Ancestral religion

The Sudzi don’t have any gods, not in the way other Dalethian people have their gods. Sudzi worship their ancestors.
The Sudzi have no temples as public buildings, but have altars in their houses and on the burial grounds. On the house altars, they have some relics from their dead ancestors. On the holy days -the important days in the life of the ancestor- the altar is nicely decorated. On other days, the altar and the ancestors are just part of everyday life. The Sudzi have no priests or social cults.

Calling the ancestors

When in need, a Sudzi can call on his ancestors. The calling can be heard by anybody who is near. After the calling, the Sudzi is able to speak with the dead.
The calling starts with building a fire. Then, the seeds of the Amalbruns are thrown into the fire (it works with the powder of the seeds as well, but the amount of Amalbruns determines the calling time). Now, the Sudzi can call upon an ancestor, who will appear in the flames.
It is easy to communicate with this ancestor, questions can be asked, even by non-Sudzi or non-relatives. The called ancestor may be asked to get another person from “the other side of life”. The ones from the other side are not all-knowing or anything like that, as many Poorters seem to think. They are just as they were in normal life.
The calling ends when the fire is extinguished.

Vision towards the world

Because the dead help the Sudzi to live, the Sudzi are not afraid to die (but they don’t like it any more than other people). They also know it is possible to right the wrongs done in life - to a certain level.
The life of the Sudzi-people is a continuity, the same life goes on from father to son, from mother to daughter, and every generation sees it as its task to make life better than it was, but also to keep the good things from the past.

Rites

Apart from the callings, the Sudzi have no real rites, except for the burial rites.
After a Sudzi dies, his/her body is taken to the burial grounds, where the body is put in a shallow grave. Some stones are put on the grave, so wild animals won’t eat the body. Flowers and other decorations are put on the grave as well.
It takes about two menoth for the body to start passing away. The grave digger will look if the body is passing away. If this is not, (s)he will take another look a menoth later. When the body is falling apart, the dead can be called upon, and the day is celebrated with the first, “welcome back home” calling. The family rejoices the reunion, and often bits of food, alcoholic drinks, flowers, and strong smelling herbs are thrown into the fire.

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