List of Ilaseuasa: Difference between revisions

'''''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 Loa Republic, 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 Loa Republic, 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.'''''

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 Loa Republic 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.

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 Loa Republic.

The Masa scion predominantly venerates the saints of the 15 Wellsprings as well as Poaikano, the hunter god of the West Highlands as the indigenous deities of highlands. Among the Incarnates, the fourth is the most widely revered, taking the central spot in all Masa temples, often joined by the legal scholars Higanmaua and Juotoalangan. The Masa are notable in that among the four original Ilaseuasa, they have no Queen of Heaven and are the only scion in Loa Republic to not venerate an Anticipation of the First Incarnate. Furthermore, the unique highland perspective had influenced many aspects of religious festivals and customs.

In addition, the Masa Church venerates the 15 Wellsprings, the headwaters of three of Loa Republic's five great rivers. These springs are associated with a specific Saint who was said to do miraculous works as a result of cultivating great mana. The Masa views itself as the predominant guardian and purifier of these wellsprings and the cultivators of the great Loa civilization. As such, these headwaters are regularly purified one every fifteen lunar cycles, with one wellspring being purified a month. These festivals are highly attended and publicized, with thousands gathering around the shrine grounds to pray for the ritual's success. This ritual consists typically of praying to the saint associated with the spring and offering sacrifice to them, though this can vary based on the wellspring. In addition, the Wellspring Shrines collect prayers to the saints and then burn them on ritually prepared prayer slips so that they can be conveyed to the saint.

The scholar Aladuinara lived during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was instrumental in shaping modern day Luitaoaka. Called "the great apologist of secular rule" by contemporary scholars, clergy and the Sacred Order, Aladuinara held great sympathy for the chieftains. Having served as a soldier in the imperial military and as a monk in the halls of the High Fane, he had seen the immeasurable corruption of these institutions. However unlike the Sacred Order, who thought secular rule tainted the institutions and that a pure theocracy was the righteous solution, Aladuinara thought that secular rule was stained by theocracy. He derived this belief from the fact that the Imperial Clan was descended from the Second Incarnate and utilized that to justify their rule and to garner the support of the High Fane. As such, much of his life was devoted to fomenting division in the Masa Scion, and emboldened the chieftains to establish the Luitaoaka Confederacy through his many rulings that diminished scion control. He maintained a great deal of contact with the queens of Nisoma and Isahotainao, the Regent of Kusama and the Totowa Confederacy, and is often credited as the 10th founder of modern day Loa Republic.