Owkuga

Owkuga is an Osamian ethnic religion originating from western Osamia during the Gadram Imperium, drawing its origins from various and  practices and beliefs from across the region and beyond. The faith is generally centered around the worship of Gemakata, the sole truly divine entity, and mankind's shared mission with her to achieve true salvation who are guided by a series of mortal incarnations of Gemakata who act as prophets of the faith. Their actions and teachings are chronicled in the Lessons of the divine incarnations.

Popular among the wider Osamian ethnic community, Owkuga spread quickly among the imperial territories and trade routes of Gadram as a faith before the imperial collapse, assuming practices and traditions from the numerous faiths that were practiced in the Grand Temple of Ornas and bordering nations. With the end of the Gadram Imperium and the destruction of the grand temple, the faith continued as a nomadic faith traveling along trade routes as part of a larger across the continent, spreading the faith alongside it.

While various branches of Owkuga would develop over the centuries, including the major split of Imperialism vs traditionalism, all hold in common the belief of a divided universe between the chaotic force of Nyarami and the orderly force of Kezik which composes all parts of the universe, including the collective soul of mankind which is purported to be the final component to achieving a single unitary universe through the process of its perfection. How this soul is defined, Gemakata's relation to it and wider humanity, and the process towards the aforementioned perfection are all large topics of debate that have led to immense theological division, however most are grouped based on the hierarchical structure, as this has been the primary division of the faith since the 5th century CE, which has further exacerbated theological differences.

The two major denominations of Owkuga are Yosenay and Tuzaywet which occurred following the declaration of the second Grand Temple in Krathkay in 417 CE by Namakazu, a heavily disputed Knayzugatser who remained unrecognized by the wandering temple (later Tuzaywet) who declined the offer to return from their permanent pilgrimage. The wandering temple would later completely disassociate with the second grand temple sect in 712 CE with the establishment of the Somyanu and the creation of the modern Yosenay hierarchy. Both denominations exist primarily on the Osamian continent with a limited presence internationally generally linked with the Osamian diaspora.

Etymology
The term Owkuga has roots in the term owzh amku gat, meaning "the way to grow", which can be linked to the earliest days of the recorded faith, mentioning on numerous occasions the way to grow and improve. The first use of the current term was found in the writings of the Tome of 4 orders, where it's simply called Owku, later returning the ga around 903 in the scripture writings of the priest Akena.

Duality of Chaos and Order
Central to Owkuga is the concept of two active forces that everything is composed of and is affected by. These forces; Kezik (attributed to meaning order, peace, silence) and Nyaraymi (meaning chaos or forced action) constantly conflict with one another, these stark differences giving way to the prospect of reality when formed together to create Katagekra (literally All from two) which Vanatas is situated on. The chaotic force of Nyaraymi is attributed to objects in constant motion, acts of sporiaty, and unexpected actions. The force of Kezik on the contrary is noted to be in stillness, expected events, and self awareness and thus calculated action. Although presented as two separate forces, almost everything has varying amounts of each force, explaining the reason for a noted phenomena. For example a river is orderly due to the flow of the water, the path of it is defined and will not change unless more chaos, the water flowing rapidly in the river in this example, overcomes the restraints of order.

Along with the functions of the world surrounding us is the concept of mankind and the human soul which is defined as pure Nyaraymi, granting man the power of absolute change, capable of overcoming all boundaries of order present in the world. This human chaos and the manner of harnessing it is the key philosophy of Owkuga. Because of the pure chaos of the human soul, the loss of one's life and thus the orderly vessel mortal man inhabit results in the souls return to the realm of Nyaraymi. What awaits is based on one's actions in life. Should the soul be disciplined and still bear marks of order on it, they shall receive a peaceful afterlife. Those who hold only chaos in their soul returning to absolute chaos. Owkuga seeks to provide the basis and actions to which someone can improve themselves and bring order into their own lives to bring a betterment of the self on Katagekra and the subsequent improvement of one's fate beyond it.

Knayzugatser
The mysteries of the spiritual elements of Owkuga have periodically been revealed and built upon by specially chosen individuals who are claimed to be in communion or are the physical incarnation of the divine entity of Katagekra; Gemakata. These Knayzugatser are paramount to the development of the faith, their teachings being considered the commands and guidance of Gemakata, bringing mankind closer to the completion of the soul of mankind. By definition, Owkuga is an incomplete faith lacking total knowledge of the extent of the spiritual world, the universal forces, and the nature of the physical realm. The truths of these topics being revealed with the arrival of a new Knayzugatser and with them revelations about the true state of the universe.

Structure
Owkuga is a semi-decentralized faith with only one section, that being the practice towards the 23 greater deities, having a mandated format that is upheld by the central religious authority, the head of whom is the current empress of Gemurtrak, !Empress. The rest of the faith, that being the various schools and local faiths dotted about, have various forms of structure, symbolism, and rituals/ceremonies. All of these decentralized sections however must accept the upper structure and it's leadership, symbols, and religious practices, deterring from which will be seen as Heretical.

The faith is noted as being partially matriarchal, having women in the roles of priestesses managing temples and heading numerous ritualistic ceremonies. The Empress herself is seen as the representative of the divine on earth, whereas the emperor is portrayed as the primary representative of man to the gods. This role of the emperor is tied to the title as ruler of the people, unlike the role of the Empress which stays regardless of her administrative authority. This has led to any empress who is the head of the ruling family as deemable both as the representative of the divine on earth and the representative of mankind to the divine, a point that was reinforced following the Inheritance Wars.

Men are able to hold important positions within the religious hierarchy, however they will be unable to perform some rituals, primarily being those aimed towards women such as fertility rites, coming of age ceremonies for girls, and traditional midwifery. In these events, the priest of higher authority will select a priestess below him to act with his authority in these situations, that authority being revoked following the conclusion of the rite in question.

First Knayzugatser
The earliest known traces of the Owkugan faith revolve around the Grand Temple of Ornas, a site of joint veneration for the many deities and spirits of the variety of peoples of the Ornas Imperium. The temple was administered by a collection of recordkeepers who translated and maintained a series of documents primarily for the purpose of taxation for the occupancy of religious items within the temple, in exchange for access and temple maintenance. With the collapse of the Kingdom of Ornas, the temple fell into disarray and became overcrowded with an assortment of trinkets and various other items of worship. The first mortal Knayzugatser, Zwarkinorgedu, appears at the grand temple sometime during the late 600's BCE. He would preach the ideas of Owkuga as he would work on the numerous monolithic statues that would come to dot the temple, asserting the many deities of the temple were but the many divine incarnations of Gemakata. His actions and teachings would generate a following who would work alongside him improving the temple and venerating the various deities, regardless of who they were. Following Zwarkinorgedu's passing, many followers would claim him to have been a mortal incarnation of Gemakata, granting him the title Knayzugatser, later recording his teachers in the Book of the Sculptor

First grand temple period
The Ornas Temple would eventually become a site of religious practice and devotion for the Owkugan faith by the time of the establishment of the Gadram Imperium. From here it would further spread throughout the Gadram empire, initially stifled for the preferred Rasuk folk religions, but would still grow in popularity within the northern stretches, with some provinces in the Ostmar kingdom having Owkugan followers. Two additional Knayzugaser's would be officially recognized within this period;