Hi Kalev,
Apologies for the length. : ) Its saturday night, I have nothing to
do, and your email got some of my braincells zipping around.
You might be confusing the Sinari cult, which was the cause of a major
war in northern Qaiyore in the 1420s (??), with the Millat Shanar (the
Path of Shanar, the mythical ancestor of the Shanari tribes). The
Sinari cult is long gone, having been defeated by a coalition of Midsea
nations, and the remnents hunted down by the Shanari or in a few cases
coopted by other magical groups (Mir, and i'm not sure who else).
Pre-Millati society was very primitive, the town of Akbari being of no
significance before the founding of the Millati religion and the
Commonwealth of the Shanariyya (Shanariyya being the plural noun of the
Shanari). The establishment of relative law and order over a good
portion of the Calarnar desert (save for the western most regions, for
example) has allowed for increased amounts of trans-calarnari trade
(something the Kaeireans in particular participate in heavily between
the port of Jabau in the south and Bel'Adne in the north (for an example
- ).
Literacy has been another major change brought about by the Millat and
the Commonwealth, with the Akbari script and dialect becoming the spoken
and written standard for most Shanari.
The Millat and the Commonwealth both have been around for 40+ years.
Millati temples are referred to as "towers". The two most important
towers in Qaiyore are the Holy Tower of Akbari, and the Holy Tower of
the South (located in the Kaeirean city of New Tirmaeir). The head of a
tower is called a Keeper (the Akbari and the New Tirmaeir Keepers being
the two most influential. Towers can be found in almost all northern
Qaiyore nations. In terms of religious importance, the town of Akbari
is a mixture of Catholic Rome and Muslim Mecca.
The Commonwealth itself though is ruled by the Talis (literally, "the
one who binds the people together"), the 2nd of such, the Talises
succeeding the Conveyor Faymiyun al Shawari after the Millati prophet
died. The Talis is the political and religious head of the
Commonwealth, and to a certain degree the religious head of the entire
Millati church.
There are two sects amongst the Millati - the Marlupinists (named after
its most influential theologian, Marlupin, currently the Chair of
Philosophy & Theology at the sorcerous Green College of New Tirmaeir -
), and the
Arlhanists (named after the Keeper of the Holy Tower of the South,
Arlhan von Kahshaar). See
and .
The Millati religion is strongly monotheistic, which has historically
been somewhat of a rarity in Celandra, and call the Creator "Sin Alif"
(trans. "He Who Is One" - not to be confused with the now irrelevant
Sinari deity Sin Alb). The most controversial belief of the Millat is
that involvement in the Dreaming is sinful for humans, and something
that should be avoided at all costs. In the early generations of
Millati, this included a blanket ban on all forms of magic. The reasons
for the strong monotheism and anti-magicalism was a combination of the
ancient conservatism of Milakanur, in which magic played an important
role, and the devastating effects the now hated Sinari cult had on
traditional Shanari society (the Shanari lost a huge amount of its
population in the Sinari wars).
The the development of the two sects has seen this anti-magic policy
considerably relaxed (Millati Kaeireans of the Arlhanist sect formed
their own sorcerous order, the Brotherhood of the Night -
).
Amongst most Millati though, the study of magic is now seen as a
necessary responsibility, one which a few take up for the betterment of
the many.
Arlhanism holds that the gods are not gods nor immortal, unlike the
Creator, and are merely incomprehensively more powerful created beings.
Prayer to these gods (Arlhanists prefer the term "spirits") and use of
divinely granted Authority magic (regardless of the god granting it) is
forbidden. Essence based magic (regular sorcery) is allowed though as
pragmatic measure (hence the Brotherhood of the Night), though it is
something pursued as a worldly necessity. Contracts though may be made
with appropriate gods to obtain Authority based magic in return for
keeping the god's customs (an escape clause, in reality, but one that
has not been used until 1459 by Millati Kaeireans). Arlhanism has been
more popular amongst the Shanari and the Kaeireans.
