Orcish Religion

Orc are generally animalistic in their religious beliefs. Their religion focuses primarily upon gaining the personal favor of particular spirits, which act as totems. This is accomplished by means of appeasement and resonance.

Appeasement is accomplished via offerings and honors. Offerings are gifts made to a spirit in order to gain its attention and/or favor. The nature of the offerings as well as the manner in which they are offered varies among differing spirits. Honors are symbols representing a particular spirit such as statues, shrines, amulets, tattoos and other representations. Honors vary in their scale, complexity and personal commitment. Shrines are typically the largest honors while tattoos are among the most personal.

Resonance is is based on familiarity and commonality with a particular spirit. Spirits are thought to favor those who are most like themselves. Therefore, one can gain the favor of a spirit by eating foods favored by the spirit, wearing colors preferred by it or otherwise embodying the spirit. For this reason, it is common for individuals to court spirits whose preferences and inclinations match their own.

Just as orc society is characterized by their ties of family, tribe and clan, they recognize spirit patronage at these same levels. An individual orc is likely to have an individual spirit patron as well as family, tribe and clan totems. It is not uncommon for multiple spirits to be courted or for patron spirits to change over time.

Hi
Hi (pronounced hee) is the spiritual energy that exists in all things and which governs their power. All things have hi but not all things have the same amount of it. Things that move are thought to have more hi than things which do not. Thus animals have more hi than plants. Larger things are also thought to have more hi so a mountain would have more than a rock. Exemplary objects or creature similarly, possess greater hi. An orc who is exceptionally strong for example is thought to have a lot of hi. This works both ways though. One can exceed their normal limitations and become more than they are by acquiring hi. Resonance is one way to go about growing one's hi. When 2 spirits have high resonance, they enhance each other's hi. Also, when many spirits come together they can form a communal spirit with its own hi. For example, a drop of rain has a small amount of hi but when many drops come together in a storm, the storm itself has greater hi and being a part of the storm makes the hi of each drop within it greater. Orc tribes and clans are thought to work in this same manner, which is why orcs are so fervent about those bonds. By resonating with their tribe and their clan, an individual orc is able to enhance her own hi. Similarly, making sure other members are in sync with their totems ensures the communal hi will be strong.

Dual Souls
Orcs consider themselves to have two "souls." The Sun Soul is the persistent and immortal soul that enters the body at conception and leaves the body at death. The Sun Soul is associated with physical traits as well as fate and karma. The Moon Soul on the other hand is formed at birth and changes over the course of an orc's life. It is destroyed and ceases to exist when the orc's life is over. Most of an orc's hi is stored in the moon soul and it is this soul that forms bonds with others. The Moon Soul is associated with social and mental aptitude as well as luck.

Totems
Many animistic cultures revere and interact with spirits in broad ways. Orcs however have a much more individualistic relationship with spirits. The exact nature of these relationships can vary as much as relationships with other people do but the closest of these relationships are those with totems. An individual orc typically has several totems including a clan totem, tribe totem, family totem and personal totem. When hordes form, they typically adopt the clan totem of the hordemaster as the horde totem. Totems are specific individual spirits which act as patrons to the orcs with whom they are bonded. They are typically spirits of things important to these individuals, of cultural importance or historic significance and have individual names and personalities.

Known Totems:
Zolokolokolchi - Spirit of Battle Under the Waning Moon

- Totem of the Grimclaw Clan

Shapendazahovar - Spirit of Challenging Fate with Sorcery

Lulzot - Spirit of Evening Blooming Flowers