Wakanism

Wakanism
Uŋkítȟačhaŋkú, Baaxpaláaxe
A feathered drum with an 8 pointed star in the center, depicting the four cardinal directions.
Classification	Naturetheistic
Orientation	Pantheistic
Scripture	Wótakuye-wówapi
Theology	Wakanist Theology
Polity	Congregational
Governance	Wíomníčiye (Sun council)
Region	Mniohuta
Language	Mniyapi
Headquarters	Minnehaha,
Founder	Ptesáŋwiŋ (legendary)
Origin	circa. 1000 CE
Members	21.1 million (2020)

Wakanism (Oyáte Mnióhuta: ᐆᐣᐠᑭᖬᐨᐦᐊᐣᐠᑰ, Nuxbáaga Bikkaashúa: ᐹᐠᐢᐸᓬᐋᐊxᐁ, romanized: Uŋkítȟačhaŋkú) is the predominant religion in Mniohuta, with minor followings in neighboring states and abroad. Classified as an indigenous Norumbian religion by scholars of religion, it is the primary faith of the country and considered a nature religion. While there is no executive of the faith, a council of various faithkeepers meet on the Summer Solstice each year at a Sun Dance in Minnehaha.

Central to Wakanist religion is polytheism, animism, and shamanim, as well as the concept of wakʽą, an energy or power permeating the universe. The unified totality of wakʽą is termed Wakʽą Tʽąką and is regarded as the source of all things. Wakanist religious scholars and faithkeepers believe that, due to their shared possession of wakʽą, humans exist in a state of kinship with all life forms, a relationship that informs adherents' behavior which divies towards an inherent environmentalist outlook.

The Wakanist worldview includes various supernatural wakʽą beings, the wakʽąpi, who may be benevolent or malevolent towards humanity. The wakʽąpi, are believed to inhabit all things, including the forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. They are worshiped at Thípi-naǧí, large temples and shrines, of which there are usually several in even small towns and communes. Thípi-naǧí are staffed by priests and volunteers, known as wičháša wakȟáŋ (faithkeepers), who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific wakʽąpi enshrined at that location.

Other common rituals include Ohóla (walking with nature), rites of passage, and seasonal festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as charms and other spiritual objects, to the religion's adherents. Wakanism places a major conceptual focus on being at one with nature and fostering community with everyone and everything around you, largely through group worship involving song and dance, as well as daily callings such as gardening, especially before worship. Central to the Wakanist faith are basic tenants known as the Ičʼwičhóni, or life vow, in which one vows to uphold basic tenants of life to the day they day. On matters of afterlife, Wakanist practitioners believe in the immortal soul, with the recently deceased taking the wanáği tʽacʽáku (ghost road) towards the wanáği tʽamákʽocʽe (ghost world), where they are judged for passage by their šicų, or guardian spirit.

Although historians debate at what point it is suitable to refer to Wakanism as a distinct religion, worship of wakʽą and Wakʽą Tʽąką has been traced as far back as 1,000 BCE. The religion's legendary founder, Ptesáŋwiŋ (White Buffalo Calf Woman), is said to have lived before this, but because of the early dependence on solely oral tradition it is hard to find an exact date. In essence, the prehistory of Wakanism "is at best conjectural", but began to develop a limited centralization with the first Sun Dance, and the Years of Ash. The introduction of a written language allowed for oral accounts to be transmitted and formalized, and were often a topic of debate at yearly sundances by what came to be known as Wíomníčiye, or the sun council, a collection of wičháša wakȟáŋ who were considered experts in the faith and allowed for the formalization of a religious canon that has been retained since then. Wakanist ethics would be the driving forced behind Mniohuti politics up to and continuing into the modern day. A number of political salons in Mniohuta often prioritize values on the basis of pleasing the spirits, particularly with relation to environmentalism and communalism.

Etymology

The term Wakanism is often credited to Anglic merchant and explorer William Hawkins who travelled through much of Northeastern and central Norumbia in 1271, and came about from a misunderstanding of the word Wakʽą. As such, Wakanism is an exonym, though one retained in international academic circles due to the variety of languages in modern Mniohuta that make narrowing it into a single all-encompassing word difficult.

Historically, Thituwan peoples of what is today Mniohuta did not use any word to define their religion, but would often identify themselves by their nearest temple, their wičháša wakȟáŋ, or by a particular spirit they most closely worshipped or identified with. Words such as Uŋkítȟačhaŋkú and Baaxpaláaxe originate from post-Asherionic shifts brought on by the growth of Fretrekerinism to clearly distinct the more Christian influenced faith from traditional Thituwan faiths. While it was unclear what the exact origin point is of the Khowakota term Uŋkítȟačhaŋkú, the accepted origin comes from a mixing of the words wakȟáŋla, meaning "path", and Uŋkitȟa meaning "our". The Hinhanata word Baaxpaláaxe follows a similar trajectory in terms of its terminology, though coming out closer to "the righteous path", a popular term used by the renown Hewaktokta revivalist Sakima Akchiwakíiwacheetche who incorporated elements of the Thunder Dance movement into his teachings.

Beliefs

Wakanism is a polytheistic religion with an extensive hierarchy of spirits, often sorted into 16 categories and further arranged into four groups. The higher in the hierarchy of spirits a Wakʽąpi is in, the more godly and powerful that spirit is likely to be. While terminology and interpretations may differ, hierarchy may also denote parenthood, traced matrilineally. For example, Wi, the Goddess and mother of light, serves as the mother of Haŋhépi Wi (the moon) and Aŋpétu Wi (the sun). The sum of these gods is the universal spirit, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, who serves as both a deity and as the embodiment of all the wakʽą present in the universe. There are three worlds present in Wakanist cosmology: makȟá-tȟamákȟočhe (the physical world), wanáǧi-tȟamákȟočhe (the spiritual world), and anáği tʽamákʽocʽe (the ghost world), representing the Earth, Sky, and Stars respectively.

Wakʽą and Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka

A key concept in Wakanism is wakʽą (wakan). This has been most commonly translated in terms of words such as: "holy," "power," or "sacred." Terminology may differ between councils, but wakʽą is often considered something along the lines of an animating force of the universe and a creative universal force, something that is ancient and represents a primordial energy. Other councils have been known to use similar ideas but view it more as an invisible energy or life-force, and as an incomprehensible, mysterious, nonhuman instrumental power or energy. Many Wakanist practitioners have stressed the incomprehensibility of wakʽą; the Thikápahá wičháša wakȟáŋ Waŋblíská Thikápahá-Makȟiyúŋ (White Eagle, Hill Clan) described wakʽą as "anything that was hard to understand." Similar ideas exist in other Norumbian faiths though may differ in terms of direct terminology or basic principles.

Artwork depicting the primordial spirit, alongside a traditional drum with a thunderbird motif.

Displaying a holistic view of the universe, Wakanists believe that wakʽą flows through the cosmos, animating all things, and that all beings thus share the same essence. It incorporates evil aspects of the universe, described as wakan šica ("evil sacred"). The universe is deemed to exist in a harmonious balance, although it is considered fundamentally incomprehensible and beyond humanity's ability to know it fully. In Khotayapi, objects or people who are imbued with wakʽą force can also be termed wakʽą. Practitioners of the faith hold that humanity can share in wakʽą through ritual. Both wakʽą itself, and the rituals that pertain to it, are considered to be wókʽokipʽe (dangerous), in other words, wakʽą is something that should be handled with respect an understanding that when acknowledged or worked with incorrectly can bring danger to the user.

The unified totality of wakʽą is termed Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka (Wakan Tanka), a term translated as "the Great Mysterious," "the Great Mystery," "the great holy," "great incomprehensibility,", "the primordial spirit", or "the sum of all things unknown". Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka can be conceptualized as the sum of all that are considered mysterious, powerful, or sacred. As the first Wakʽą being to exist and emerge from the primordial ocean of darkness, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka is deemed to be eternal, both creating and constituting the universe. Ones relationship with Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka can be incredibly personal, with the primordial spirit considered to be part of each and every living thing; thus, how one treats oneself is just as important as how one treats others. The term Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka has been used as a Khowakota translation for Christian notions of a God, particularly amongst Fretrekeriners in the north of Mniohuta who have adopted many Mniyapi words in daily conversation and faith.

Cosmogony

In the opening pages of the Wótakuye-wówapi, it is said that before the physical world was made, there was only an endless dark ocean that stretched in all directions. The primordial spirit Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka would occasionally travel this endless darkness when on one occasion she encountered a pair of geese being attacked by nağí šica (evil spirits) in the form of bats in the darkness. When the pair of geese called out for the aid of the spirit, she took pity on them and rose from the waters in the physical form of an old woman in beadwork garments and cast a great wind that blew the beasts away. When they had been cleared away, the primordial spirit offered the geese her peace pipe, at which time the geese explained that the evil spirits took advantage of the darkness to attack them, and that the endless ocean on which they resided they could find no rest.

Understanding their plight, the primordial spirit offered the geese a challenge to prove their worth. If they were able to fetch something from the deepest depths of the water, then she would be able to ease their suffering and that of the other spirits on that plane. At first the pair of geese protested, suggesting that a fish might be more capable of performing this task than them; however, the primordial spirit scolds them and offers that they should not ask of another what they themselves could not do. Summing up their bravery, the female goose descended then without hesitation, inspiring bravery in her companion who descended down after her. After some time, the male goose returned to the surface with a muddied stick in his mouth, and the primordial spirit and he waited some time before growing worried that the female goose would not return. Handing the primordial spirit the stick, the male goose descended down into the waters to save the female goose, returning some time later with her lifeless body.

Lamenting her death, the male goose grieved and cried out worried that their efforts were in vain. However, the primordial spirit took the muddied stick and pressed it to her breast, a great deal of mud rising from the seas below, creating great muddy lands and hills and mountains. As the water retreated it created the rivers and lakes that would eventually lead to what remained of the great primordial oceans, while from the stick spawned the first trees, and from its leaves came the grasses and the bushes. Though amazed, the male goose still grieved his companion and now on land performed the first mourning dance with his wayward waddling. In order to complete the process, the primordial spirit eased the sadness of the male goose by raising the ghost of his passed companion into a form of a golden spirit made of pure wakʽą. Thus, the spirit of light Wi was born from the creation of the land through the union of the newly rising clay of the earth and the wakʽą of the primordial spirit. The light of Wi was said to have then dried the mud that made up the land, making it easier for the spirits of the physical world to begin walking. Seeing his companion's spirit form eased the sadness of the male goose, who rose to chase after his partner, the speed and joy of his pursuit creating the grey light that would make up the child they would eventually birth: the moon.

Cosmology

An artistic depiction of the three worlds of Wakanism with a thunderbird motif.

Wakanist cosmology emphasizes the existence of three worlds, that of the physical world in which all living things reside, a spiritual world in which many higher wakʽą being reside, and the ghost world in which the ancestors reside.

The easiest of the three concepts to conceptualize is makȟá-tȟamákȟočhe, the physical world in which humans exist. It is said to be the realm with the least wakʽą, with much of it preserved in the physical world and beings that inhabit it rather than it being inherent in the air as within the other two realms. It is here where harmony is not something that is inherent, and instead something that must be worked to. In that sense, harmony with all that is living is essential for any daily task, whether that is in nature itself or with your fellow man.

The second world, wanáǧi-tȟamákȟočhe, is said to be the between of both worlds, and the start of the path to the ghost road. It is here where beings that are exceptionally high in wakʽą such as the gods themselves, as well as certain spirits, are said to reside and watch the world below them. Depictions of this world are usually presented in terms of the sky and clouds above the physical world, with aerial phenomenon such as weather and natural disasters being a result of the wrath or kindness of the wakʽąpi. Ceremonies meant to honor the gods such as the Sun Dance are thus held during the day, as that is often when the spirits are said to be watching the most closely. If one were to make an enemy of a spirit and pass during the day, it is said that they may be kept in the in-between of the physical world and spiritual world until their debt to that spirit is fulfilled, or enough offerings are made by those in their lineage that they might be allowed passage onto the ghost road.

