Farlian Shrine Maintenance
Farlian Spirituality heavily centers around ancestral spirits and keeping said spirits placated, and ridding oneself of malevolent ones. As such, regular maintenance and offerings must be performed and whenever a shrine is consecrated or cleaned special rituals must be carried out.
Shrines often hold images and objects relating to the spirits of the shrine. In household shrines these objects include images and name tablets of the spirits. In larger shrines in addition to the images and name tablets, they may also keep relics and holy items related to the spirit of the shrine.
Offerings are also often given -more regularly than maintenance rituals- and come in a variety of forms.
Consecration of Shrines
When a new shrine is set up a consecration ritual must be done to ensure the spirits are kept happy. These rituals involved praying, singing, and giving offerings to the spirits of the shrine.
When performed for household shrines the rituals and offerings are often smaller and less extravagant, normally only lasting a day at the longest. However, when done for the large public shrines, the rituals are often extravagant and costly, lasting multiple days.
Cleaning of Shrines
After the Farlian new year -which historically was around springtime on the now destroyed Farlian homeplanet - the public and household shrines would be cleaned and offerings made.
The cleaning involves the taking down of the enshrined objects, with maintenance and repairs being done on the shrine structure.
The shrine objects must also be carefully cared for, with certain objects needing to be cleaned and others needing to be anointed with oil. Old perishable offerings may be removed, often being burnt as offerings.
Oftentimes when the shrine objects are put back to their places a shortened version of the consecration ritual will take place. This is often true for public shrines, whose cleanings turn into local festivals and holidays.
Planet of Origin: Farlia
Culture of Origin: Farlian - Ethnicity
Common Offerings
Offerings are given regularly at shrines and include both physical items as well as the slightly less common performative offerings.
Examples of physical offerings include food, incense, sage, candles, and physical money or valuables. These offerings will be set on a specific part of the shrine, oftentimes on the altar with the shrine items to keep them out of the way of worshipers as well as to make it clear that they are offerings.
More performative offerings include anointing shrine items with oil, giving prayers, singings, and dancing. These are typically done less regularly than the giving of physical offerings, often being done on holidays or other significant days. These sorts of offerings are also done whenever the shrine is being consecrated or cleaned.
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