Oroic, also known as Ən Parlaq Yol or simply Yol, is a human diasporic religion that was developed in Marcwith following the First Voyage. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Bibohn religion of Drepa and various folk-religious practices in Marcwith, especially in the north. There is no central authority in control of the movement. Oroic is polytheistic. Various myths are told about spirits, which are regarded as subservient to an unnamed transcendent creator deity associated with the Bibohnic concept kuwa. Each individual is believed to have a specific spirit who has been connected to them since before birth and who informs their personality. Oroic developed among human-uembian communities amid Marcwith’s slave trade.
Beliefs
Practices
Houses of worship
History
Demographics
Beliefs
Oroic is a polytheistic religion. Its deities are referred to as spirits. The term spirit can be both singular and plural because the ritual language of Oroic lacks plural markers for nouns. Practitioners believe that some spirit were created before humanity, but that others were originally humans who became spirit through some remarkable quality. Some practitioners perceive the spirit as facets of kuwa, and thus think that by venerating them they are ultimately worshipping the creator god. The spirit are not regarded as being wholly benevolent, being capable of both harming and helping humans, and having a mix of emotions, virtues, and vices like humans. The focus of the religion is on creating a reciprocal relationship with them.
Each spirit is understood to "rule over" a particular aspect of the universe and have been described as personifications of different facets of the natural world. They are perceived as living in a realm separate from humanity. Spirit are identified as each having different manifestations. The number of avatars spirit has can vary, with some regarded as having several hundred. Practitioners believe that spirit can physically inhabit certain objects, among them stones and cowrie shells, which are treated as sacred.
Practitioners argue that each person is "born to" a particular spirit, whether or not they decide to devote themselves to that deity. This is a connection that, adherents believe, has been set before birth. If the spirit is male then it is described as the individual's "father", while if the spirit is female then it is understood as the person's "mother". This spirit is deemed to influence the personality of the individual, and thus by examining a person's personality traits their associated spirit could be recognized. Practitioners also believe that an individual's particular spirit can be discerned through divination.
Practitioners of Oroic believe that the spirit can communicate with humans through divination, prayers, dreams, music, and dance. Many practitioners also describe how they "read" messages from the spirit in everyday interactions and events. For instance, a practitioner who meets a child at a traffic intersection may interpret this as a message from Eleguá, who is often depicted as a child and who is perceived as the "guardian" of the crossroads. At that point, the practitioner may turn to divination to determine the precise meaning of the encounter.
Ancestor veneration plays an important role in Oroic. The religion entails propitiating the spirits of the dead. Practitioners believe that the dead can influence the living and must be treated with respect, awe, and kindness; they are consulted at all ceremonies. Although the dead are not perceived as being as powerful as the spirit, they are still regarded as having the ability to assist the living, with whom they can communicate through dreams, intuition, and spirit possession. Oroic teaches that through practice, a person can learn to both see and communicate with the dead. Practitioners will often leave offerings out to the spirits of the dead to placate and please them, often in the form of seven glasses of water. In Oroic, the egun are often represented by a cane carved with anthropomorphic faces.
The religion maintains that all people have multiple spirits of the dead that accompany them at all times, and that these can be either benevolent, malevolent, or a mix of both. Practitioners also believe that the number and identities of these spirits can be determined through divination. It draws a distinction between evolved spirits, who can help those they are attached to, and unevolved spirits, who lack the wisdom and skill to be useful and are instead cause havoc. Oroic teaches that through offerings and prayers, individuals can help some of their unevolved spirits to become evolved. Some practitioners believe that unevolved spirits lurk in the air and can be distilled by the rain, through which they can attach themselves to individuals who have been rained on. Oroic also divides the spirits into categories which each show different traits, reflecting stereotypes about different social groups in Marcwith society, with such spirits often portrayed as being human, uembian, Deerless, bava, or Hwoxin. The uembian spirits for instance are believed to have the power to warn of impending troubles and diagnose illnesses while the human are perceived as strong-willed, powerful, and adept at guiding people through hostile circumstances.
The concept of xhuma is a major cosmological concept in Bibohn traditional religion and has been transferred to Oroic. Practitioners believe that xhuma permeates all aspects of life, but that the creator divinity is the ultimate embodiment of it. Oroic teaches that all beings possess xhuma but that initiates gain more of it. It holds that xhuma can emanate from the human body via speech, song, dance, and drumming, and can be transmitted through such acts as singing praise songs for the spirit or sacrificing an animal. It is seen as having the power to fortify a person's health.
