This article belongs to the lore of Anteria.

Qosa

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Qosa
Qosa (Duujo)
Qosa.png
Total population
~2,052,000
Founder
Qosan
Regions with significant populations
Duujo~1,752,000
Riamo~30,000
Prawasia~1,500
Kakland~264
Other~268,236
Languages
Duujo

Qosa is the religion followed by the vast majority in Duujo, With a small following abroad. Qosa is a polytheistic religion, with a hierarchy of Gods, with the main 3 at the top and all of the others are below.

Etymology

In Duujo, Qosa means stars. This term was coined by Qosan himself in 24AD

History

Creation

The creation of Anteria is one of the most important stories in the religion.

Death of Teran

In the creation of the world, it is said that Teran sacrificed herself to create the world, with the greenery and the animals, while her soul shattered into many pieces in the form of gemstones. The other two, Naban and Dalan, cried for years and years, making Anteria's vast bodies of water. After the tragedy, The two lay dormant over Teran's body, making sure was is ok. It is not commonly known, but in the canon of Qosa, Naban, Dalan and Teran were actually lovers, which may be a contributing reason as to why they were so sad.

Story of Penan and Valoran

To aid in protecting Teran and to continue her will, Naban and Dalan decided to create 2 humans as an experiment. These humans were filled with the magic of the Gods, and were tasked with the protection of Teran. Of course, they needed to prove themselves so they decided to give them a challenge of climbing the tallest volcano. They both worked together to get to the top and then they were gifted with the power of childbirth. this was done so the two Gods did not have to use any more divine power, and instead it would come out from the two humans. At the top, the two humans (named Penan and Valoran) had kids together.

Qosan

Qosan is one of the most important Gods in the religion. It is said that he was a human sent directly from the two main Gods to help out the other humans to be good. He is also the start of the Starborn Bloodline, which is the line of Royalty in Duujo.

Unification

Qosan spent 24 years going throughout the land of Duujo to unite all of the tribes on the island and spread the word of Teran. When he did, he ruled over them with benevolency and kindness, teaching them the values of the religion. After that, he appointed one follower from each of the 11 tribes to help out around the kingdom. While they were doing that, he dedicated his time to writing down the words of the Gods that sent him there, and gracing people with the God title when they die.

Two Princes

in 322, there were two twin Princes that were both in line to be the new king; Luksan and Venkan. Venkan was originally meant to be the King but Luksan brought people together to make sure that he got the title of King for himself instead. Venkan was sent off to the uninhabited islands next to the kingdom to live alone in exile. Venkan fans were not happy and protested, sometimes violently. This lead to them leaving the kingdom by their own will to aid the true King, Venkan. Luksan made changes to the meaning of Qosan's word to fit what he wanted more, and that lead to a divide between the two denominations.

Beliefs & Practices

Protecting Teran

As Teran has died, it is said that Naban and Dalan created humans to work together to protect Teran and her creations. The greenery that they see as their duty to protect is the reason that green is a sacred color to them. Believers will vow to protect the beautiful life that was created, some (particularly in Teran Qosa) will even become Vegan for the cause.

Life Of Qosak

The life of Qosan is a fundamental belief of Qosa. It is believed that he was sent from the Gods to spread the truth. Although a lot of modern Qosa do not believe in the truth of the magical parts, they still believe in the realistic parts, such as the unification of the tribes, and the fact that his messages were good and pure. He gives Qosa the values such as unity, compassion and working together.

Demigod Pantheon

A belief of Qosa is that you will become one of the Gods if you do a spectacular thing in one specific field. This means that the pantheon is ever-expanding and it shows no sign of stopping, although it has slowed down as of recent. Some theologians believe that this was one of the ways Qosan united the tribes, he supposedly made a narrative that merged all of the religions and Gods together. There are theoretically infinite numbers of Gods that exist, but there are around 43 widely known Gods.

No Place Of Worship

Qosa, contrary to other religions, does not believe in a specific place of worship because the religion does not believe in worship like that, they believe in taking on the teachings of Qosak in everyday life instead of making something special about it.

Deified Monarchy

It is believed that the Royal Family of Duujo are Gods in themselves. They are from the Starborn bloodline, which started from Qosan, who was a God himself. This means that the monarchs are directly related to the Gods. The Royal Family can announce other people as Gods, which will make them remembered more and last longer.

Gemstones

The gemstones that lay under the ground are said to be pieces of Teran's dead heart. Each type of gemstone represent a different emotion of Teran, with aquamarine being calmness, ruby being passion, etc. These gemstones are cut and worn as necklaces to enhance the corresponding emotion of the wearer.

