Category:Hyrkanian & Turanian Pantheon

Chief Deity
Ulgen Tengre; The Everlasting Sky, Ulgen is the creator of all there is. He lives at the summit of the divine mountain.

Regions of Worship

 * Hyrkania
 * Turan

Erlik & Tarim are very popular in Turan. Whereas more rural or tribal Hyrkanians tend to worship all with a shamanistic bent. Erlik is always popular.

Deities
Eke-otuken - The earth-mother.

Emegelji Eji - The wife of the Everlasting Sky, known as the very old grandmother.

Erlik - See Erlik for more information.

Ongot - The ongot are the collective household gods, which are ancestor spirits.

Ormazd - Some Turanians worship bizarre deities such as Ormazd, a bright god who battles the devil, Ahriman.

Qurmusata Tngri - This god is the originator of fire.

Sulde - These are ancient spirits of the military. They animate standards, flags and military insignia.

Tarim - See The Living Tarim for more information.

Thutala - Thutala is, a trickster who appears to unbelievers in a whole host of different guises. The followers of Erlik call any foreign god ‘Thutala’ or his minion.

Ulgen Tngre - The Everlasting Sky, Ulgen is the creator of all there is. He lives at the summit of the divine mountain.

Ulla - Ulla is the moon-goddess.

Yenagra - Turanians living near Koth or Shem have also added Ishtar to their gods, calling her Yenagra. She has alabaster skin and is otherwise worshipped as the Kothic Ishtar, although a little more restrained in terms of worship.

Symbolism

 * Earth (Eke-otuken)
 * Fire (Qurmusata Tngri)
 * Military banners (Sulde)
 * Moon (Ulla)

Spheres of Power

 * Boundaries
 * Protection
 * War
 * Fertility
 * Rebirth
 * Spirits

Rituals and Beliefs Overall
For Hyrkanians cosmos have multiple layers, all connected by some spire, be it a tree or a mountain. Their religion is one of nature and animistic, considering souls and bodies to be separate entities and spirits to walk the world around men, living in all things.

The sky itself is a spirit-god with a soul.

To the north of Patenia lies the land of evil gods and unseen forces, named Kanum Kotan.

Hyrkanians also believe in astral projection, which can be dangerous, since certain powerful objects can trap souls. The northern Hyrkanians believe the “man on the moon” is a shaman who flew too close to the moon and became ensnared by it. The moon is analogous to the Land of the Dead for most of these Hyrkanians.

The Hyrkanians believe words create reality if said with conviction. Melodies and songs carry words of power, and the drum is the primary instrument.

Fire is a purifying force for the Hyrkanians and is sacred to the point that anyone who can control fire (such as a smith) is seen to have magical powers. Hyrkanians believe it is rude to stamp out a fire, put rubbish in it or douse it with water.

The sites of Hyrkanian worship are cairns of stones with a single vertical pole sticking out of the center where prayers and sacrifices are performed.

The Hyrkanians make idols of their household gods and place them on the sides of the tent-doors, they always offer these idols the first milk from their flocks.

Usual type of life sacrifice for Hyrkanians is pole-offering, when humans, horses or game meat are suspended from poles and dedicated to the gods. In the first spring after marrying, a man must sacrifice a light colored horse to the gods. The sacrifice is made in a birch thicket. Women are not allowed to be present; unmarried girls may partake of the feast at the sacrificial location after the ceremony is concluded.

Priests & Shaman
Most Hyrkanian shaman are men, but women are not forbidden by any means. The Hyrkanian shaman is a master of ecstasy and usually has a magical specialty as well as spirit helpers. Most nomads become shamans because they had a near-death-experience (like being hit by lighting or taking a great fall). Many report dreams of their organs being consumed by spirits and replaced — thus being reborn as shaman.

Shamans traditionally wear white clothing, an apron of multicolored cotton strips, leather belt with mirrors and helmets with horns or red silk headcloths (around Patenia). They use drums which they believe make a sound that frightens evil demons and drives them away.

Implementation In-Game
Vanilla Ymir religion as placeholder. Any horned helmet can be used as typical for this cult. Decorations include, drums, banners, braziers and torches.

More Information

 * Faith and Fervour (Conan RPG book)
 * The Road of Kings (Conan RPG Book)