Post by Seknos on May 4, 2010 5:54:46 GMT -5
written by: Kiva Sy’kirra
According to Myth and ancient tradition, the universe was born from the womb of the Mother, Kika’lekki, and her breath, the living Force, gave it life. In these sacred creation myths, most so old that they have been passed down orally from a time before written word, the Twi’lek clans came to be when Kika’lekki shed five tears upon the surface of Ryloth. Each tear became a river that flowed to a great lake that was the birthplace of one of the five original clans. Each clan offered worship to their mother in their own way, one through shrines of fire, another by offerings set upon the waters, a different by great stone monuments, yet another by music that drifted upon the air, and the last by devotion to prayers said only in the spirit. Each of these clans were cherished and nurtured by the Mother, and Ryloth was like a paradise where the power of life and the living Force mingled in a dance of elements. This was before the taint of the Dead. When the dark side was touched, and the destructive aspects of the Force and the Great Mother were discovered, the dance began to change. In time the clans began to war and argue, and the delicate dance of life was disrupted by the Dark side, and death entered the universe.
It is written that as the power of the dark side swept the many races of the universe, that Kika’lekki wept for it, knowing that her children must now struggle with this new power until they learned the practice of self-control and came to resist the temptation of the abuse of the living Force that gave all life. She knew that in time they would come to the truth of enlightenment in the light and would set aside the darkness, but that until they had grown to this enlightenment that much strife would engulf her creation. This was the age of Sissavia, and it is the time we live in now.
It is also written, however, that when the Twi’lek peoples, as the chosen of the Mother come to attain enlightenment, and banish the dark side from their souls, that all the universe will know a new age of paradise and that the temptation of the darkness will be banished once more and death will no longer hinder the spirits of Her children.
It is this set of creation myths that have formed the foundations of the ancient religion of the Temple of Kika’lekki. And it is the hope for enlightenment and peace that drive the worshippers of the Mother, in hopes that they may bring about the banishment of the dark side forever.
Like all creation myths, there may be some truths in the Twi’lek spiritual tales. Perhaps, long ago Ryloth was a garden planet, and some catastrophe brought about the orbit that today makes the world uninhabitable on the surface. Perhaps it was even somehow related to the Force and a misuse of the power of the dark side. Likely, we will never know, as that day is lost in times so far past as to be out of memory. But, the Twi’lek belief in the Mother, in Her Breath, the Living Force, and in eventual enlightenment are strong even after so long and have been the cornerstone of the entire Rylothian society.
The Temple teaches that each soul has the ability to reach oneness with the Great Mother and with the Force in enlightenment and understanding. The priestesses tell us that in truth, our separateness is but an illusion, that we have never been apart from the one that is the Mother, and that we live these lives to experience the wondrous journey that leads us back to that understanding…to experience struggles and events that help us grow and to allow the one to experience that journey through us. “We are one spirit,” they say, “though we travel many paths back home.”
Perhaps it is this deep belief in the oneness of all life that has steeled the twi’lek peoples through so much strife and hardship over the millennia. Regardless, it remains that the Temple and the worship of the Mother is central to not only the society, but to each member of it. Prayers are said daily and candles and incense are lit to the Goddess and elaborate rituals are performed to make rites of passage. Great temples and shrines dot the underground caverns of Ryloth, most as old as the religion itself, their building and dedication lost to memory.
Throughout the struggles of Ryloth’s history, it has been the Temple and the faith of the people that has remained unchanged by time and the outside influences. And to this day, it is the Temple and its priestesses, called Kivas, which means “Mother”, that have been the strongest force for justice, humaneness and peace in the society.
Over the millennia, the rituals and traditions, prayers and shrines of the Temple of Kika’lekki have only grown ever more elaborate and rich in their detail and fullness. The small shrines that are housed in caverns across Ryloth, as well as the great Temples themselves are filled with ancient carvings and statues of the Goddess and of events out of mythic texts, which are so numerous as to never have been fully cataloged. Filled with candles and the smell of incense, decorated with silks and woven rugs and watched over by the devote Kivas, these shrines are a focal point of every family. The ritual rites of passage are celebrated by entire clans, and the holy days of myth devoted to the many aspects of the Goddess are solemn at times and festive at others. It is a tradition that is so full of depth and detail that no truly complete treatises could ever be written on it.
The priestesses of the Temple that serve the Mother are chosen from those who feel called to the Temple and the life of solemn duty to the Goddess and her children and comprise women from all castes and backgrounds. The Temple is truly the last remnant of the old society that remains untouched by the more recent changes, and it is here that the castes find common ground. For most female children, a period of service to the temple begins at age five and may continue for a year or longer, wherein they are taught the traditions, myths and rituals of the Temple that they may serve as lay priestesses of their own families as they grow up, and to lay an understanding of the Mother in all the women of the society.
Those who feel called to serve as priestesses usually come to the Temple by the year after their coming of age ceremony, though, sadly, many are required to be sold into slavery before that time. Once accepted into the priestesshood, a woman will spend many years in silent, solitary contemplation and prayer before they return to common society to serve as Kivas for the clans. It is a quiet life, full of introspection, pray and meditation, and the priestesses all take a vow of poverty, owning no property and surviving only on the offerings to the temple. The priestesses are led by a single oracle who has the power of visions granted by her ability to feel the Force. Although in times past, the strongest force sensitives were discovered by the Jedi and taken for training, many remained with simple abilities in touching or sensing the living Force, and the Oracle was chosen from among the strongest and wisest of these women. In this day of darkness and the Empire, where the Jedi have been discredited and the Sith hunt the users of the force, this ability of many of the Kivas is no longer spoken of publicly.
Among the main twi’lek society, the Kivas are revered and honored as the handmaidens of the Mother herself, and the advice, peace and comfort they bring are honored and treasured by clans of all castes.
