The World
The world, called Nome by the Nomads looks something like this.
The Nomads live in and around the red circle, a land of rolling hills, plentiful grasses, and cold temperatures.
Religion
Most Nomads believe in a monotheistic religion called Minism, where a single deity (Min) is split into five aspects each representing one of the five elements. Min is considered the "spirit of the world" or more literally the "breath" of the world.
Minism is an animist tradition. Min is said to inhabit all things, especially those which were created to honor him, like idols and works of art.
The Five Elements
The five elements are a conceptual scheme used to explain natural phenomena and the human psyche.
The principal elements are bone, incense, silk, glass, and ink based on the five sources of magic within this world. They are also known as the five virtues, empathy, truth, faith, rectitude, and wisdom.
The Five Aspects of Min
Tsabu
Tsabu is the first aspect of Min. Tsabu gains power from rituals of birth, maturing, and death. They are associated with the element of bone, the wilds, and with life and death.
Men worship Tsabu as the Father Spirit who nurtures their children into maturity. Women worship Tsabu as the Mother of the Hunt and the aspects of birth and death, guiding the rituals surrounding such things. Often depicted as male when venerated by men, but female when venerated by women.
As for rituals, with the aspect of rituals there are far too many to list out, but I'll cover the large ones.
Men bathe their children in rivers and lakes to gain the blessing of Tsabu and have them participate in Dalo, a coming of age ritual where children's hair is cut off to usher them into adulthood. From then on they never cut their hair.
Hospital doors are marked with the sign of Tsabu and incense is burned before births.
As for funerary traditions, most involve the purging and reintroduction of metals into the dead. As in Minist thought, metals are anti-spiritual substances in nature capable of repelling supernatural forces and beings. It is believed that ones soul cannot escape from the body before the metals are removed. To further facilitate the removal of all metals from the body all embalming fluids, and fluids in general, used to treat corpses contain amounts of ethanol or alcohol, chemicals which are often associated with the element of truth in Minist thought which are said to be able to cleanse metals.
After a minimum of three days to insure the deceased's soul has left the body the funeral will be held. The deceased is placed into a coffin on a bed of flowers, often including their favorites among others picked by their family and friends. A complex mix of incenses are burned to ward off insects as well as evil spirits chosen by the mortician.
Once the mourning has been completed, the mortician will take an iron spike, three and a half centimeters width by thirteen centimeters length, and drive it in just above the base of the deceased’s throat with a hammer. Supposedly, the reintroduction of metal into the body at that specific point will prohibit evil spirits from possessing or capturing the form of the deceased.
Wonai-Ku
Wonai-ku is the second aspect of Min. Wonai-ku gains power during wartime. He is associated with the element of Incense, summertime, and the summer solstice.
Worshiped by warriors, hunters, and lawmen, as well as by people with political power.
Men pray to Wonai-Ku before battles by burning incenses and volatile oils. Lawmen do the same before court and snuff out the flame after the final decision is made. Statues to Wonai-Ku are left to watch over the dead, they are said to come to life to fight off grave robbers and evil spirits.
Mesa
Mesa is the third aspect of Min. Mes gains power during peacetime. They are associated with the element of Silk, worldliness, merchants, and salespeople. Men worship Mesa as the Lady of Fortune who aids them in their hunts. Women know Mesa as the fickle aspect of parties, alcohol, the trickster spirit, and childish whimsy.
Often depicted as female when venerated by men, but a drunken male when warded off by women.
As for rituals, men toss coins into the ocean to bring good fortune and carry special coins on them during hunts. Women put signs representing the first aspect of Min, Tsabu, in their place of work to ward off Mesa and toss coins into rivers or into the streets as a bribe to keep him away.
Toga
Toga is the fourth aspect of Min. Toga gains power from crafts. They are associated with the element of Glass, the forge, crafts, and craftsmen in general.
Men worship the aspect of Toga related to smithing and engineering. Women worship the aspect of Toga related to knowledge and crafts.
Often depicted as male when worshiped by men, but female when worshiped by women.
Creation of idols and fetishes venerates Toga as it does all aspects of Min. Craftsmen are made holy. Craftsmen are disallowed from selling their crafts for profit, so many are subsidized by their families.
Fyale
Fyale is the fifth and final aspect of Min. Fyale gains power from community. She is associated with the element of Ink, community, and outcasts.
Men and women both venerate Fyale as the spirit of balance, though many woman recognize her as the spirit of passion, opportunity, and of dreams.
Fyale is always depicted as female.
Followers of Fyale choose to venerate their aspect by offering food, clothes, and water to the homeless and disenfranchised, sometimes designating their homes as wanderer's havens by marking their doors with the sign of Fyale.
End
Thanks for reading! I'll be back with more lore later...
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