Ünch Satagel

Ünch Satagel (meaning "loyalty of the heart" in Böji-Xel) is the religion of the nomadic Böji-Erch people. It is semi-monotheistic, believing in a single sky-mother who is the matron deity of the Böji-Erchu, though aspects of ancestor worship and animism are present.

Status as an Ethnoreligion
Ünch Satagel is very intertwined with the cultural practices of the Böji-Erchu- so much so that the barrier between the religion and the secular culture of the Böji-Erchu becomes incredibly blurred. It is a religion exclusive to the Böji-Erchu, and they do not proselytize or otherwise attempt to spread the faith, nor do they have any central leadership. This is because Ünch Satagel's primary deity, Eyezh Ekh (First Mother, also spelled E'ezh Ex) is regarded as the primary goddess of the Böji-Erchu and only the Böji-Erchu. They may acknowledge the existence of other gods, but disregard them as they belong to other peoples.

Beliefs
The faith primarily revolves around the worship of the sky, manifested through the creator goddess Eyezh Ekh.

Creation Myth
It is maintained that as the Böji-Erchu move constantly, only the sky is constant; as such, the sky was the vessel to which Eyezh Ekh should be worshipped.

Legend has it that a female sky deity known as Eyezh Ekh created the first Böji-Erch by officiating the marriage of a human and a sapient rabbit, thus creating the perfect nomadic people who would worship her and thus give her power, and in return she would take care of the Böji-Erchu and provide them with all they need in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Afterlife
When a Böji-Erch person dies, their spirit is carried into the sky to join Eyezh Ekh. Spirits are said to be stronger if the the person lived a happy, healthy, and pure life free of hurting other Böji-Erchu. A weak spirit, more importantly someone who was a morally impure person, would not be able to make the journey through Heaven to rejoin Eyezh Ekh and instead be absorbed into the clouds. One who attempts to weaken another's spirit by harming their happiness or body will have their spiritual energy given back to their victim, denying the offender unity with the matron goddess.

Spirits
Ünch Satagel adherents also believe in a number of animistic spirits called ruukh that live throughout the world. They can be communed with, though some are hostile. The adherents may ask Eyezh Ekh for protection from malicious spirits, or to send beneficial ones their way. Communication with spirits is often conducted through a shaman called a Tungriyardag (lit. "Heaven-talker") who specializes in the craft, though in theory anyone who knows how to perform the correct ritual can do so.

Spirits are considered mainly to be local entities, inhabiting trees, rivers, caves, mountains, and other natural places. The names for them vary from individual place to place, as well as between tribes. Spirits may come from people, rabbits, other animals, or be metaphysical manifestations of natural objects. Certain spirits can be appeased or warded off through means specific to the spirit and related to the thing it represents. For example, the spirit of a river can be appeased by sacrificing fish to the river.

Rituals
The faith has no real organization beyond the Tungriyardagu and oral historians, and there are no specific holy books- merely texts describing the basic cosmogony and how to perform rituals. As such, practices may vary from tribe to tribe. However, there are several rituals conducted in effectively the same way among all Böji-Erchu regardless of tribal affiliation.

The Ovü
Perhaps the most well-known ritual is the construction of the ovü, a kind of cairn where travelers stop by. They can be built quickly, and it is considered to bring good luck if one contributes a stone to the ovü. Consumables- usually food, incense, alcohol, tobacco, poppies, or cannabis- are usually burned at the ovü as sacrificial offerings, either to the ancestor spirits or to Eyezh Ekh herself.

Ovü construction follows specific rules; there must be a double cross, with each bar representing the earth (Ulus Dem) and one representing heaven (Tungri). This cross must follow a north-south axis, as to aid navigation for nomad and spirit alike in the nighttime or under overcast skies when the sun cannot be seen. Ovü are most often built on or near mountains, where they can be seen as navigation landmarks and are physically closer to heaven.

Ruukharakh
The art of ruukharakh, or "spirit-seeing", is practiced by a Tungriyardag shaman to interpret the appearance and will of spirits, and to communicate with them. This is generally accomplished by consuming psychedelic drugs, allowing the Tungriyardag user's "soul eyes" to open. This allows the Tungriyardag's spirit to see and communicate with other spirits without having to leave the body it inhabits.