hopes and dreams and challenges overcome. The Great Spirit sings, and the stars twinkle in the heavens. The Great Spirit sings and the sun sends its warmth to the planet. The Great Spirit sings and the planets and moons begin their rotating, revolutionary dance about the sun. The Great Spirit sings and the rivers begin to flow, and the oceans undulate in a tidal motion that soothes and destroys. The Great Spirit sings and the plants begin to grow, the flowers to open their soft petals to the golden rays of the sun, their roots to dig deeper and deeper into the anchoring soil. The Great Spirit sings and the animals graze, stalk, eat, reproduce and die. The Great Spirit sings and man, the most complicated vibration of them all… starts his evolutionary journey towards a completeness all his own. With the interweaving of melody and complex harmonies, the Great Spirit introduces time and motion into its creation. The Great Spirit sings of life. The Great Spirit sings of love and joy. The Great Spirit sings of completeness and wholeness. The Great Spirit gazes in wonder at the life bursting all around… and is pleased. After a moment or an eon, the Great Spirit senses an incompleteness. This incompleteness is not within itself, as the Great Spirit is all things, and is complete and whole by nature. The Great Spirit senses distress from the men and women on the planet. The Great Spirit knows all things. The Great Spirit knows that the men and women are not able to hear the Song of Life. The Great Spirit knows what to do. The Great Spirit breathes the whisper of a song into the men and women on the planet. The whisper is ethereal, but very real. It is soul. When the men and women listen to their soul, they can hear the Song of Life. The Great Spirit rejoices, and as the men and women come to understand the Song of Life, they too become whole, complete, and become one with the Great Spirit. They become one with all things. They become whole.
	Death and the Afterlife The Afterlife: Giants believe in reincarnation of an ever-evolving nature. It is believed that a complete soul, in order to return to the Great Spirit, must experience all things, and all feelings, everything, until perfect balance is attained. Until this time, the soul is reborn into different bodies, life after life. It is believed that when perfect balance is achieved, the individual is able to choose the time and place of death, and quietly leave their body behind. The soul goes to join the Great Spirit, and the cycle of life and death is broken and total, universal wholeness is attained. After a body is burned, the ashes are tossed to the wind in a ceremony of rejoicing for a soul that has moved on to its next step in the cycle towards wholeness. Giants tend to respect most life, and are constantly aware that any animal or plant they kill or eat could be a soul going through reincarnation. Of course, for all their religious awareness, Giants feel they are at the top of the reincarnation chain (so to speak). They believe that once a soul reaches its Giant life or lives, freedom and release are the next and final step. Death Rites: Giants burn bodies at death, in order to facilitate release of the soul. This allows the soul to hasten its journey into its next incarnation. Also, giants believe that burning bodies is a clean way to dispose of dead material, and the light and heat helps repel the terrible predators of the higher altitudes. Deity Structure There is only the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit is a cosmic being, a universal life force. Giants feel that everything is imbued with this spirit: the rocks, the trees, the caves and mountains and animals. Giants call this embodiment of the Great Spirit “jacha.” In this way, Giants are able to personify objects around them, and better understand them. For example, an avalanche roars down a mountainside, killing several giants and their yaks. The giants back home might say “the jacha of the mountain were angry at the travelers for not praying at the shrine first.” The Great Spirit is portrayed in religious art as an androgynous blue skinned being, typically shown balancing on one leg. Jacha are often portrayed as tiny (faerie-like) beings, which emerge from the Great Spirit’s heart. Holy Days and Religious Holidays Giants have holy days that coincide with lunar and/or celestial events. They have developed an extensive astrological calendar, which helps them keep track of lunar movements and convergences. Conjunctions are the most holy of all celestial events, as giants believe that the alignment of Oheia with her moons enhances and strengthens the vibrations and resonances of their chanting and prayers. During these lunar events, all giants congregate to lift their voices to the Great Spirit. There is no particular day of worship, but many giants observe their private meditations early in the morning before beginning their day. The Clergy* In giant religion, two terms are used interchangeably: clerics and monks. One is more socially oriented, and one is a little more removed. Clerics tend to be those who spend more time in their devotions and communions with the Great Spirit and proselytizing their beliefs. Monks tend to practice specific tasks in service to the religion (ie: gardening monks, martial monks, healing monks). Male cleric/monks live at a monastery, and females at an abbey. Some clerics wander from city to city, town to town, and are a chief source of communicating messages and spreading news. All shrines or mountainside temples are tended by clerics. Clergy Hierarchy There is not so much a hierarchy in giant religion, as there is an acknowledgement that each cleric or monk has a different role. The only two status positions are the Jawang or Jampa of each monastery or abbey. The Jawang is the respected, elder male monk in a monastery, and his title means “Gentle Voice.” Jampa is the respected, elder female monk in an abbey, and her title means “Loving Kindness.” The Jawang and Jampa are leaders of their monasteries or abbeys, and lead religious ceremonies (the celestial kind, not the daily kind). The Jawang and Jampa spend much time in contemplation and meditation, and less on public service, since their roles are as spiritual heads of their communities. Many giants believe that the Jawang and Jampa are in their last incarnation. The other classifications of monks and clerics are as follows: Norbu – the Voice of Heaven. There is a male Norbu and a female Norbu. These two are the clerics or monks in the area that have the most pure voices, whose voices are believed to most closely reflect the purity of tone that created the universe. The Norbu often sing for health and peace, as it is assumed that what they sing may come to pass, since all existence is vibration, and sound is vibration. During the holiest of conjunctions, the two Norbu stand upon a promontory and sing praises and devotions to the Great Spirit. Norbu means “jewel.” Choden – the Choden are the most common type of monk or clergy. These are the individuals who give themselves in selfless service to others. Choden means “devoted one.”
