Maqibo

Maqibo, archaically known as Maqiism or Maqism, is the indigenous folk religion of Riyata. It has been variously described as polytheistic, pantheistic, and sometimes even atheistic or nontheistic. Having no central authority, much diversity exists among practitioners, and it is one of the world’s largest folk religions with between 100 to 150 million practitioners.

Maqibo is generally polytheistic and has a pluralistic worldview. It is a heavily animistic religion and revolves around the worship of maqi, supernatural entities believed to embody and inhabit all things. All maqi are interconnected, and the bonds between them are believed to be the foundation of the world. According to Maqibo cosmology, the world achieves fullness when there is harmony between the many individual maqi and between maqi and human. Maqi are worshiped in a variety of ways, which vary depending on region, which specific maqi is being venerated, and even from individual to individual. Common acts of veneration include prayer, meditation, and sacrificial offerings, which can usually be directed towards any maqi. Many maqi, however, demand specific acts of ritual, such as dancing, music-playing, or pilgrimage.

The worship of certain prominent maqi such as Aqito and Inqasa has occurred in Taxata as early as during the Proto-Taxic civilization. Ariye has been worshiped for much longer, possibly since humans first arrived in Vatupaya, but historians and religious scholars debate on whether it was a maqi from the beginning or if it was syncretized into a maqi at a later date. It is unclear when exactly Maqibo itself emerged as a distinct religion. According to the earliest records of the Classical Taxic civilization, they already considered themselves to be religiously separate from their neighbors by the first century BCE, and had already begun to worship the Haqamimaqi and the !threeothermaqi. During the Late Taxic Invasions, maqi worship was brought to other areas of eastern Vatupaya by Taxic settlers, where it syncretized with and was influenced by various other faiths and traditions. Most local deities became maqi and maqi from Taxata were introduced to these new areas. Syncretism with Tevatua was very significant in western and central Riyata, where many people still practice Tevatua (usually Folk Tevatua) alongside Maqibo.

Maqibo is almost exclusively found in Riyata, where it is the largest religion; there are several hundred thousand maqi shrines in Riyata compared to only a few hundred in foreign countries. The practice of Maqibo is not usually exclusive with other religious beliefs, so there are many people who practice two or more religions, making Riyata one of the most religiously diverse and tolerant places in the world.

Maqi
Maqi are the deities that are associated with and venerated in Maqibo. Roughly meaning “god” or “spirit,” the maqi are believed to permeate the world and dwell within objects and phenomena. The concept of maqi is roughly analogous to hikuai in Tevatua and spirits in Hwèzism, but with some key differences. Essentially, instead of being spirits that live within things, maqi are things themselves, which are considered to be spirits. Although not everything is a maqi, all things are considered to be animated, or filled with “life,” therefore having the potential to become maqi. Generally, there is little fundamental difference between normal things and things that are considered to be maqi, except that maqi are respected, venerated, and are believed to have power to influence the world. The Riyatic language does not make a distinction between singular and plural, so the term maqi can refer to an individual maqi, a group of maqi, or all maqi. The maqi as a collective whole are considered omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and eternal, but individual maqi are not usually any of these things. There are a few prominent maqi that see widespread veneration, such as the Nineteen Sacred Haqami, but the vast majority of maqi are local geographic features such as rivers, mountains, or forests. It is also believed that maqi can dwell within people, offering them protection and luck throughout life; such maqi are traditionally invited to inhabit unborn babies in order to help provide health and good luck during pregnancy, birth, and throughout life.



At their core, maqi are the essence of “things,” so calling them “spirits” or “gods” is not always appropriate. Because there are an infinite amount of maqi, and maqi can inhabit anything, anything that is important to someone can be venerated as a maqi. Practitioners of Maqibo do not make a distinction between venerated and unvenerated maqi, because all maqi by definition derive their legitimacy from belief. As such, the exact pantheon of maqi that is worshiped is unique from individual to individual. A little-known maqi worshiped by only one or two people is as “real” as a widespread maqi worshiped by almost all practitioners. Most of the time, worship of maqi is based on personal history and circumstances. For example, the people living in an apartment might all pay respect to the maqi of the building, which provides them with shelter and living space. In this instance, the maqi may or may not be treated as a deity or spirit at all; it could be the physical building itself that the gratitude is directed towards. It is for this reason that Maqibo is difficult to categorize; depending on the practitioner and which maqi they choose to venerate, it can be monotheistic or polytheistic, even atheist, and it can accommodate aspects of almost any other religion with little difficulty.

