Farlian Spirituality

The Farlians believe in a form of ancestral worship and ancestral spirits that can influence the living. Farlians also believe in some sort of afterlife, with prayers and offerings providing food and care to the dead while also encouraging a good relationship between the living and the dead.   Most Farlians are only loosely spiritual, more agnostic leaning than anything, with people simply maintaining and respecting the traditions, seeing the ancestor worship as more of a form of respect and remembrance with little effect on the wider universe even if they do believe in the ancestors and higher powers.

Location & Practices

For more information see: Farlian Shrine Maintenance    Farlians only have a few places of public worship, often located in Farlian colonies, and are often places where important ceremonies and festivals a held.   Most places of worship are more private, like household shrines and alters. These shrines often include religious imagery symbols and pictures of the deceased if it is an ancestral shrine.   The worshipers may often leave money or food at these shrines as offerings. Farlians will pray at these shrines to ask for guidance or assistance from their ancestors or any of the higher beings they may believe in. The maintenance of these shrines is also seen as very important and related to ritual.   Celebrations often include the giving of offerings at the shrines and temples, doing maintenance on the shrine, and communing with the spirits. Most of these celebrations are done on days when the plane between the living in the dead is believed to be thin or nonexistent.   Charms are often used to ward off evil spirits and bad luck and can be gotten from the larger temples or from spiritual leaders.

Hierarchy

Farlians do not have a distinct hierarchy in terms of spirituality, but rather have spiritual leaders that work as shamans or healers, being fonts of knowledge for the community. These leaders are often elders or are believed to have some form of special religious knowledge.