Waejiran Festival of the Moons

Savannah Moons 2
Savannah Moons – © June Shepherd, 2017

As there are two moons in the sky of Entorais, they feature prominently in the folklore and the religions of the peoples.

The Red Moon

The red moon has a lunar month of 37 days. only a few calandars are based on its cycles, usually composed of an eleven month (407 day) year, which doesn’t match to the seasons.

Named Kodah, and associated with the goddess aspect Ryla in the Twin Goddess Religion. Mass is celebrated on the new moon (first of the month) and full moon (18th of the month). Every 3 months, the celebration on the new moon is considered a high mass (every 111 days).

Named after and associated with the mythological being Rae (one of Balfagor’s Stei) in Waejir. Rae is believed to deliver nightmares to sleepers, his power being strongest when Rae is full, and dreams had during these nights are deemed most prophetic.

The Silver Moon

The silver moon has a 30 day lunar month and most calandars are based on its twelve month (360 day) year which matches the seasons. This moon rotates once on it’s axis every ten days, which gives rise to the ten-day (week) timespan common throughout Entorais.

Named Say-noh and associated with the goddess aspect Peolu in the Twin Goddess Religion. A mass is celebrated on the new moon (first of the month) and full moon (15th of the month).

Named after and associated with the mythological being Nae (One of Balfagor’s Stei) in Waejir. Nae is believed to deliver pleasant dreams to sleepers. Her power being strongest when Nae is full, and dreams had during these nights are deemed most prophetic.

Festival of the Moons [Festival of Stei, Balfagor’s Night]

In Waejir, the nights when both Rae and Nae are full are considered unique times when the veil between the lands of the living, and the lands of the unclaimed dead are thinnest. Allowing ghosts of persons not given a proper funeral to visit people in the their dreams, or even possibly waking moments. During the three nights closest matching a double full moon festival, Waejirans will traipse about in elaborate masks depicting either Rae or Nae, sometimes a dual mask, or even full costumes are worn. A true conjuction of the full moons only occurs every 9 & 1/4 years (3330 days), and is cause for greater celebrations.

Devotees of Neithur, the Waejiran god of the dead, take these times to perform ceremonies intended to guide these wayward souls to the afterlife. It is considered a sacred duty to help all souls find redemption through Neithur and eventual rebirth through Silat. Their sombre bronze death masks and ashen robes provide a stark contrast finery of the other celebrants. Lesser Temple members may often dress ghosts, skeletons, and corpses following the preist about to encourage lost souls to join the parade and find salvation.

Sources of Inspiration

* Día de Muertos

* Samhain

* Carnevale di Venezia

* Walking the Dead


/u/Nevermore0714 Asks:

Q1: What if someone has not been given a proper funeral, will they only be able to partially have an influence on the world?

A1: This is a matter of debate amongst arcanists. Some believe that the manner of death, or the lack of resolved life issues can cause such a spirit to linger, and possibly impact the world more readily when circumstances mirror the time, or conditions of their death.

Q2: Is there any significance to the choice between ghost, skeleton, and corpse for how a Lesser Temple Member dresses?

A2: They are the three basic forms of undead believed to be lost in the world. And presumeably the three forms the dead can take; a person’s corpse, or bones, or ghostly spirit may be all that remains of their original body. So all three are depicted, to be inclusive, it wouldn’t do to round up the bones, and leave the fresher corpses to decay for longer.

Q3: Could I take out someone’s bones, leave the rest of their corpse somewhere else, and then have all three come from one person? A Ghost-Sally, a Skele-Sally, and a Corpse-Sally?

A3: Probably only Ghost-Sally would sally forth, as there is only one soul to gather. Actual walking corpses, or animated skeletons in this case are symbolic of the body states, but no one expects a real corpse to join the parade; at least that’s what they admit in public.

Q4: For the ghosts of those who have been properly buried, how do they interact with their families? How “earthly” are they during this time?

A4: Waejirans do not bury their dead, as they believe that leads to them being trapped in the material world. Those who have passed on are given a proper funeral pyre, so their spirit may make the journey back to Silat. As to the power of the properly mourned to interact with the living, they have moved on and have no concern for or with the living; it is only the dead who are stuck at some point on that journey that can interact.

Q5: What all could Ghost-Sally do?

A5: Well, assuming Ghost Sally is not too upset with you for the horrible manner in which you killed her, and defiled her remains, she might just move on. Assuming those who cared about her perform the appropriate funery rites in absentia she should pass from this realm into the next.

Now, if she wasn’t properly grieved, and/or bears a grudge towards her killer, there is no real way of knowing what she might do. Waejirans do believe that the restless dead can possess the living, or affect them in ways which bring about self-harm directly or indirectly.

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