Somanes

Somanes is the traditional religion of the Sanaman people. It has been heavily influenced by Cedrism after hundreds of years of imperial rule.

The supreme gods are Esas, for Atos, and Yoras, for Tarsica. Esas is the master of light and day, and therefore also of life. Yoras is the mistress of dark and night, and therefore also of death. Their union, not in a Vanic but in a cosmic sense, birthed the universe and all therein. The stars are their sons and daughters. The supreme gods are not concerned with the petty problems of mere mortals, but instead with the balance between them. Their children on the other hand are both good and bad. The Divine intervene on behalf of faithful mortals, while the Demonic thwart their plans and corrupt the mortals. The purpose of human existence is to do good deeds. Good deeds move you closer to the Divine, with the ultimate goal of escaping reincarnation and joining the sons and daughters of the gods. Bad deeds, what some people would call sins (even though the Somanes view on sin is quite different from that in many other religions), move you closer to the eternal void, where you would live in eternity in solitude and silence, removed from the gods and all others.

Many Sani and Ama also worship Xalanu, a fallen star and therefore a child of the supreme gods. The Sani and Ama had been corrupted by greed and "evil deeds", and Xalanu preached a different way. He preached that men and women are equal, that you should respect your fellow man and that good deeds will bring you to the divine. His mistake was that he preached that political leaders had been corrupted, and he was consequently arrested, tried in a sham trial and executed by explosion in true BO0O/\/\ist tradition. His followers therefore worship him with holy detonations.

With modern realisation about the nature of Atos and Tarsica, as well as the stars, Somanes doctrine has adapted. Atos is usually viewed as the physical manifestation of Esas, with the God himself being intangible and a "prime mover". Tarsica is also usually viewed as a physical manifestation, with Yoras being a metaphysical being. It is also quite common to view the gods as detached from the physical Atos and Tarsica, approaching the metaphysical theology of the Nazarene church. The stars are no longer viewed as literal sons and daughters of the gods, but instead as manifestations of the Divine and Demonic, while they exist solely on the metaphysical plane. A very small group of fundamentalist Somanists reject the metaphysical altogether, and still maintain that Atos and Tarsica are gods, not astronomical bodies. This position is often met with ridicule from mainstream Somanists.

Organisation

Somanes is not a hierarchical religion, instead the focal point is the place of worship, often a local temple or home shrine. The temple is supported by a staff of priests, usually of both sexes, and acolytes. There usually exist at least one recognised prophet. The prophet is commonly proclaimed by the priesthood after passing certain tests. The prophet is the closest to an overall leader there is in Somanes, even though he (it is invariably a man) technically has no authority over members or clergy, except for moral and cultural authority. It is also not uncommon for there to be one or several anti-prophets, followed by certain sects or areas within Somanes.