The Ohwiste - a reincarnating conpeople

[quinterbeck]

The mood for a bit of conworlding took me a little while back, here's what came of that. I'm enjoying my attempt to present the Ohwiste's own understanding of themselves without drawing lines between belief and truth.

The Ohwiste

The Ohwiste are a small society of reincarnating people (they are human in appearance). Each member of the clan has a known name across all their incarnations. An Ohwiste repeatedly is born into sun-life, lives, and dies into moon-life, where they wait to be reborn. During moon-life, the soul dwells in one of several sacred sites in the Ohwiste territory. Each soul has a specific vessel to return to, and there is a visible sign that indicates the presence of a residing soul.

Common sacred sites include caves, groves, and areas with many springs. In caves, the vessels are particular rock formations, marked by candles or lamps which are aflame during moon-life; when the resident is reborn the flame goes out.

Groves of the rare Fehwas tree are very often sacred, each tree a single vessel, blooming only during moon-life. Sages are further able to read the habitation of a tree by the pattern of the leaves.

It is not clear until late pregnancy or even birth who a new child will be. Therefore the vessels are under constant watch to ensure the departure of the soul prior to rebirth is witnessed and the new child can be named aright. It is customary for expectant mothers to visit the sacred sites, for the moon-living souls to encounter the unborn child and consider who might be reborn to this body.

Mostly, it is clear from recently vacated vessels who each newborn is, and they are called by their name - the one and only name they bear through every life they live. If it is unclear from the vessels, there are a number of methods available to discern who a newborn is. Many Ohwiste are close friends life after life, and can recognise one another easily. Others have persistent characteristics and peculiar signs. For example, Nifes is a known trickster, and likes to be born at the same time as others to cause confusion, but he usually has red hair and green eyes, and gives himself away by laughing at bawdy jokes while still a babe.

If they are able, the Ohwiste prefer to die in the site of their vessel to confirm the sign of their soul returning there.

The Ohwiste in moon-life have full memories of all their lives, and leave them behind at birth. At death the mind sojourns to the moon to regain memories of past lives, before rejoining the soul in the sacred vessel. At birth the soul is lacking in vigour and needs much sunlight to reinvigorate it. During sun-life, there are important rituals to perform to ensure the integrity of past memory and the ability to regain it. In these, and also in rituals surrounding death, the moon is central.

The moon is lord of the sacred sites. Under a new moon, moon-living Ohwiste are isolated. Under moonlight, they commune within their sacred sites, and as the moon waxes, communion between distinct sites waxes also. At full moon, the sacred sites are unified as one, and the moon-living share in a full communion. A solar eclipse is a time for the sun-living to display great reverence for the moon-living.

With so much memory, the moon-living are very wise, and have some foresight too. In times of great need the sun-living have ways to seek their counsel, and the moon-living may bestow this in a manner fitting with their vessel. For example, at great need a sage is permitted to eat the fruit of an Ehwas and receive wisdom. Such actions are otherwise prohibited (with certain exceptions).

Some Ohwiste individuals

Youkhas and Ufəm are firm friends life after life, close as brothers though rarely born as such, and each varies in temperament from life to life.

Eifin is a lover of flowers and ever returns to tend her famed garden. She is born most often a daughter of Nanyeu, and always under the morning star.

Kwinyəs looks ever to the horizon, and would set off journeying as a youngster had they not once promised to stay every life until their sixteenth summer. Their mother cherishes their childhood, knowing she will miss them once they depart. Kwinyəs is a lover of the sea, always born far from shore. In the mountain hall of Kofə, an ancient urn is their vessel - silent in sun-life, but scented with heady brine in moon-life. A sage of high devotion may even hear the wash of waves within it.

Telal and Hyeinu are young lovers when born close in years, though they don't always remain in love! Fortunate is one who might sway Telal away from Hyeinu, his bride of many lives; Fathalih will often try! The branches of their Ehwas trees are closely entwined.

Ahlau is a mighty warrior, born only when he foresees battle arising for the Ohwiste. (He is often a man, but not always.) His life will have many sorrows and contests. He will always come to blows with Posas, whether or not he is forewarned. His beloved very often falls ill or to injury. And if no battle arises, his sons will despise him and conspire against him.

Telpeli comes to usher in times of peace, born during days of great discord. They are an overseer of mending and reconciliation, and lay foundations for fruitful generations to come. Kenkwin follows Telpeli, and serves at Telpeli's right hand.

[Qwynegold]

This was interesting! Have you seen Worldbuilding Notes on YouTube?

[Vilike]

This was interesting! Have you seen Worldbuilding Notes on YouTube?

My thoughts exactly. But this post is far more detailed.

Now, we know how the sun-living die (same as us I suppose), but how do the moon-living die? Is it always triggered by a birth? What happens if a vessel is desacralised?

[quinterbeck]

This was interesting! Have you seen Worldbuilding Notes on YouTube?

Yes, it's one of my favourite channels! Although I have a note of the initial idea and the name Ohwiste from 2016, her video on the topic definitely served to suggest the vessel-dwelling between bodily lives.

Now, we know how the sun-living die (same as us I suppose), but how do the moon-living die? Is it always triggered by a birth?

Yes, in a sense. But the Ohwiste don't conceptualise the transfer from moon-life to sun-life as a kind of death, because it's literally birth for them. They would find it very strange that we can describe death as 'losing your life' - they don't lose their life at death, they just alternate between different modes of life: under the sun and under the moon.

Here's some tentative Ohwiste words for their perceived modes of life and transition:

ihmo [ˈiçmo] - soul, life-force, the persistence of one's personal existence

ifa [ˈiva] - the sun
aifanne [ajˈvanːe] - be in sun-life, live under the sun
tifanne [tiˈvanːe] - be born, lit. come under the sun
yə [jə] - give birth, be born (of animals, non-reincarnating people)

hwan [ʍɑn] - the moon
ohwentu [ɔˈʍɛndu] - be in moon-life, live under the moon
tuhwentu [tuˈʍɛndu] - die, lit. come under the moon
usu [ˈuzu] - kill, die (of animals, non-reincarnating people)

What happens if a vessel is desacralised?

That's a very interesting question! I'll have to think about what counts as desacralisation or desecration, and what the effects would be...

[Rounin Ryuuji]

What happens if a vessel is desacralised?

That's a very interesting question! I'll have to think about what counts as desacralisation or desecration, and what the effects would be...

From how things are presented, I would imagine there is at very least an extreme taboo against this, if not some sort of terrible magical repercussion that would happen to somebody doing this, probably cursing them in some way across generations, or else obliterating their means of reincarnation instead.