Revision as of 12:06, 17 June 2023

Cziela [tʂɻɪˈelɐ] (also Siela, Sziela, Chziela, Chiela, Ciela, Kachívism etc.) is the name given to the religion practiced by the Meó. It is largely derived from various indigenous beliefs of elemental worship, animism, and belief in a pantheon of gods and goddesses (many of which are based off of the planets within the Yakei system), underneath the Supreme Cosmic Being/God of the Cosmic Aether Kachívi, which has no corporeal form, but is treated as The One God above all. The religion is highly syncretic and diverse, blending traditions of the Htaevic's religious practices with the Hsuqliht's Herlucc religion and philosophies, both of which have had and continue to have a major presence within the religion and culture of the Meó. Due to its diverse and syncretic nature, exact numbers are hard to obtain, but it is generally accepted that among ethnic Meó, an overwhelming majority adheres to the religion.

Five Constituents (Achyau)

A core belief of the religion is that everything in the universe is composed of one of five states of matter or "constituents", these five states do not map easily. Each of these elements has a 'representative' that are each considered sacred within the religion.

Categories	A Mako	A Khya	A Khe	A Miru	A Yahkoi
Representative	Mako	The Wheel	Haki	Miru River	Yakei
Form of life or Existence	Terrestrial	Artificial, life that requires external manipulation.	Aerial	Aquatic	Sapient life
Realm	Natural Grounds	Unnatural Grounds, such as cursed or infertile lands, or manmade lands.	Sky	Water	Stars
Element	Solid matter that is alive, such as plants or flesh.	Solid matter that is inanimate or sterile.	Air	Water	Fire

A Yahkoi

Fire, lightning, sapience. Fire is considered sapient in the religion, due to its ability to spread. Traditionally, lightning is considered a form of fire ("cold fire").
Yakei is considered sapient due to being able to move across the sky.

The Construction of the Universe from the Achyau

Before everything was created there was nothing but God*. God had, and continues to have no form, but is present in everything in the universe and continues to dictate the direction of consciousness of the universe.

Not strictly a God, also 'fate' or 'life force' etc. Has no personification. Permeates Everything.

A Khya - the universe was first made, it was made of a sterile mass that had no discernible state of matter, unspecified as to what it was.

A Yahkoi - God gifted some of the A Khya with fire/sapience (A Yahkoi). With this, the A Yahkoi were able to move and moved away from each other. They also let off smoke

A Khe - This smoke then filled the universe, and accumulated especially in places near the remaining A Khya. God took a liking to one system in particular, and blew much of the smoke away from the Yakei system, except for the space between Haki and Pavala. This thus left the smoke between just Haki and Pavala, and they shared the remaining smoke/winds, and is why Haki is the symbol of A Khe in the religion <<for practices on Haki, Pavala instead fulfills this role).

Miru - The smoke then rained for a thousand years, making the oceans and rivers and lakes. It is associated with the Miru river as this is the main source of water for the Meó and is their sacred river.

Mako - God then put plants & animals on the land and fish in the seas & rivers. These were formed from when water rushed over some A Khya and broke down into rocks and then the water seeped into it and soaked it and made the A Khya fertile and this is why all living things need water.

Creation of the Meó people

The Miru river (A Miru) eroded some clay (a form of A Khya) and washed it ashore. This clay was beaten with winds (A Hke) from Haki and formed a creature (A Mako). This creature gained sapience after Yakei gifted it fire (A Yahkoi) and the fire became part of the creature. This was the first Meó.

Hierarchy

KACHÍVI (borrows a lot from Herlucc concepts of Kanea in modern Cziela)

KYA AHKO KHE MIRU MAKO (Elements or States)

[DEITIES BASED OFF THE PLANETS/STARS] (Deities that are present all over Meó)

[DEITIES BASED OFF OF NATURAL FEATURES - OFTEN VERY LOCALISED] (Only in certain locations, strong regional/locational associations)

