Dwarven Religion

Dwarves religion centers around ancestor worship.

Afterlife
Dwarves believe that the quality of their afterlife is dependent upon the thoughts and memories of the living. The more people remember an individual and the more powerful the feelings and emotions stirred by those memories, the better one's afterlife will be. It is for this reason that most dwarven adventurers set out. They are looking to make a name for themselves and inspire stories to be told about them, this ensuring their place in the afterlife.

Practices
Because the quality of their afterlife is dependent upon being remembered, many dwarven spiritual practices involve remembering their own ancestors. Each dwarven family and clan has a Book of Names, which is a collection of Names and stories about dwarves in that group. There are also dwarven monks known as Namespeakers that recite the names of the dead as far back as they have recorded to ensure their kinsman are not forgotten. Similarly, each individual dwarf typically carries a personal Book of Names in which they record their own direct lineage from their clan's founder as well as the names of their direct family and closest friends. It is common practice to recite the names in one's personal Book of Names each night before bed.

To ensure their own place in the memories of the living, extravagant funerals and conspicuous graves are common practice. Dwarves are not commonly interred with much wealth but no expense is spared on their resting places. Those with enough means go so far as to build monumental tombs and dwarves typically prefer to have their graves located in well travelled places to be seen by as many people as possible as often as possible. A portion of a dwarf's wealth is also used as gifts for those surviving them. It is common practice to leave wealth and property of some kind to as many relatives, friends and acquaintances as possible, making dwarven wills very long and detailed documents. Skilled dwarven Executors see to the preparation, maintenance and execution of such documents.

Dwarves are sometimes criticized by other cultures for being overly hung up and focused on lineage but it is central to their culture and vital to them spritually. One way to honor a dwarf is to announce them by their name as well as their forefathers. Using "son of" and then naming their father is common but greater honor may be shown by adding additional generations or naming other relatives. This helps those other relatives or ancestors be remembered as well. Similarly, dwarves will often include the name of a famous ancestor  with their own.

Religious Orders
Executors Namespeakers Mazers

Notes & Development
Holidays: Day of the Dead / Ghost Month Analog - Tomb Sweeping Day analog Death Mead?