Piir (religion)

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Piir is the common name for the beliefs of Gfiewish people and later, Lufasans, derived from the acronym PIIR (Pre-iovist indigenous religion). While it was gradually replaced by various forms of Iovism almost everywhere in Gfiewistan following their introduction by Sigfret the Pious who used the religion brought in from Nevira in the 16th century to set himself up as the new divinely sanctioned ruler of all Gfiewish lands, Piir remains the most widely practiced religion in Lufasa and the Gfiewish communities of Saant.

Central concepts

Piir is founded on three central concepts. Fundamentally, they are three forms of respect. The first two take the form of ancestor reverence and familiar piety, which unlike filial piety is something expected equally of parents and children. These are seen as necessary in order to grow the 'ancestor tree', either a metaphorical tree or a literal tree with religious importance, containing or representing the collective values, achievements, and the material wealth of a family. In line with that, traditions are seen as living and sometimes evolving things that need to be nurtured.

The third form of respect is rooted in the panentheistic worldview, where life as a single entity places humans on the level of animals and other living and non-living parts of the world, rather than superior to them. Accordingly, respect is to be granted to all parts of life and nature, and aspiring to "be one with nature", find a harmonious relationship with one's environment is therefore fundamental.

Rituals

Generally, rituals supporting and strengthening the values underlying those concepts are seen as more important than any stated or actual belief in the concepts themselves, as the outcome for the family, wider community and the world is the same. Belief with no action is deemed worse than no belief and no action at all, as a kind of cakeism. Generally, there is a lot of leeway as to what is considered a "proper" ritual, the important part is that it could be demonstrated to support the central concepts.

Individual or collective "forest trips" are some of the most important rituals. They began with meetings at sacred places (not necessarily forests) to honor memories, prayer (appeal for divine or supernatural help), and were followed by a walk in or to a forest. During these, but particularly during midsummer, a traditional beverage made from blackberries is drunk. It is frequently alcoholic, but is also available as non-alcoholic beverage. Furthermore, during some events, other meetings or prayers, certain mushrooms may be used to induce a trance to help connect oneself with one's surrounding better and gain a different point of view. In the present day, forest walks have also become popular as mundane free time activity devoid of religious context.

Burials ideally take place in the open, in bogs or alternatively in similar wetlands, e.g. marshland. These are traditionally seen as a middle ground between solid ground and water, and hence a meeting point of natural forces, one where all elements, the results of the powers of animals (including humans), plants, mushrooms and the sky are all in one place. According to oral tradition, this makes them the place where a person can become one with all of nature after death. Burial ceremonies always involve an elaborate procession with chanting, overseen by a priest.

These bog burials are still widely performed in many parts of Ghaklmbu, especially the historically and even in the modern day particularly isolated southeast, as well as in the northernmost part of Twilm and parts of the countryside of Kauslat and Tanla, usually now dedicated to the Iovist deities instead.

Cosmology and mythology

While beliefs are generally de-emphasized in comparison to rites, there are nonetheless many myths that support or stem from the central concepts and the worldview based around those. Underlying it all is the cosmology of all life and space being encompassed in a creator deity, explaining the unity of all beings in the world and life having a shared drive to thrive and survive. Nonetheless, this is rarely mentioned explicitly outside of creation myths, the fundamentals usually just being assumed, as the focus of any other traditional stories is instead more human-scaled, centered on particular parts of the world or life. Most common are myths meant to teach good moral behavior, such as Bog brother is watching you which is about the importance of caring for one's family and community, but myths can also give traditional explanations for otherwise deemed unexplainable mysteries of life, such as the workings of weather, other natural phenomena or the origin of e.g. prehistoric arrowheads found in the ground, which are described as originating from thunderstorms.

Both types of myths feature various mythological beings, such as the Gfiewgjknsior Beast, a mythical frog that is the national animal of Gfiewistan, symbolizing perseverance and stamina in cold and inhospitable lands. The frog is also said to have a secret, more threatening alternate form that explains its name, however there is no agreement on what this form looks like. The Gfiewgjknsior Beast is an example of a mythologized version of a natural being. Apple trees, frequently personified as generous people aiding those who work hard, are another example. Alongside mythologized natural forces, such as rivers, hills and stones as well as the sun, its light and clouds being seen as living spirits, they form the majority of mythical creatures that appear in Gfiewish mythology, although some also include beings with no clear natural equivalent, such as trolls, and abstract concepts such as life and tradition are depicted as "living" and having agency and needing nurture of their own.

Everything that is seen in some form as "living" can influence everything else, alive and inanimate, material and abstract in some way. Weather, for example, is the result of light and clouds, but also other spirits, humans, animals, plants etc. acting and interacting with each other, and thus forms the purest form of the elements that cause measurable characteristics (rain, heat, coldness, wind). This means that elements are not the building blocks of the world, but rather the result of the work of animate forces.

When humans or other living beings seem not to be responsible for something, or not entirely, the common assumption in Piir is that spirits, were responsible for it or the rest, spirits being chaotic, wild and mostly imperceptible creatures that follow their own whims but can be reached via mushroom trance and then sometimes be influenced with magical spells.

See also