Oroic has standards for behavior and moral edicts that practitioners are expected to live by, with the religion presenting strict rules regarding how to interact with other people and with the supernatural. Mythological stories about the spirit contribute to the moral and social consciousness of practitioners. Respect for elders and superiors is given great emphasis. A general attitude in Oroic is that if an individual maintains good character, the spirit will aid them. It does not polarize good and evil, with all things being perceived as being complementary and relative.
Practitioners often believe that individuals have a specific destiny, usually referred to as destiny or road. This is considered to be preordained but forgotten at birth; it is not often, however, seen as an absolute predetermination. Many of the ritual practices found in Oroic focus on determining the nature of one's destiny.
Practices
Oroic is an initiatory religion, one which is organized around a structured hierarchy. An ethos of secrecy pervades many of its practices, with initiates often refusing to discuss certain topics with non-initiates. For this reason, Oroic could be described as a secret society.
In Oroic, offerings to the spirit can consist of fruit, flowers, candles, or slaughtered animals. Initiates are expected to make a sacrifice on a regular basis, at least once a year. Sometimes, divination is used to determine when a sacrifice should take place. The sacrifice is an offering to the deity; blood is regarded as the food of the spirit.
Birds are commonly used for the ritual, including guinea fowl, chickens, and doves. Methods of killing include having their throats slit or their heads twisted. For rituals of greater importance, sacrifices are often of four-legged animals. Once killed, the animal's severed heads may be placed on top of the vessels containing objects associated with the spirit to which the sacrifice has been directed. After the animal's carcass has been butchered, some of the organs may be cooked and then offered to the spirit. Some practitioners have explained that animal sacrifice is used as an acceptable substitute to human sacrifice. When a sacrifice is made, some of the blood may be added to an infusion of herbs and water that is regarded as the most powerful liquid in Oroic. Regarded as containing much xhuma, this liquid is used for removing malevolent influences, in ceremonies for baptizing ritual tools, and for washing the hands before carrying out a sacrifice.
Oroic's animal sacrifice has been a cause of concern for many non-practitioners and has brought adherents into confrontation with the law. In Northern Marcwith various temples were raided by police, leading to groups being more secretive about when their rituals were scheduled. The issue of animal sacrifice in Oroic was taken to the Supreme Court, although the court ruled that animal cruelty laws targeted specifically at Oroic were unconstitutional.
The process of initiation takes place over seven days, with an additional two days of preparatory rituals. A charge is usually levied for initiation; this varies depending on the status of the practitioner and the wealth of the client but is often the equivalent of a year's wage, or more. Oroic initiation ceremonies derive from those in Bibohn traditional religion but is almost always carried out for adults, whereas among the Bibohn, initiation can also involve children. Each initiation varies in its details, although practitioners often try to ensure a veil of secrecy around the process, ensuring that the precise details are not discovered by non-initiates.
The new initiate is given beaded necklaces. Each of these necklaces is given a different color associated with a specific deity. They are also given their own sacred stones. At some point during the week, and usually on the third day, the initiate will undergo a session with a diviner in which the latter will inform them about their strengths, weaknesses, and taboos that they should observe. At this point, the initiate's ritual name will be revealed by the diviner; this is a praise name of the spirit which rules their head. It will often incorporate elements which indicate the initiate's tutelary spirit.
The new initiate can finally take their tureen containing their otanes back to their home. They may then undergo a year-long period during which they are expected to observe various restrictions. The nature of these restrictions depends on the initiate's tutelary spirit. These actions help to display the initiate's commitment to the religion and demarcate them from non-initiates. At the end of the year, the initiate conducts a ceremony known as ebó del año. It is only once this is done that they are allowed to lead many rituals and to be involved in the initiation of new converts.
The main public ritual performance in Oroic is a drumming. At these ceremonies, praise songs for the spirit are sung. Each spirit is associated with their own specific songs and dances. The goal of the rhythms and songs is to summon the spirit to earth; it is the collective energy built up by the group that is believed to be necessary in achieving this. In turn, the spirit are believed capable of soothing the grieving, healing the sick, blessing the deserving, and rebuking those who have behaved badly.
Ceremonies are rarely documented with photographs or through audio or visual recording because the religion's practitioners often regard such recordings as being offensive or sacrilegious. However, dances are often performed for entertainment purposes outside of the ritual environment. These may be performed much the same as those performed at Oroic rituals, although will not be conducted with the intent of calling down the spirit.
Healing is an important practice in Oroic. Clients meet with adherents to receive healing treatments, with those dispensing healing practices sometimes being termed Tesha. These practitioners typically use divination to determine the cause of an ailment before prescribing treatment.
