Darkanism/Ceremonies

Come forth faithful ones and learn the ceremonies of Darkanism. Take them to your heart and follow them through with joy and firm belief.

Weddings

There are only a few things that are common in all weddings. The priests usually decide what they will say, as will the groom and bride when they make their vows. In all weddings, it is customary to make a sacrifice to Sigrid, to gain her blessing to the couple and steer her away from them, to give them a long life. An offering is also sought from Darka, so the married couple would live a fertile and fulfilling life.

The ceremony begins with the sacrifices.

The sacrifice is a rams heart from the groom and a lambs heart from the bride. First, the rams heart is thrown in a fire by the groom and he says: “This is my offering, Sigrid. My heart consumed by you, brought back to life by Darka. Give us your blessing.”

As the heart turns to ash, it is the brides turn. She throws the lambs heart in the fire and says: “This is my offering, Sigrid. My heart consumed by you, brought back to life by Darka. Give us your blessing”

After this the priest continues the ceremony and is followed by the exchange of vows by the bride and groom. As the ceremony finishes each quest is given a handful of the ash produced by the burning of the sacrifices. The quests rub the ash on their hands and as the bride and groom walk past them, each quest will brush their hand against boths cheek, saying: “Consumed by Sigrid, accepted by Darka. Bless this couple.”

Funerals

A traditional Darkan funeral is done by burning the corpse. Again, there are no set words to say or things to do, but it is important that the body is burned to ashesh, thus giving the body to Sigrid and leaving behind the blessings of Darka. The ashesh are then buried in the ground, to show respect to the deceased by bringing him closer to Lodril and the balance Lodril represents.

The Volcano Sacrifice Ritual

Once a month, the high priests gather on the holy volcano to give a sacrifice to the three gods. Depending on how things have gone, the sacrifice can be anything from a goat or a cow to living humans. Of course, followers of Sigund and Brigith are on the top of the list as sacrifices.

In the actual ceremony, the sacrifice has a mix of ash and oil rubbed all over it and stone weights attached to its legs(and arms, if it has them). Before being thrown in the volcano, the sacrifice is set on fire. The high priests sing praise to the three gods and pray for them to look upon the believers favorably.