Syncretism between Maqibo and other religions is common and generally occurs quickly. Due to its flexibility, Maqibo can coexist and quickly become integrated with most other religious beliefs, especially polytheistic ones, but also monotheistic religions. The most notable example of this is the syncretism between Maqibo and Tevatua that occurred in western and central Riyata from the fourth to eighth centuries, where the monotheistic god of Tevatua, !god, became a maqi, and is nowadays either worshiped monotheistically, alongside other maqi, or not worshiped at all.



Maqi are venerated at shrines, places where they are believed to inhabit in addition to where the maqi is physically located. Most maqi only have a few shrines, usually confined to a small geographical area like a forest, mountain, or along a river, but there are some who have many shrines across Riyata. Most practitioners also have small personal or household shrines at home, where many maqi are venerated at once. Maqi can be enshrined in several places at once without harm, but they weaken the farther the shrine is from the maqi. For example, Ariye has 37 local shrines around the mountain’s base and in surrounding towns, where it is most powerful, but it also inhabits around 5,000 other public shrines spread across Riyata. To enshrine a maqi in a new location, some part of the old place must be brought to physically invite the maqi there. For example, a brick taken from an existing shrine might be used in the construction of a new shrine, or water from a maqi’s river could be splashed there. Sometimes, two or more maqi share a shrine in order to create rapport between the maqi that live there.

Cosmogony
The creation of the world and the birth of the maqi are recorded in several Classical Taxic texts, the largest and most prominent of which are the Haqami Books. Although there are numerous, sometimes conflicting versions, there are many key features that are present throughout all versions. Later records from the late 4th century onwards also were influenced to various degrees by Tevatua. While the origin myth is not important in Riyatic religious life, it has great implications on Maqibo cosmology, which in turn has a large impact on the worldview of practitioners.

According to Maqibo, the world in its original state was empty, hollow, and lifeless. There was only a void where not even time existed. The Haqami Books recounts that Haqami and !sun, the first two maqi, appeared one day and began to pour life into the once-lifeless world. !sun became the sun, giving birth to light, the stars, sky, and planets, as well as their respective maqi, while Haqami became Vanatas, populating it with water, rocks, and fire. As these original maqi grew more powerful and created more, time began to flow. However, unlike the things in the sky, nothing on Vanatas could move or live, because Haqami was Vanatas itself, and one maqi could not be so many things at one time. Therefore, Haqami sacrificed himself and split into nineteen individual maqi. These Haqamimaqi, in turn, finished populating the world, creating plants, animals, and other maqi.

Eventually, humans were born to four maqi: Cita (the maqi of light), !maqi and !maqi (two water maqi), and !maqi (a fire maqi). Consequently, humans are traditionally considered to be made of one-part light, one-part fire, and two-parts water. Initially, the maqi were afraid of humans, because they were the first and only things that were not maqi. Unlike them, humans could be many things at once, making them both unique and dangerous. They were capable of great good but also capable of incredible evil.



!maqi was sent to imprison the humans in the underworld, but one of them, Raqa, was able to evade capture. Raqa wandered Vanatas for fifteen days, encountering and befriending many maqi before arriving at Mount Ariye, which was preparing to erupt and blanket the entire world in fire and ash. In order to save the remaining humans on the surface world, Raqa climbed to Ariye’s summit and convinced it that, while there were some evil humans, there were also many other humans who would do everything in their power to stop the evil ones. Eventually, Raqa descended into the underworld itself, bearing the light of Ariye, whose eruption he had trapped in a bottle. He confronted !underworldmaqi at the depths of the world and freed humanity, guiding them back to the surface. As he emerges from the underworld, Raqa is approached by Mara, the goddess of water, who grants humanity her blessing. As a result, humans are able to drink fresh water as long as they remain more good than evil, but if they become more evil than good they will be forced to only drink salt water.

Hierarchy of Colors


According to Maqibo traditions, there is a Hierarchy of Colors that organizes and gives meaning to colors. Talo, the maqi of colors, is one of the Sacred Haqami, who was said to grant humans and some other creatures the gift of sight and the ability to create beauty. The Hierarchy assigns traits to individual colors and categorizes them, determining under which conditions certain colors should and should not be used together. It does not only account for the traditional four "superior" (primary) colors (white, red, yellow/gold, and blue), but also all "inferior" (secondary and tertiary) colors as well, including black. Since it is a system for classifying and mixing colors, the Hierarchy is considered a traditional color theory based on the. Renesian artist and scientist Leudbald Dunkel studied it closely and mentions it extensively in his seminal 1817 book The Colors, saying "what I write is based on the knowledge of the Mirati people for they have known these things since ancient times."

