InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i love troye sivan"

Princess Katarin of Kordala (Katarin Tavehi) (katarinmiri) wrote in compass_network,
@ 2021-12-28 11:33:00

Entry tags:

!open, lisa cuddy, ~katarin tal-kordala, ~robert langdon

[Backdated to early December, in reference to this.]

Is there a festival-day approaching? It all looks very cheerful. We used to decorate the city for the Elemental Days, before the war. It reminds me of that, although it's not really the same. I didn't know that there was an official faith of the Station.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

katarinmiri
2021-12-30 12:10 am UTC (link)

My cousin was said to be a wise man. He said that if a city has two faiths, then one will find more followers, or find the favour of the ensi and his family, and in time the followers of the other faith will feel unfairly treated, and that will turn to conflict. I don't know. There are times in our history when that was true. It doesn't seem true here.

I can watch when others celebrate Christmas, and learn about it, but I can't do it myself. It's against our beliefs to join in with the rites of another faith.

Hanukkah seems a very good thing to remember. That your people could throw off their oppressor, and that the light did not go out. I wish you a deep and joyful celebration. Do you keep the candle-light going all through the night, for the eight nights?

Taisihir is the faith of Kordala, the city-state where I am from. It was the faith of the Altaisi people who were our ancestors, the descendants of Setu and Asharai. We honor the spirits of the world, and its life. We don't have temples, but our homes have rooms for prayer and observance, and six times a year there are vigil-nights where everyone goes to these rooms - your family and your servants and any traveller passing by - and sits vigil by lantern-light, with prayer and magical workings and what I am told translates as 'meditation'. They say it is to keep the balance of things. And there is kiryet. The phone can't translate that, but Hanukkah seems something like kiryet. Remembering your ancestors and the history of your people and calling to their spirits to watch over you. And we have festivals! My favorite is the Day of Fire, when every person who is able to light one does, and there is a night market. Or there was. The festivals were all banned, after the invasion, but they could not stop us sitting vigil in our own homes.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -