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.