Practice
Practitioners of Maqibo focus on behavior rather than doctrine; what it is exactly one believes is less important than how they express that belief. Religious scholars note that the rituals and practices associated with maqi, especially widely-worshiped maqi, are difficult to separate from more secular Riyatic customs. For example, Taqa, the Riyatic new year celebration, is technically a religious event dedicated to the maqi of the same name, but it is also a cornerstone of secular Riyatic culture, observed by people from a variety of religious backgrounds.



Shrines
In Maqibo, shrines are any place where maqi live, distinct from the maqi itself, who are physically located in and inseparable from an object, creature, or phenomenon. Because of this, maqi can inhabit several shrines simultaneously, though the shrine where the maqi is physically located is always its most sacred place. There are more than 400,000 large public shrines in Riyata, with around 65-75% of them being located in rural areas. Urban shrines tend to be larger in area and are usually dedicated to several maqi at once, while it is more common for rural regions to have several smaller, exclusive shrines spread out through an area. Many miniature shrines also exist throughout Riyata, typically dedicated to minor local maqi, such as the maqi of a neighborhood or even an individual tree or boulder.

!priests
Although Maqibo has no established clergy, individual shrines are usually cared for by a !priest, who are usually members of the local community or individuals who own the property the shrine is located on. The !priest’s job is to maintain their shrine, making sure the maqi’s dwelling does not fall into disrepair. The significance of being a !priest varies between individuals; some might only visit their shrine once or twice a week, while others might actually live on the shrine’s premises. Due to the diversity in Maqibo, it is difficult to generalize about !priests, but most of the time they are not considered formal spiritual leaders. They are usually considered to have a closer relationship with the shine’s maqi than most people, but this is simply because they are the ones who spend the most time at the shrine, not because they are intrinsically more favored by or connected to the maqi.

Household shrines
Many Maqibo practitioners have household shrines, also called home shrines or private shrines, in their home. They are generally a box or some other container that enshrines a person or family’s most revered maqi. Creating a household shrine can be as simple as placing an object inhabited by a maqi into a box. Such objects can be obtained in a variety of ways, such as from a formal shrine, while on pilgrimage to a maqi’s actual location, or the actual maqi itself could be placed in or nearby the box. Worship is directed towards the box as a whole, paying equal reverence to each maqi enshrined inside, but it is not uncommon to take objects out and pay respect to them individually. Household shrines are often decorated and contain a small altar where food can be offered to the maqi. Usually, offerings consist of a small serving of some packaged or nonperishable food such as cookies or oranges. They are usually placed on the altar in the morning, sometimes along with a beverage. After the day has gone by and the maqi have “eaten” the offering, it is customary to consume the offering oneself. Because one consumes the same food that is eaten by the maqi, foodsharing is considered one of the most intimate rituals in Maqibo, and is almost exclusively done at household shrines.

Prehistory & early Maqibo
The exact origins of Maqibo are a mystery, but it is likely descended from the original prehistoric animist beliefs of the hunter-gatherers that first settled Taxata. An animist religion, Maqibo shares some trace elements with many other indigenous religions of northeastern Vidina, and many religious scholars and historians have theorized that they share a common religious heritage. By the time the proto-Taxics emerged, however, their religious beliefs had probably already become distinct from those of their neighbors. However, it is probably inappropriate to call the prehistoric Taxic religions a form of “early Maqibo.” Due to the local nature of most maqi, it is impossible to trace their development back for more than one or two thousand years. Although some extremely prominent maqi, such as Ariye and a few of the Haqamimaqi, can in some form or another be traced as far back as 900 BCE, they most likely did not become their modern, recognizable selves until much later. According to ancient records, the Proto-Taxic civilization that existed from the 16th to 11th centuries BCE worshiped a very early version of the Classical Taxic pantheon, but they were most likely not revered in the capacity of maqi yet.

