Yonataoran Religions

Discussions about constructed worlds, cultures and any topics related to constructed societies.
User avatar
Shemtov
runic
runic
Posts: 3284
Joined: 29 Apr 2013 04:06

Re: Yonataoran Religions

Post by Shemtov »

On leap day they usually repeat the 8th Ode:
O Theos, I shall praise you,
But I shall praise you,
By speaking of the foolishness of the heaven-worshippers.
How can wind and storms be one [deity]
And the sun and moon others?
Would they not rebel against him?
Would they not be rivals?
Have you ever seen the sun rise in the west?
Or the moon not fulfil its cycle?
Would not this rebelliousness arise, if you were not speaking blasphemy?
Is it not Theos who commands the sun and moon, the wind and storms,
And make them work in concert?
He orders them, makes them have an order.
The sun warms the earth, so is the earth under a different [deity] ala?
It completes its circuit for its master,
And the moon does too.
He made the sun for seasons and years,
And the moon for divisions [months], ara!
Indeed, Theos shall not make them change,
As much as righteousness does not change.
Theos, may I be as a righteous servant to you
As the sun, moon, wind and storms are your righteous servants-
They do your will unerringly, so may I!
Note that the leap years follow a 24-year cycle, with (as in the Julian and Gregorian) the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th being leap years- leap day being an added day to the end of the year. But the 20th year is a regular year, and the 24th year has two leap days.
Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.
-JRR Tolkien
User avatar
Shemtov
runic
runic
Posts: 3284
Joined: 29 Apr 2013 04:06

Re: Yonataoran Religions

Post by Shemtov »

Odes in the context of the Mikhonic canon:
In the Book of Laws, Mikhon is instructed to have five books "of him" written: Laws, which is how the kingdom should be run morally and ritually, Apokolifis, visions of heaven and the future, and Wisdom, a collection of sayings that would help the Laws be applied, these three being said to be given to him word for word by an angel on the First Neos Stefanos. He was also to be given a gift of "odes, hymns and prayer", which his heir, given inspirational guide, should collect 365 of them to canonize (Odes), and that his heir, under the same guide should write a Hagiography of (Life of Mikhon).

This was actually a collection by a later King from four strands of Yonataoran Monotheism: Moralists (The M-Source), who believed that the only thing needed to be justified by Theos was a private moral code, Ritualists (R-Source), who believed a class of priests should preside over rituals, The Kingly Faction (K-source), who said that a king was needed for the individual's guidance in the moral code, and the only rituals needed were to be done by the King, and Kingly Ritualists (KR source),who were a fusion of the Ritualists and the Kingly Faction, saying the King was high priest.

Laws was mostly compiled from R and KR, with some notable passages being M and K in nature. Apokolifis was mostly KR, with some K passages. Wisdom was mostly M, with K and KR strands being used as a framing device, and for some passages, with a few possible R portions. Life of Mikhon was pure KR, except a few legends from K were added. Odes was a mix of M (such as Ode 8) KR (Ode 1) and K (90, with some KR edits), with maybe five from the R source.
Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.
-JRR Tolkien
User avatar
Shemtov
runic
runic
Posts: 3284
Joined: 29 Apr 2013 04:06

Re: Yonataoran Religions

Post by Shemtov »

The Mikhonic Calendar:
The Calendar was a solar one, consisting of 365 days, beginning around the Fall Equinox. It was divided into 12 months, of the following length in days:
30
31
30
31
30
30
30
31
30
31
30
30 (31 in Leap Years)

The New Year had to be around the Fall Equinox, but was allowed to fall on the two days before or after. To prevent the New Year from slipping out of this five-day window, the King, Leading Priests, and a group of Astronomers would convene on the 11th day of the year after a Leap Year to determine if they needed to skip the next Leap Year, sometimes two leap years were skipped to allow a reset back to the Equinox itself. In this way, despite following a Julian arrangement, one can say that if the culture was real and continued until the Present, that the calendar would correspond to a Gregorian date, plus or minus a day or two.

There were Five "High Public Feasts", in which the people had to assemble in the local temple, one for each season, plus New Years. Fall having two was analyzed as neither New Years nor Telotheros having any specific historic connection to Mikhonism proper. There was also various "Priest Feasts", the most important being Katharemar, on the tenth day of the year.

The Five High Public Feasts were, with their approximate modern dates:
Lukabos/New Year: 9/25: Believed to be the day the World was created. The people would have lukewarm (cooled from boiling) water in earthenware jars sprinkled at them, while horns were blown. This symbolized the four elements, water warmed by fire, in earth, while air was blown.

Telotheros/Harvest-Binding: 10/24: End of the agricultural season. Farmers could not eat or sell crops from the previous year's harvest after this date, unless they gave a priest a meals-worth from each crop. The assembly was to allow this "Priest-due" to be given.

Kheimapauses/Winter-Rest: 12/29: The day Mikhon learned of Monotheism. The poor would come to the temple, as all who could afford to give alms would give them there. Also, that night, lamps would be lit throughout each town, and the local temple would sponsor a public meal for the poor, though whoever gave food to help the public meal could participate, as could the priests.

Neos Stefanos/New Crown: 3/31: The day Mikhon was said to have received the Mikhonic Covenant. All the people were to assemble to their local Temple and offer two birds as an acceptance offering for each adult male, and the town was to offer between themselves enough Feast Offering to feed everyone. After the Feast Offering had been cooked, everyone would gather at a dining hall. At this point, the Chief Priest of the Temple would read the story of how Mikhon received the initial books of the Hagioghafos and how the Mikhonic covenant was made from "The Life of Mikhon", up to the point were it records that "Mikhon told all the assembled all the Laws of Adon Theos", at which point, the Chief Priest would read the entire Book of Laws, excluding the part about Katheremar, which was seen as an appendix to the Book. When he was done, he would read the rest of the above-mentioned story in "The Life of Mikhon". When he was done, the people would begin the feast.

Limenemar/Harbor-day: 7/2: The day the Colony was said to be established, the story of which included Mikhon falling overboard, miraculously floating until he could wade in the sea at which point he threw sand from the seafloor at the land, which landed on the shore, at which he screamed "Let the people on shore where it landed". In commemoration, the Chief Priest of a Local Temple or the King himself at the Central Temple would lead a procession to the nearest body of water (or a bath filled with dirt and water), walk in, take dirt or sand, and throw it at the shore while shouting "Let us on shore". When his exclamation was finished, five priests would blow trumpets.
Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.
-JRR Tolkien
Post Reply