Koori. Life, Death, and Burial Beliefs.
Life as we know it.
Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai is known throughout the land as the god responsible for the cycle of life. It is He who is responsible for how life progresses. In the earliest of ages, life was first brought to the world by the gods. Life during this time was endless; there was no procreation, no death, and no birth. All beings were, for all intents and purposes, immortal. They existed only to serve the gods. Life was not plentiful in the world of Nyonia.
After the time of the early ages of the gods had passed, changes throughout Nyonia started to occur. The first of the new gods to start this change was Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai. Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai observed how the immortal beings left behind by the gods had no purpose. To give the immortals purpose Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai designed a system of life and death. He mortally wounded most of the immortals and gave them the gift of procreation and growth. Peoni and Halea gave the offspring of the first immortals the gift of fertility and love so that they may continue to procreate. Now that procreation was possible, it was also likely to have young that grow to maturity and then old age. With the three gods working in tandem, all life on Nyonia has become mortal, save the few immortals who were kept for other purposes.
Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai and Thrak.
Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai took his creation, the strongest of the immortals, named Thrak to serve him. Thrak was given the job as the gatekeeper of the afterlife. Ilvir - Master of Araka-Kalai gave Thrak sole responsibility of deciding who can pass into The Land of Good Hunting (Koori version of heaven). Any of those that are not allowed into The Land of Good Hunting must stay in The Abyss of No Honor (Koori purgatory). Thrak, being the strongest of immortals, will not allow the weak, the invalid, the damaged, or anyone who is not whole into The Land of Good Hunting. Thrak also requires specific burial rights before he will allow anyone into the Land of Good Hunting.
Burial Rights
After a person’s passing, their soul stays in The Abyss of No Honor, and for that person to be allowed into The Land of Good Hunting, the kin of the one who passed must honor them through burial rites. Only then will they gain the acceptance of Thrak.
The body is wrapped in honorable cloth that holds the colors of their house (House colors are akin to a coat of arms). The body is then elevated on an arrangement of sticks and logs at least five layers tall. Each layer of sticks serves as the base that holds the logs in a triangular formation, with the peak facing south. The body is laid on top with the head facing south. Long burning candles are placed at all 3 points of the largest triangle that lies at the bottom. The candles must burn for at least 16 hours. When the candles reach the end, the flame catches on the kindling at the points of the triangle, and finally, the mound is lit.
During the burning of the candles is the time for prayer, remembrance, and the Citing of Honor to Thrak. The Citing of Honor is a ritual where the family speaks aloud to all in attendance the actions the person has taken in life to keep honor. When the candles finish burning and have lit the kindling on the 3 points of the triangle, the dead have been accepted into The Land of Good hunting. When the body is burnt by the fire and turned to ash, blown away in the wind Thrak, receives the ash of the body to reconstruct them in The Land of Good Hunting.
The Afterlife
There are only two realms in the afterlife. The first being The Abyss of No Honor. This is where everyone goes who lacks honor in life. The Abyss of No Honor is a place of nothing. There is no sound, no sight, and no smell. It is eternal. A person who is dismembered has had their honor taken from them. A person who has not had proper burial rights has not had their honor accepted by Thrak and must stay in The Abyss of No Honor. Someone who has slain another without honorable cause is without honor. Someone who does not help others in their life is also without honor.
The other afterlife realm is The Land of Good Hunting. This is where those who die with honor and/or have had their honor proven to Thrak by burial rites go. Here, a person has wide open lands with many different types of prey. All prey available is the person’s favorite prey. Every hunt is challenging, thrilling, and successful. Those who were not good hunters before find themselves expert hunters. All family and loved ones who have honor are here. Those who lead honorable lives and help others are accepted here. Those who hunt well for their family are honored and accepted here, as are the few people who died in war or honorable battle in lands apart, even though proper burial rights could not be given. In these cases, a mock ceremony is accepted by Thrak since he already knows of their honor received in death. Finally, the honor that has been taken can be given back to the deceased. This can be done if the deceased is honorably avenged by the living and then given additional burial rights.