Nagasri, Lord of the Snakes
The Panchayyah are a highly superstitious people as a whole, worshipping
many gods. None of the Midsea gods are present (in name or origin,
though perhaps in identity), assumably because of the Panchayyah
isolation from the Midsea. It is doubtful even if there are connections
to the deities of Aixelsydan, let alone those of Milakanur. Of all the
animistic deities worshipped, only Nagasri the Snake Lord rates mention,
as the others are no different to the primitive cults found elsewhere in
Qaiyore, such as the Stormrider of the Olozog or the totemistic deities
of the Onagir.
The Panchayyah people predominantly worship the Snake Lord, a fact
reinforced by the domination of the Rimriver by the Panchayyah tribe
proper whose tribal deitiy is Nagasri. The Panchayyah domination has
only reinforced the status of Nagasri amongst the Rimriver tribes,
interpreting the tribe's success as a sign of Snake Lord's power.
Nagasri is a deity with a dual aspect - a publically acknowledged one
and a far more secretive, darker never spoken of aspect. The Snake Lord
is publically addressed as the Wise One, the Guardian of Crops, the
Confidante, the Righter of Wrongs, the Watchful One, the Dark Saviour,
the Lord of Mysteries, the Righteous Serpent. Privately, an in
secretive or conspiratorial matters, he is referred to (in hushed tones)
as the Knower of the Ancient, the Consuming Serpent, Lord of the Night,
the Keeper of Secrets, the Whisperer, the Creeping Hunter, the Vengeful
Shadow, Teacher of the Unknownable, the Unseen Serpent.
As can be seen from this clear dichotomy, they are almost parallel,
clearly showing that Nagasri is an unusually dualistic deity. What is
more interesting is that this dualism does not create any internal
philosophical or theological conflict for the believer. A devotee
worships both aspects of the same deity, referring to one element over
another as the situation demands. For example, a wronged woman seeking
justice for her own suffering (having not received any from the
authorities) would turn to Nagasri in his role as the Righter of Wrongs,
whereas a rejected lover might call on Nagasri in his role as the
Whisperer or the Vengeful Shadow. A traveller lost in the night would
invoke the Dark Saviour (the Dark Saviour would be prayed to be the
helpless, the poor and the powerless), as would a devotee surrounded by
darkness and evil (the suggestion here it appears is that the Dark
Saviour is more powerful than what might beset the devotee) but a thief
would pray to the Creeping Hunter.
Snakes of all varieties are seen as powerful omens by the Panchayyah,
usually good, and are regarded as the emissaries of Nagasri. As such,
there is a taboo against harming them. Places infested with snakes are
also seen as taboo holy places, where only the shamans of Nagasri, the
Nagavallur, may enter. Snake bites are usually seen as a divine
punishment, though the person who survives the bite is held to have been
forgiven and blessed by Nagasri. Snakes are common symbols in
Panchayyah and general Alorathean mythology.
The religious imagery of the Panchayyah is highly diverse, but the two
most common are the ascendent serpent and the coiled serpent. The
ascendent serpent is a serpent rearing back in the manner of a cobra,
with two wings raised fully back and the head looking to the heavens.
It is commonly held to be the image of the Righteous Serpent. The
coiled sperent, is the representative of the darker aspect of Nagasri,
in which a wingless serpent coils around a dagger from the tip up to the
handle, its head appearing from behind the handle, hissing. This is the
normal icon of the Vengeful Shadow.
Whether the cult can be traced to the ancient dragons or the Draconians,
it is very doubtful, for though tales of winged serpents and the "men of
Nagasri" are present in the myths here, the complexity of the theology
and mythology suggests a third unknown source.
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