	Kalsang – the Kalsang are the clergy who travel from city to city, town to town. These individuals travel, and wander, and sometimes disappear for weeks or months at a time. Tenzin – Tenzin are the teachers. Any monk or cleric who teaches others, be it the healing arts, the martial arts, letters or the stars, is a Tenzin. Ghodup – Ghodup are the monks or clerics who retreat from the world and spend prolonged periods of time in seclusion. The classic example of a Ghodup is the hermit in his mountain cave. These individuals are regarded with great awe, and though they may be a little crazy, they often have great wisdom. Ghodups do not necessarily need to shut themselves away in the middle of nowhere. Some Ghodups live within a monastery or abbey, never speaking, never doing anything but meditation, and rarely, if ever, eating. Ghodups shun social interaction, and their entire being is turned inwards. Duties of the Clergy Clerics and monks serve many functions in the community - teach non-aggressive martial arts - teach body control, chi kung, (ie: regulating body temperature) - teach herbal lore - healing - do meditations and prayer on behalf of and in conjunction with penitents - chanting (can be heard daily, a sign that all is well in giantland) - preside over betrothals and keep betrothal vigils - preside over marriage ceremonies and keep marriage vigils - preside over death ceremonies and keep death vigils - contribute individuals and wisdom to the Elder’s Council - maintain astrological calendar - orchestrate and lead city/town wide celebrations - offer comfort and counsel to needy individuals - bless holy relics, and sanction holy art pieces - offer guidance and direction to the community’s youth Daily Worship The giant community in general performs their worship privately most days of the year. Public worship celebrations are held during celestial and lunar events. Clerics and monks, on the other hand, spend the majority of their day in any, or all of these activities: prayer, meditation, service, and study. Monks and clerics have much freedom for when they perform their personal worship. There are communal meditation services within the monastery or abbey at midnight, 4am, 11am and 5pm. A monk or cleric is required to attend two of these a day, and they last for one hour. During conjunctions, all other activity ceases, and all monks and clerics chant and meditate. Always, at every moment, there are monks and clergy chanting. It is purely voluntary to chant, but everyone living in the monastery and abbey take their turn. There are never fewer than three individuals chanting at any time, and a turn lasts for one hour. The individuals sit upon a terrace in the mountainside, where their voices are enhanced by the angles of the mountains themselves. For giants, this sound is comforting, as it signifies that all is normal and safe and peaceful in their world. The sound can usually be heard throughout the vertical side of the giant cities. Unfortunately, homes and tunnels dug into the mountain are often out of range. Sometimes, during especially poignant moments, dozens of monks and clerics gather to chant, and their voices seem to make the mountains themselves lift up towards the heavens. There are no sacrifices required in giant religion, though all monks and clerics practice some form of self-sacrifice. This comes in the form of fasting, celibacy, enduring pain or hardship such as meditating in the snow barely clad for long periods of time, eating plain, unspiced foods, or drinking only water. Politics All monks or clerics over the age of 90 are eligible to be part of the Elder’s Circle. In this way, they can participate actively in their communities. Monks or clerics are sometimes chosen to be the Respective Elder for their city or town. Jawangs and Jampas refrain from taking this position, should the title be offered to them. They are dedicated to their orders, and must make those responsibilities their priority. Sacred Symbols and Colors The image of the Great Spirit as an androgynous, blue skinned being standing on one leg is sacred, as is most any variation of image of the Great Spirit. The image of alignment, or conjunctions, in reference to the moon or any other objects, is considered a sacred representation. Red is not so much a sacred color, as it is a color used to designate those who have dedicated themselves to the Great Spirit. Music itself, and the scale of the octave, are two of the most sacred concepts in giant theology.