Wanáği tʽamákʽocʽe represents another layer, where the spirits of ancestors reside. These spirits are believed to provide wisdom, protection, and support to their living descendants in their lineage. The ghost world is often depicted as the stars above, but is specifically associated with the Milky Way . When one passes from the physical world, their wanáği (ghost) is said to rise towards the road towards the heavens. This road is bisected by a river that must be crossed on a log. By the crossing is Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka in her elderly human form who only permits the worthy to pass. The ghost world is presented as being made up of villages or camps and as being full of bison, beaver, mastodon, and other game. It is a realm without hunger or pain and the inhabitants feast and dance, thus producing the northern lights. The primordial spirit and primary deity of the Wakanist faith, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka, is said to exist between this world and the spirit world, while also making up the fabric of the physical world.

A common belief is that a wanáği who fails to enter the ghost world either by denial by Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka or by way of anger or debt to a wakʽąpi in the spirit world will wander aimlessly if they cannot fulfill their debt, where it can sometimes be seen materialized in human form or heard whistling and moaning. This ghost may haunt a particular place, such as its former house or the tree in which it was buried. Ghosts bring problems for the living, causing sickness, anxiety, and death. Those who died unsatisfied or attached in such a way that they might not rise towards the ghost road are particularly prone to haunting the living; these may be appeased through ritual interventions. Ghosts are then driven away with incense or gunfire, or alternatively propitiated with offerings of tobacco or food.

Wakʽąpi

The wakʽąpi (wakampi) are beings made from wakʽą. In Anglic, such entities are commonly called "the spirits". Anthropologists often characterize these as "supernatural beings and powers," although Wakanist belief draws no distinction between the natural and the supernatural. As such, simple objects such as rocks and geological locations are equally prone to have spirits as living things such as trees or animals.

Depiction of the demigod and trickster spirit Iktómi on a ceremonial drum.

In Wakanist belief, the wakʽąpi are immortal. Much of the information about them derives from the opening pages of Wótakuye-wówapi, with these spirits playing a role in creating and controlling the universe. They display a range of emotions, although their motives are often difficult to determine. Morally ambiguous in their approach to humanity, they can behave either benevolently or malevolently to humans. If offended by humans, the spirits can inflict misfortune, hardship, and even death. Their appearance is thought to sometimes be marked by white or blue flashing lights, but they can typically take any form and thus Wakanists believe they might encounter such entities in daily life without knowing it. The wakʽąpi are often worshipped at various temples and through ritual, but can be placated in different ways. A key way of showing these spirits respect is by referring to them with the honorific terms tʻukášila or thukášila ("paternal grandfather") or ųcí (grandmother), terms which invoke a family relationship.

There is much variation in how faithkeepers classify the wakʽąpi, as these classifications can derive from individual visions and experiences that may attach them to one spirit or another. The primary approach agreed upon by the Wíomníčiye is to divide them into 16 categories, arranged hierarchically into groups of four: the Wakȟáŋ akanta, the Wakȟáŋ kolaya, the Wakȟáŋ kuya, and the Wakȟáŋlapi. The former two groups are considered to be Wakȟáŋ kin ("the sacred"); the latter two called Taku Wakȟáŋ ("sacred things"). The Wakȟáŋ akatna or "superior wakan" comprise four primordial characters: light, Wi, the sky, Škaŋ, mother Earth, Makȟá-akáŋl, and the rock and father of the previous three, Íŋyaŋ. The Wakȟáŋ kolaya, or "those whom the wakan call friends or children", include the moon, Haŋhépi Wi, the wind, Anúŋğite, the falling star and spirit of peace, Wóĥpe. The Wakȟáŋ kuya are the "lower, or lesser, wakʽąpi", and include the buffalo, Tatanka, the two-legged (including both bears and humans), Hununpa, the trickster, Iktómi, and the whirlwind, Yumni. The Wakȟáŋlapi, "those of exceptional wakʽą", include niyá, nağí, and the šicų, the eternal inner components of a person.

Certain groups of spirits inhabit specific parts of the universe. The wakįyą (wakinyan, "flying ones"), sometimes called thunder birds, are spirits of thunder and lightning deemed to live in the west and are often depicted even in secular motifs. Although generally benevolent and thought capable of ridding evil with their cleansing rains, they require propitiaton to avoid their wrath. Other spirits include the ųktéĥipi (unkteĥi) water spirits, the unkcegila land spirits, the cʽąnáği (canoti) forest spirits, and the hoĥogica lodge spirits. These beings are potentially dangerous to humans and so are warded off through specific rituals and the aroma of sweetgrass and sage.