Marlupinism is far more liberal in its view of the Dreaming (the spirit
dimension, essentially) and of magic. The gods are called by
Marlupinists "angels", and prayer to such angels is acceptable as they
are seen as intermediaries of the Creator (and therefore Authority based
magic is also acceptable). Marlupinism has been more popular in regions
that already had a strongly magic tradition already - Bel'Adne (with a
Millati population of some 3-4 million) being the most important
example, Commonwealth controlled Kelshir, and the descendents of the
Millati prophet (the Conveyor Faymiyun al Shawari) and possibly soon in
eastern Sedonia (Sedonian Timar).
The pantheistic revival in the western Calarnar is a revival of the
pre-Sinari/pre-Millati "Old Ways", which had previously been thought to
be extinct (see -
).
Of interest to you also be the Kelshiri people, who are undergoing a
process of cultural and political colonisation by the Commonwealth
().
Currently most of the Upper Kelshiri region, around the town of
Kelshirserai, is controlled by the Commonwealth (and has been since the
late 1430s approximately).
The map on the Shanari Commonwealth page represents the territory of
most major tribes
(http://www.phoenyx.net/twiki/bin/view/Celandra/ShanariyyaCommonwealth).
In the western and southeastern portions of the Calarnari desert, these
populations would be extremely low (hence the larger territory needed to
sustain a population).
I played the Shanari society several years ago, and after a hiatus
switched to Kaeir. Thus i've written most of the background material
for the Commonwealth and the Millat (as well as some neighouring
societies), but would be glad for someone to take the Shanari and make
it their own. If this hasn't scared you off playing the Commonwealth,
then that's really cool : ) Feel free to ask me any questions you have
on the background of the Commonwealth, though in the end its up to you
(you could even play the pantheistic revival in the west, if you wanted
a real challenge!).
Kalev Tait wrote:
>My understanding of the Commonwealth is largely derrived from your email to
>Milakanur and from looking at the early records on the website. Those early
>records have a floating city being the center of their religion, and I'm
>assuming that neither of the current religions are based around that?
>
>
The Sinari cult is dead, utterly gone.
>What kind of religion is Millati? Is it polythetic or monothetic? Does it
>have a strong sense of dualism?
>
>
Monotheistic, as mentioned above. The Marlupinist sect though could be
compared to Catholic Christianity, with its angels and saints, or to
Shiite Islam with its Hidden Imams and the semi-deified Ali.
>Same goes for the old gods of the Shanari (I assume you mean polytheism, the
>belief in more than one god, and not pantheism, the belief that god equates
>to the universe). What sort of religion is it?
>
>
This is just traditional tribal pantheism. A number of the old Shanari
are Qaiyorean gods made native, but several are uniquely Shanar. Sin
Shanar is an example of this - the mythical ancestor of the Shanari made
into a god.
>And then, what kind of society is the Shanariyya?
>
It is a combination of a theocracy and a tribal federation. The Talis
is the ruler, but he always consults with the Commonwealth Council in
all major decisions (made up of tribal, religious and commercial leaders
from amongst the Millati Shanari). The Commonwealth has a standing
army, the Core Army, whose major role is policing its territory and
ensuring law and order on the Bel'Adne-Jabau and Akbari-Kelshirserai
trade routes (this would be a major reason why many Shanari tribes - who
are a very trade-orientated people - support the Commonwealth). Most
tribes would have a small estate in Akbari, with a delegate to the
Council, but remain in their desert territories. Probably the most
influential and powerful tribes now are those who have become enriched
from the Trans-Calarnar trade routes.
>Since they are a
>theocracy, I assume theat ther tollerance for religion has gone down (or is
>Millati a very open polytheism, like the Roman pantheon?) from the
>description of the humanities on the web site. But what sort of hiearchy of
>social estates do they have? Probably not much in the family/tribe groupings
>throughout most of the Calamar desert, but within Akbari and the other
>permenant towns, things probably begin to get interesting.