Oroic teaches that supernatural factors cause or exacerbate human ailments. It is believed that spirit may make someone sick, either as punishment for transgression or to encourage them to make a change in their life, often to become an initiate. The spirit must then be propitiated to stop, sometimes with the sick individual receiving initiation. Oroic also holds that a spirit of the dead may attach itself to an individual and cause them harm. Adherents also often believe that humans can harm one another through supernatural means, either involuntarily or deliberately.
Herbalism is a major component of Oroic healing practices, with plants having an important role in the religion. Practitioners believe that each species of plant has its own xhuma and that it is this which holds healing power. Practitioners often believe that medicinal plants are more powerful if harvested from the wild rather than being cultivated, for the latter can lack xhuma. They often also believe that different types of plant have different temperaments and personalities; some are shy or easily frightened and thus need to be approached with the appropriate etiquette. Aside from the use of herbs, Oroic traditional healing rituals include animal sacrifice, offerings, altar building, music, dance, and possession trance. Practitioners also believe that certain spirit should be turned to assist the healing of specific ailments.
Divination is a central aspect of Oroic ritual, taking place before all major rites and being utilized by devotees at critical moments of their life. Three main divinatory techniques are employed in the religion: Obi, dilogún, and Tesh. Highly skilled diviners are known as Tesha. Clients will approach these diviners for a divinatory session, referred to as a consultation, usually to ask for advice about their health, family problems, or legal issues. During the session, an image of the overseeing spirit is often brought out and offerings of food placed before it. The diviner will then cast small objects onto a board or table and draw interpretations based on the way in which they fall. The diviner asks the client various questions and then seeks to answer them by making multiple throws. The diviner will ultimately determine which spirit will assist the client in dealing with their problems and outline what sacrifices will be appropriate to secure the aid of said spirit.
Obi involves the casting of four pieces of a dried coconut shell, with the manner in which they fall being used to fathom an answer to a particular question. Any practitioner can utilize this divinatory technique, which is also employed by adherents of Palo Monte. Dilogún entails the casting of cowrie shells and is considered more complex. Dilogún typically entails the use of a set of cowrie shells, filed flat on their round side; these are fed with both omiero and blood. Like Obi, dilogún is generally seen as being open to all practitioners of Oroic, although some groups hold that only postmenopausal women should hold the role of italeras, a diviner who uses the shells.
Oroic involves the use of the Tesh divination system, which is often understood as the most complex and prestigious form of divination used in the religion. The two are closely linked, although Tesh also has a separate existence from Oroic. High priests of Tesh are not essential to Oroic ceremonies, however, they often attend in their capacity as diviners.
Oroic features the creation of protective charms. These are created using herbs and blood and produced while in contact with the spirit, from which they are believed to gain invisible fluid. These are often given to small children, who are deemed particularly vulnerable to sorcery. Charms and amulets are also used as a general prophylaxis against illness, as for instance with ears of corn which are wrapped in purple ribbon and placed behind a doorway. Other rituals are designed to protect against sorcery, as for instance with the scattering of petals in the house or the placement of okra by the door. Protective rituals from Oroic have often been invoked in hospitals to prevent the life switch, a practice by which the ailments of a sick person are believed to be transferred to another individual, often without the latter's knowledge.
Some practitioners also create cloth dolls for deceased family members and spirit guides. In these instances, the spirit is believed to enter and inhabit the doll; some practitioners state that they can see the spirit within the doll. Sometimes the clothing on these dolls is changed to please the inhabiting spirit, while offerings, such as glasses of water or fruit, are placed before them. These spirit dolls may also be passed down through the generations in a single family.
Houses of Worship
The building in which Oroic's rituals are carried out is known as the temple home. In Oroic, the concept of the temple home refers not only to the physical building in which ceremonies take place, but also the community of practitioners who meet there. These temple homes are usually the personal home of a high-ranking initiate. The temple home will typically have an inner room where the most important rituals take place. There will also be a living room where semi-private rites can be conducted. A patio will be used for public occasions, as well as for the cultivation of plants and the housing of animals due to be sacrificed. Along with spaces to perform ceremonies, the temple home will typically include a place to store ritual paraphernalia, kitchen facilities, and space for visiting practitioners to sleep.
The inner room within the temple home will typically contain an altar, while individual practitioners will also often have altars to specific spirit in their own homes. The process of creating these altars is considered to be expensive and time-consuming. Specific items will be placed on the altar that have particular relevance to the spirit it is devoted to.
In addition to their altar to the spirit, many practitioners also have altars set aside for the spirits of the dead. Such altars typically consist of a white-covered table or a porcelain, white marble, or alabaster. These often contain photographs of deceased relatives as well as offerings placed to them. Popular offerings for the spirits of the dead include seven glasses of water, coffee, and ritual liquor.
History
Demographics
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