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 == Five Constituents (Achyau) ==
-A core belief of the Chziela religion is that everything in the universe is composed of one of five states of matter or "constituents", those five states being Wood, Metal, Air, Water, and Fire. Each of these elements has a 'representative' that are each considered sacred within the religion.
+A core belief of the religion is that everything in the universe is composed of one of five states of matter or "constituents", these five states do not map easily. Each of these elements has a 'representative' that are each considered sacred within the religion.
 {| class="wikitable"
 |-
 !Categories
-!Amako
+!A Mako
-!Akya
+!A Khya
-!Akhe
+!A Khe
-!Amiru
+!A Miru
-!Áhko
+!A Yahkoi
 |-
 !Representative
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 |Haki
 |[[Miru River]]
-|[[Ahko Tree]], or Yakei
+|Yakei
 |-
 !Form of life or Existence
 |Terrestrial
-|Manmade Animate Things
+|Artificial, life that requires external manipulation.
 |Aerial
 |Aquatic
-|Sapient, Fire itself
+|Sapient life
 |-
 !Realm
 |Natural Grounds
-|Manmade Grounds, cursed or infertile lands
+|Unnatural Grounds, such as cursed or infertile lands, or manmade lands.
 |Sky
-|Aquatic environments
+|Water
 |Stars
 |-
 !Element
-|Wood
+|Solid matter that is alive, such as plants or flesh.
-|Metal
+|Solid matter that is inanimate or sterile.
 |Air
 |Water
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 |}
-(Note that Áhko's element is not wood as the Ahko Tree is not in fact a true tree, and is much more like a grass, and does not produce wood, it is fire as the tree is highly flammable and can explode on occasion.)
-Fire also includes lightning, electricity, magic, and magnets.
-Wood and metal are misnomers - wood describes any type of solid from which life can flourish, and metal is sterile earth/rocks/metal. They are both of earth, with the main distinction being that wood is fertile but not sterile, and metal is sterile and infertile. However, metal is 'fluid' and additionally can occupy other physical states (generally all except air), notably Void.
+* A Yahkoi
+ Fire, lightning, sapience. Fire is considered sapient in the religion, due to its ability to spread. Traditionally, lightning is considered a form of fire ("cold fire").
+ Yakei is considered sapient due to being able to move across the sky.
-Metal requires external manipulation to have life (movement of the wheel is 'life'), which is why its realm is manmade animate things.
+=== The Construction of the Universe from the Achyau ===
-Cziela beliefs stipulate that everything has a balance of all five constituents within them, even if one is only present at an infinitely small concentration.
+Before everything was created there was nothing but God*. God had, and continues to have no form, but is present in everything in the universe and continues to dictate the direction of consciousness of the universe.
-=== The Construction of the Universe from the Achyau ===
+*Not strictly a God, also 'fate' or 'life force' etc. Has no personification. Permeates Everything.
-Before everything else was the Supreme Cosmic Being Kachívi, something that is described as being everywhere and 'everywhen' (it is somewhat comparable, and multiple disciplines within the religion take inspiration from, the Hsuqliht concept of Kanea). Unlike Kanea, which is neutral and in equilibrium, Kachívi is generally accepted as having a directed conscious, ultimately aiming to strive for goodness in the universe. Certain events may deter this.
+A Khya - the universe was first made, it was made of a sterile mass that had no discernible state of matter, unspecified as to what it was.
-Kya - the universe was first made, it was made of a sterile mass that had no discernible state of matter, unspecified as to what it was. Then, Kachívi made most of the Kya into lumps, these lumps were the sterile metals and rocks - as most of the Kya was turned into metal this is why it is associated with metal, but a small amount was left behind to be turned into everything else.
+A Yahkoi - God gifted some of the A Khya with fire/sapience (A Yahkoi). With this, the A Yahkoi were able to move and moved away from each other. They also let off smoke
-Ahko - then came the stars, as Kachívi seared fire into the lumps of Kya, these burned bright and let off smoke.
+A Khe - This smoke then filled the universe, and accumulated especially in places near the remaining A Khya. God took a liking to one system in particular, and blew much of the smoke away from the Yakei system, except for the space between Haki and Pavala. This thus left the smoke between just Haki and Pavala, and they shared the remaining smoke/winds, and is why Haki is the symbol of A Khe in the religion <<for practices on Haki, Pavala instead fulfills this role).
-Khe - This smoke then filled the universe, and accumulated especially in places near the Kya and between two close Kya (like Haki and Pavala). Then Kachívi blew a lot of it away from the Yakei system (forming the <nebula that can be seen in sky potentially>). This thus left the smoke between just Haki and Pavala, and this is why Haki is associated with the Khe, and the winds on Pavala are believed to originate from Haki (which is why storms can be seen on Haki), and that the atmospheres of Haki and Pavala are one and the same, like a tunnel.
+Miru - The smoke then rained for a thousand years, making the oceans and rivers and lakes. It is associated with the Miru river as this is the main source of water for the Meó and is their sacred river.
-Miru - The smoke then rained for a thousand years, making the oceans and rivers and lakes. It is associated with the Miru river as this is the main source of water for the Meó and their sacred river.
+Mako - God then put plants & animals on the land and fish in the seas & rivers. These were formed from when water rushed over some A Khya and broke down into rocks and then the water seeped into it and soaked it and made the A Khya fertile and this is why all living things need water.
-Mako - Kachívi then put plants & animals on the land and fish in the seas & rivers. These were formed from when water rushed over some Kya and broke down into rocks and then the water seeped into it and soaked it and made the Kya fertile and this is why all living things need water.
+=== Creation of the Meó people ===
+The Miru river (A Miru) eroded some clay (a form of A Khya) and washed it ashore. This clay was beaten with winds (A Hke) from Haki and formed a creature (A Mako). This creature gained sapience after Yakei gifted it fire (A Yahkoi) and the fire became part of the creature. This was the first Meó.
 = Hierarchy =