The Main Gemstones And What Do They Mean
Gemstone Emotion
Aquamarine Patience
Chrysoberyl Trickery
Diamond Power
Emerald Logic
Garnet Strength
Opal Imagination
Pearl Honesty
Peridot Wisdom
Ruby Empathy
Sapphire Logic
Topaz Positivity
Tourmaline Love

Death And The Afterlife

After you die, your soul gets sent up into space to stay there for the rest of time. Inside your soul, you will reside. The interior of your soul changes to fit your wants and needs based on how good you were when you are alive. You will also change your appearance accordingly. When dead, you can go back down to Anteria to spectate and influence the world in tiny ways, based on how much you are remembered. The more you are remembered, the brighter your star soul will be, and as you are forgotten, your star soul will become dimmer and dimmer until you are completely forgotten. After being forgotten, your soul will be sent back to Anteria as a new human being.

Holidays

Holiday is an important part of Qosa because it is a way to celebrate and appreciate achievements, which is taught to be good in Qosa.

Muna Dala

On the first day of the year, people gather their friends and family to cook together, give each other meals, treats and foods, and most importantly, eat together. There is only one meal in the day, which happens when the sun is at the top of the sky, and it has 3 big courses. It has the Starters, which consist of many smaller plates, with a vast variety of foods, which you can pick and choose from. Then, there is the Mains, which is a big meal of fish and berries, accompanied with a bed of leaves. The final meal is the Dessert, which consists of many different sweet foods, especially the popular fruit salad, which is seen a lot in Duujo. It is a day of celebration for their achievements in the previous year and to start the year off with a bang.

Fabra Dala

On September 2nd, they celebrate the life that Teran gave as a sacrifice, mainly the flowers. It is also seen as a day of love or gratitude to the people around. Over the day, people give flowers to others, and take their partner(s) on dates. It is a day to celebrate your love and appreciation others. Flower crowns are often created too, and it is a game to see if you can put them on the head of someone close to you without them noticing.

Qosa Naba

On December 31st, there is a special night where everyone stays up through the night to look at the stars and sing songs to the stars, which are the Gods. It is meant to be a very laid back festival, where people relax with others and eat midnight snacks, such as fruit salads. A big part of it is exchanging gifts to each other, often ones that are handmade or with meaning. This celebration was traditionally done earlier in the month, when Qosa performed his first miracle, but it now follows the time of the new year. A lot of people still do it earlier in the month though as a smaller celebration. This change also pushed Muna Dala to the start of the new year.

Scriptures

Book of Creation

The Book of Creation encompasses all of the history of the religion pre-Qosak. It talks about Creation and the story of Penak and Valorak, among others.

Book of Qosan

The book of Qosan talks about Qosan and his teachings over the years of his life, and history up until the Two Princes Era.

Book of Legends

The Book of Legends talks about the new Gods that were made after the Luksan/Venkan split. It mostly had Gods from Luksa, rather than Venka, because the royal Starborn bloodline in Venka was cut off by Luksan killing Venkan in war. Groups in the past and current era have fought hard to make the unofficial Gods legitimised. Most are not official still, but a few have been officiated. The stories in this text are considered to be propagandist in nature due to some of the Gods in it promoting the conservative views of the Monarchy.

Book of New Legends

The Book of New Legends is a continuation of the Book of Legends, it was started after the reunification of Duujo and contains all of the new gods since.

Demographics

Varying Beliefs

Due to the two Qosa majority countries being split for the longest of times, the two countries, now one, have slightly different views to each other. The two both agree on the fundamentals, but the Luksa Qosa are normally more socially conservative and Venka Qosa (traditional Qosa) are normally more progressive. Over time, more people have been adopting Venka Qosa, as people have started to look at the bad things that Luksan had done in his reign.

Denominations

Venka Qosa

Venka Qosa (also known as Classical Qosa) is the denomination of Qosa that came first. It follows all of the texts aside from the Book of Legends. it is considered by many to be the most genuine and close to the word of Qosan. Classical Qosa tends to be more liberal in views compared to most religions; being ok with homosexuality and polygamy, and all for women's rights, as well as religious liberties. Nowadays, many believers of Classical Qosa do not believe that the words in the text are literal, but are meant to be a moral foundation to bring the people together.

Luksa Qosa

Luksa Qosa is the denomination of Qosa that started in Luksa. It follows all of the texts. Luksa Qosa members often have a much more conservative view on Qosa due to the Book of Legends that they follow. Luksa Qosa is also founded on the beliefs that we need to spread Qosa as far as possible and maximise members of religion. This causes many believers to have a negative view on abortion, women's rights and LGBT rights.

Teran Qosa

Teran Qosa is a denomination of Qosa that believes that Teran dispersed a significant amount of her energy into the flowers. Believers think that they are ways to communicate with Teran. In the population centre for this denomination, you will see a lot of temples with many flowers around, where people go to worship. This sect is notable for being the only sect with a place of worship.