According to Myth and ancient tradition, the universe was born from the womb of the Mother, Kika’lekki, and her breath, the living Force, gave it life. In these sacred creation myths, most so old that they have been passed down orally from a time before written word, the Twi’lek clans came to be when Kika’lekki shed five tears upon the surface of Ryloth. Each tear became a river that flowed to a great lake that was the birthplace of one of the five original clans. Each clan offered worship to their mother in their own way, one through shrines of fire, another by offerings set upon the waters, a different by great stone monuments, yet another by music that drifted upon the air, and the last by devotion to prayers said only in the spirit. Each of these clans were cherished and nurtured by the Mother, and Ryloth was like a paradise where the power of life and the living Force mingled in a dance of elements. This was before the taint of the Dead. When the dark side was touched, and the destructive aspects of the Force and the Great Mother were discovered, the dance began to change. In time the clans began to war and argue, and the delicate dance of life was disrupted by the Dark side, and death entered the universe.
It is written that as the power of the dark side swept the many races of the universe, that Kika’lekki wept for it, knowing that her children must now struggle with this new power until they learned the practice of self-control and came to resist the temptation of the abuse of the living Force that gave all life. She knew that in time they would come to the truth of enlightenment in the light and would set aside the darkness, but that until they had grown to this enlightenment that much strife would engulf her creation. This was the age of Sissavia, and it is the time we live in now.
It is also written, however, that when the Twi’lek peoples, as the chosen of the Mother come to attain enlightenment, and banish the dark side from their souls, that all the universe will know a new age of paradise and that the temptation of the darkness will be banished once more and death will no longer hinder the spirits of Her children.
It is this set of creation myths that have formed the foundations of the ancient religion of the Temple of Kika’lekki. And it is the hope for enlightenment and peace that drive the worshippers of the Mother, in hopes that they may bring about the banishment of the dark side forever.
Like all creation myths, there may be some truths in the Twi’lek spiritual tales. Perhaps, long ago Ryloth was a garden planet, and some catastrophe brought about the orbit that today makes the world uninhabitable on the surface. Perhaps it was even somehow related to the Force and a misuse of the power of the dark side. Likely, we will never know, as that day is lost in times so far past as to be out of memory. But, the Twi’lek belief in the Mother, in Her Breath, the Living Force, and in eventual enlightenment are strong even after so long and have been the cornerstone of the entire Rylothian society.
The Temple teaches that each soul has the ability to reach oneness with the Great Mother and with the Force in enlightenment and understanding. The priestesses tell us that in truth, our separateness is but an illusion, that we have never been apart from the one that is the Mother, and that we live these lives to experience the wondrous journey that leads us back to that understanding…to experience struggles and events that help us grow and to allow the one to experience that journey through us. “We are one spirit,” they say, “though we travel many paths back home.”
Perhaps it is this deep belief in the oneness of all life that has steeled the twi’lek peoples through so much strife and hardship over the millennia. Regardless, it remains that the Temple and the worship of the Mother is central to not only the society, but to each member of it. Prayers are said daily and candles and incense are lit to the Goddess and elaborate rituals are performed to make rites of passage. Great temples and shrines dot the underground caverns of Ryloth, most as old as the religion itself, their building and dedication lost to memory.
Throughout the struggles of Ryloth’s history, it has been the Temple and the faith of the people that has remained unchanged by time and the outside influences. And to this day, it is the Temple and its priestesses, called Kivas, which means “Mother”, that have been the strongest force for justice, humaneness and peace in the society.
Over the millennia, the rituals and traditions, prayers and shrines of the Temple of Kika’lekki have only grown ever more elaborate and rich in their detail and fullness. The small shrines that are housed in caverns across Ryloth, as well as the great Temples themselves are filled with ancient carvings and statues of the Goddess and of events out of mythic texts, which are so numerous as to never have been fully cataloged. Filled with candles and the smell of incense, decorated with silks and woven rugs and watched over by the devote Kivas, these shrines are a focal point of every family. The ritual rites of passage are celebrated by entire clans, and the holy days of myth devoted to the many aspects of the Goddess are solemn at times and festive at others. It is a tradition that is so full of depth and detail that no truly complete treatises could ever be written on it.
The priestesses of the Temple that serve the Mother are chosen from those who feel called to the Temple and the life of solemn duty to the Goddess and her children and comprise women from all castes and backgrounds. The Temple is truly the last remnant of the old society that remains untouched by the more recent changes, and it is here that the castes find common ground. For most female children, a period of service to the temple begins at age five and may continue for a year or longer, wherein they are taught the traditions, myths and rituals of the Temple that they may serve as lay priestesses of their own families as they grow up, and to lay an understanding of the Mother in all the women of the society.
Those who feel called to serve as priestesses usually come to the Temple by the year after their coming of age ceremony, though, sadly, many are required to be sold into slavery before that time. Once accepted into the priestesshood, a woman will spend many years in silent, solitary contemplation and prayer before they return to common society to serve as Kivas for the clans. It is a quiet life, full of introspection, pray and meditation, and the priestesses all take a vow of poverty, owning no property and surviving only on the offerings to the temple. The priestesses are led by a single oracle who has the power of visions granted by her ability to feel the Force. Although in times past, the strongest force sensitives were discovered by the Jedi and taken for training, many remained with simple abilities in touching or sensing the living Force, and the Oracle was chosen from among the strongest and wisest of these women. In this day of darkness and the Empire, where the Jedi have been discredited and the Sith hunt the users of the force, this ability of many of the Kivas is no longer spoken of publicly.
Among the main twi’lek society, the Kivas are revered and honored as the handmaidens of the Mother herself, and the advice, peace and comfort they bring are honored and treasured by clans of all castes.