List of Ilaseuasa

The Ilaseuasa, also called the Scion Chruches, are the autocephalous branches of the Kapuhenasa which were developed and established by Alihantapa Roasa'ahuani as a way to administer the many ethnic customs of the various Loa cultures. The scions are predominantly concerned with dispensing local legal judgement and for maintaining and codifying indigenous religious practices. More to come, heading into work

Insular Ilaseuasa

This is all a work in progress, I just vomited this up. I'll rework it. The Insular scion is one of the original four scion churches, and it is considered to be the oldest church, being closer in line to the faith of the original Incarnate. This scion is found in all of the Island Kingdoms, as well as Nisoma, being the predominant religion of the Batana Coast, the Nisoma River System and the Mi'ikuelu River System, and as such much of its mythology and cosmology is derived from these regions. The predominant goddess is Paouala, the creator goddess of the Loa, who is thought to have guided them through the previous end of the world and who originally cultivated Nagala. She is revered as the supreme guide of the Loa people, and the Katu of the Celestial Bodies. There are hundreds of shrines devoted to her in the territory of the scion, and her shrine complex is the most influential. Worship is predominantly done through sacrifices of flowers and fruit on the days of the full moon. In modern day aniconist Takatta Loa, she is associated with the icon of the crescent moon, with its empty space ringed by five stars, representing the animate stars. She is also revered as the Anticipation of the First Incarnate. However, the worship of Ba'ale'e and Ninnuekahaolo, the sea god of the Batana Coast and the goddess of the river Nisoma respectively. Ba'ale'e is worshipped as the lord of the sea, and regular sacrifices on every new moon take place, with the people offering coconut and rice mash and baked fish to aniconic representations of squid. In addition, upon reaching puberty, girls are expected to live in coastal seaward facing shacks for upwards of a year as 'sea brides'. It is thought that this blesses all children that will be born, but it also serves as a way of discerning shamans through secret and esoteric methods. These shamans will be expected to devote themselves to Ba'ale'e and conduct worship as well interpret his will in the shells and debris that washes up from the shore. Ninnuekahaolo is worshipped as the goddess of fertility and prosperity. The relatively few shrines of Nisoma as based entirely in the river as barges. The attendants and priests live as ascetics, surviving entirely off of Nisoma's bounty, and take in orphans to raise as devotees of the goddess. A festival once every other full moon takes place where worshippers pray for a good harvest and for the safety of children. In Classical Takatta Loa, this was also accompanied by conducting an idol into the river to bathe it, this renewing the power of the idol. Nowadays, household shrines are centered around a small plinth or pillar made of river stone with Ninnuekahaolo's name written upon it, which the family carries into the river to bathe.

Masa Ilaseuasa

History

The Masa scion came into being when Roasa'ahuani split the Henasa into four different Ilaseuasa in 1306, with the temple of Menehuala being ordained as the central temple of the scion. At the time of formation however, the Masa scion stretched far to the north, into modern day Cartadania. This was quickly rectified as numerous temples and shrines advocated for separation from the Masa. By 1367, the Masa had shrunk to its relatively modern borders, though with some deviation.

Fifteen Shrines Period

The 15 Wellspring Shrines have most likely existed since time immemorial, though they gained great prominence during the 15th and 16th century. These shrines are based around the major wellsprings that feed three of the great rivers of Takatta Loa and sustain millions. As such, the shrines wielded great influence in the past, with highland kings being expected to submit to the shrines. These shrines thus came to be a significant political power in their own right, establishing clerical states in the territories surrounding the shrines. The shrine states however came under significant pressure from the kingdoms of Batana, Nisoma and Kalia'ai, which were centered around rivers directly fed by the wellsprings and which bordered the shrines. The shrine states had begun constructing levees and dams around the rivers and sending mercenaries to exact tax from the trade barges on the rivers, viewing them as an extension of the wellsprings themselves. This eventually erupted into war as the kingdom of Nisoma besieged the Shrine of Eternal Peace, and the kingdoms of Kalia'ai and Batana also led sieges against their neighboring shrines. This war was ended within a year by the Loa Imperial Domain and by 1541 a peace was signed in the Floating Palace. This peace proved pivotal as it limited the power of the client kingdoms, and notably had very lax punishments for the shrines, prohibiting them from operating outside of their borders while entirely reducing the influence of the client kingdoms outside of central administration, completely stripping them of a military. This war also resulted in the severe weakening of Kalia'ai and Batana, with the latter being in a few decades by the Uelamanpu'ue Clan. For much of the succeeding century and a half, the shrines maintained a stable balance of power over the general populace.

Sacred Order

The Sacred Order of the Golden Flame took significant issue with the 15 Shrines as they viewed them as an overstepping of local practices over central administration and as an extension of Imperial power. The order organized several campaigns designed towards wearing the influence of the shrines, with Sarau'ara himself going to each village around these shrines to lecture them on the importance and preeminence of Nagala over all earthly deities. This elicited a severe reaction from the shrines who enacted an inquisition against the populace, which proved deeply unpopular. This culminated in the Masa Revolt of 1721, in which villagers invaded the shrines and forced the shrine keepers to relinquish all governing power to the commoners, ending almost 400 years of clerical rule. The scion still maintained power in the Kingdom of Batana where the Uelamanpu'ue maintained their rule over a predominantly Insular population. However, this was soon to be challenged during the Burning of the Floating Palace.

Post-Imperial Age

After the collapse of the imperial power in 1856, the Kingdom of Batana could no longer maintain power without outside support, and by 1877 the Uelamanpu'ue were exiled to Sudmoll, Stenza and Sarolasta where they still maintain the Masa faith. Furthermore, in 1879 the leaders of every Masa temple gathered in Menehuala to discuss whether to align with the Sacred Order. The shrines heard of this and decided to raze Menehuala to the ground. This was part of a larger trend in which shrine complexes across the former empire sought to establish their supremacy over the Henasa. However, the neighboring entomarchies, having recently been condoned and supported by the Ninth Incarnate, were accepted at last by the Henasa and intervened in the 15 shrines' attempt at war. This resulted in the utter collapse of any influence to be had by the shrines, and their failed invasion convinced many of the Masa temples to agree to align with the Sacred Order to establish a Loa theocracy over all Vallos and the Kindreds. However, this movement failed in many ways, and in terms of the Masa it failed in that the temples could not agree on any one direction, and often found themselves at odds with each other. This enabled the tribal chieftains to establish their power over the clerical authorities, eventually establishing the Luitaoaka Confederacy and eradicating the influence of the Sacred Order in the Western Highlands, eventually going on on join the other eight victors of the post imperial wars to form the modern day nation of Takatta Loa.