>
>
Well, the Millati religion requires the conversion of all Shanari tribes
to the Millat. This doesn't apply to non-Shanari peoples, but the
Millati definition of Shanari includes the Milakanuri, the Kelshiri, and
the Morvali. How this would be achieved, some 40 years after the
founding of the religion, has never been clearly established. But as
the Millati prophet was from Milakanur (and was forced to flee for his
beliefs), and as a persecuted Millati church in Milakanur exists, a
military solution is seen as the only way of bringing the Milakanuri to
the Path.
In my opinion, the Commonwealth response to the pantheistic revival in
the western Calarnar will be military and very bloody as it poses a
religious and political threat to the Commonwealth. There will probably
be Millati volunteers from neighbouring nations as well (here I think of
the Morvali, the Kaeireans and the Bel'Adnese).
As for religious freedom.... I don't know. Tolerance is "Utterly and
Completely Miserable" for Shanari people (see the paragraphs just
above), but probably higher for non-Shanari. The Millati in Kaeir have
not been an intolerant community, so that might be a useful comparison.
Shanari, even in the urban settlements, are clan based. Each tribe
consists of a number of clans, and sometimes sub-clans. Some of these
clans are related by blood, others by adoption.
Thus the full name of the governor of the town of Jabali - Jazariyyah ba
Faymiyun al Shawari (Jazariyyah the son of Faymiyun [his clan] the
descendent of Shawar [his tribe]) - identifies his immediate clan and
tribe. All Shanari share at least one common ancestor - Shanar - so
often speakers will refer to the Shanari as a whole by the phrase "Sons
of Shanar". As for the division of property and inheritance, that is
something i have never given though to.
The development of urbanisation will of course change Shanari social
patterns, but that would be something up to you to think about.
>Or are these the sorts of questions you would like me to answer through
>play, and when something I say doesn't make sense within the history of the
>Commonwealth (or within the context of the rest of Qaiyore) then you let me
>know?
>
>
One of the basic rules of this game is that you work with what has been
written already. You can adapt or modify, as long as it keeps within
the overall framework of what had been written before. For example, I
had written a few things on the various factions in the Commonwealth
Council, but never really did anything meaningful with it. So what the
actual factions mean in terms of Commonwealth politics would be entirely
up to you, and whether this will radically change the way the government
operates would also be up to you.
As for questions, feel free anytime. I loved writing this stuff, and
would be more than glad to explain anything. But i'm just as interested
in seeing what you take the Commonwealth.
> (And this is all assuming that I play the Commonwealth and not Damaris.
>>>From what you say about the number of bordering PC societies, the
>Commonwealth does seem the more intersting to play.)
> -Kalev
>
>
No worries,
Ibrahim
> On 11/19/05, ibrahim wrote:
>
>
>>Well, the Commonwealth would be an interesting but good option. Active
>>players neighbouring the Commonwealth of the Shanariyya include
>>Milakanur (a new player), the Panchayyah (partly active, I believe the
>>player is still around), and Kaeir (myself).
>>
>>The Commonwealth is the centre of the Millati religion, which has spread
>>to much of northern Qaiyore, and has good political ties with Kaeir. It
>>is also facing a revival of Shanari pantheism in the wild western region
>>of the Calarnar.
>>
>>regards,
>>
>>Ibrahim
>>
>>Kalev Tait wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>I would like to try joining the game. What is the process for doing so. I
>>>would like to play either a city state or a country which has only one
>>>
>>>
>>major
>>
>>
>>>city (the Commonwealth perhaps?) and is adjacent (by land) to another PC.
>>>Alternatively (if anyone is agreable), I think it would be interesting to
>>>try taking control of a semi autonomous city within another player's
>>>culture.
>>>My goals are to see how quickly I can change the social determinants
>>>
>>>
>>within
>>
>>
>>>a society (specifically the humanities and status), so expect some
>>>
>>>
>>rebelion
>>
>>
>>>(and reactions to the rebeliion) within any culture I play.
>>>Also, I've currently lent out my Aria books, and though I hope to get
>>>
>>>
>>them
>>
>>
>>>back soon, I won't be able to imediately start... but given how often a
>>>
>>>
>>turn
>>
>>
>>>happens in this pbem (about the right pace for me), it shouldn't be a
>>>problem.
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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