By the time the Archaic Taxics emerged, however, an early form of Maqibo had already begun to appear. Even the earliest Taxic records mention, albeit only rarely, religious practices that are similar to modern maqi reverence. By the second century CE, many of the major maqi had assumed recognizable forms, and maqi reverence had become widespread in Taxata. There is significant evidence that points to Ariye as the most important maqi during early Maqibo, possibly due to a particularly devastating series of eruptions that may have occurred around that time. Many minor maqi’s histories can only be traced as far back as around the third to fifth centuries, pointing to that period as the possible beginning of Maqibo in its modern form. However, this sudden cutoff can also be attributed to the enormous societal disruptions that occurred during the Late Taxic Invasions, which occurred in the same time frame. During the height of the migrations, it was not uncommon for entire villages to abandon their homes and head west; many maqi might have been lost or forgotten this way. Even if it was common for settlers to take their maqi west, as is mentioned in some records, it is likely that their history in Taxata was erased when they syncretized with local deities.

Mirati period
By the 13th century, Maqibo had become integrated with local traditions throughout the Mirati Confederation, except in the border kingdoms, which were ruled by pre-Taxic populations and had significant autonomy from the Imperial authority. Although Taxic migrants in these areas generally exclusively practiced Maqibo, the non-Taxic population was slow to adopt maqi reverence. In the western Mirati Confederation, Tevatua was still the predominant religion within the three border kingdoms there, a situation that had begun to cause tensions between them and their neighboring princes. The Mirati Wars of Religion broke out in the 15th century and lasted until the early 16th century, but ultimately did not have a significant impact on the religious landscape of the Mirati Confederation. Although Folk Tevatua began to replace Orthodox Tevatua in some areas, this was mostly due to migration rather than conversion.

Within Riyata
There are diverse religious traditions across Riyata, with Maqibo being universally widespread and Tevatua being prominent in the west, where many people practice some kind of Tevatua simultaneously with Maqibo. Furthermore, many immigrant communities that developed in the 20th and 21st centuries retain their native religions, which are also increasingly able to coexist with Maqibo.

Relationship with Tevatua
Tevatua in Riyata is hard to categorize because of the different degrees of syncretism that vary from individual to individual. According to surveys and estimates, between 80-90% of Riyata’s population practices some kind of maqi veneration, while 30-40% of the population practices Tevatua in some form, either worshiping !god as a monotheistic deity (Church Tevatua), as a supreme deity alongside maqi (usually called Folk Tevatua), or as a maqi, either monotheistically or alongside other maqi. It is debated whether people who revere !god in the capacity of a maqi are practitioners of Tevatua or not. On official government surveys, people should list themselves as practicing both Tevatua and Maqibo, but some religious scholars argue that “reducing” !god to maqi status inherently goes against the core beliefs of Tevatua.

Maqibo in immigrant communities
Waves of immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries have brought many foreign religions into contact with Maqibo. According to survey and census data, first-generation immigrants and other recent arrivals to Riyata tend to consciously keep Maqibo traditions separate from their native religions, but according to some sources this barrier is broken down as soon as the second or third generations. Many descendants of immigrants have a tolerant and inclusive attitude towards religion, and are willing to participate in Maqibo celebrations and rituals without necessarily considering themselves practitioners.

Outside Riyata
Maqibo is mostly contained to Riyata, but it has a limited international presence. There are around 600 formal maqi shrines outside Riyata, primarily in eastern Vatupaya as well as in former Riyatic colonies. Most of these were established by Riyatic migrants in areas where they settled in large numbers, not by locals who adopted maqi reverence. Countries with significant amounts of maqi shrines include the Democratic Federation, !ajax, Koranel, and Tiepu. Because it is so closely integrated with Riyatic culture, it is very difficult to practice Maqibo outside of Riyata; maqi veneration is generally deeply tied to local history and traditions. Many members of the Riyatic diaspora, especially those raised outside of Riyata, do not practice Maqibo in any form, even if they grew up around a household shrine or nearby a public shrine.

Maqibo and irreligion
Sometimes, especially among younger practitioners, Maqibo is difficult to distinguish from irreligion. This is due to the wide variety of interpretations that can be made about maqi and maqi worship. For example, one practitioner can treat Maqibo as simply “respect towards important things,” while another might believe everything is literally animate, having consciousness and the ability to influence the world. Despite this, because they both participate in the same rituals, celebrations, and customs associated with Maqibo, they are both technically practitioners even though they have wildly different worldviews regarding maqi.

As a result, Riyatic census data generalizes and groups irreligion and Maqibo together, even though this is not technically true. Especially among fundamentalist practitioners, this government policy has sparked criticism.