World-building: Religion

Religion is a funny thing that can, but doesn’t have to, influence EVERYTHING. Most people have no idea how much of a culture is rooted in religion. For instance, our own country came into existence partially because of religious persecution in England. Many of our laws and why they came about are solidly rooted from those religious ideals. That’s one of the major reasons people came here in droves, but it’s also the reason we separate church and state. That sense of equality we always toot about came about because the British outcasts living here all wanted to be free of persecution, the first amendment covers that. Other things in our culture came from the influence of religion. Our love of peace is partly due to the Quaker’s heavy belief in ‘turn the other cheek’.
Another example of a small thing influenced by religion is kosher foods. Why are the Jews not allowed to eat meat mixed with dairy products? It’s rooted in prevention of disease, but to make sure people did it Religious specialists (A.K.A. priests) and their leaders made it a religious law. The Islamic practice of woman only showing their hands and face is directly from their religious laws called the Sharia. Why don’t the Hindus eat beef? Cattle are holy creatures in some places their slaughter and consumption is forbidden. Religion can affect anything. Keep that in mind when you make one.
All faiths have certain commonalities such as; Prayer taboos, and who can and can’t be a priest/priestess. There are more, but I recommend seeing Anthony Wallace (1966; Religion: An Anthropological View; ISBN-10: 0394442717) for the full list. About his list though, you don’t have to include all of them in fact you shouldn’t. You should, however, include some way of communication between mortals and the gods. It’s the one essential thing in my opinion though a lack of it is an interesting problem in of itself. Religion covers those things which we as mortals cannot define; how the world was created, who controls those things beyond our reach, and why those things are the way they are. The more science that enters a culture to explain the world around them causes one of two things happens. Either the religion becomes more complex or it fades from lack of faith, and both of these things can be dangerous. Possibilities abound from it. Does the religion impress control to decrease its lack of validation, make threats, and/or grasp at anything to create a sense of presence from the god(s)? All these things carry consequences in plot and individual definitions of character.
All faiths have a way of connecting with the gods-what is it? Who are the gods? Are the nature based or aspect based-are they gods of emotion, actions, or things. For instance, Neptune (AKA Poseidon to the Greeks) was god of the sea and horses. Thousands of miles away in Ireland Mannon mac Llyr and or Llyr was god of the sea yet several deities were associated with horses. The sea is a gateway to the underworld for them both. Similar aspects but not, and this can be used to create strife or bring different cultures together. The Romans acculturated many religions to make their own.
Creating gods is part of creating a cosmology. It’s an important question. In answering that question it brings up another. Which I have found is the nature of this thing-creating a cosmology- answer one question and it creates a zillion more. Wherever your god(s) live can a mortal get there? And if the answer is yes then there must be a gateway from the mortal world to the immortal universe. Or do the gods walk among mortals as they do in White Wolf’s Scarred Lands setting. If they do what form do they take? The Greek gods did this often, but they took forms to hide their identity. Do your gods hide their identity from mortals when they visit them? What is their purpose to their followers, and do your followers even know their true purpose?
There are three principles that are agreed upon in the anthropological world for why the gods exist. To explain earthly occurrences such as how nature works; Zeus is the god of thunder and rain his contemporaneous counterpart for the Mesoamericans was Chaac is god of rain. They help define the same thing almost exactly but developed independently, and have some differences and their overall personalities are different. They serve to explain the emotions or desires of humanity such as Aphrodite Greek goddess of love and Bridget goddess of Justice. Giving comfort to those who believe in them , whether they be mortal or not, some gods follow other gods-faith from their own could be essential, possibly by offering an alternative to oblivion at death, reincarnation is a favorite of the Hindus or the Elysian fields for the Romans.
There are a lot of questions that need answers when you create a religion. Here are some of the ones I’ve asked and answered…
~> Who are the religious specialists between the mortals and their gods, what are their powers and limitations, and how do they work?
~>ow do you become a priest? When you create rules for this you MUST obey them, or you better come up with a darned good explanation for breaking the rule…don’t be cheesy and use this as an out for backing yourself in a corner...
~>Where do your gods reside?
~>How do your gods behave?
~>Where is the ‘other world’? How does time pass? How do you get there?
~>Do your gods get along? (immortal strife is one of the best known plots-IE: Yahweh & Lucifer)
~>What and who is considered good and evil?
~>What are the rules and tenants of your religion? What can mortals do to get in trouble with the gods, and what can the gods do to get in trouble with each other?
~>Creation of the world. How was physical world created, and how is it related to the realm of the gods. (See various creation myths to get an idea… there are some more fun than others.)
~>What does the realm of the gods look like? How is it arranged, and are the same laws of physics obeyed there?
~> What do your gods look like? …they don’t have to look the same as their believers or each other.
~>Who follows this religion and how is it practiced. Each aspect of a religion is practiced in a certain way for a REASON. Think this through.
Religion and cosmology go hand in hand and often times when you create one you will find you are also creating the other. Consistency is a must when doing this everything doesn’t have to make scientific sense just don’t violate and rules you create without making an explanation for it. You don’t need reason to have faith. Faith is the act of belief, but spirituality is about bringing faith to live and breathe within and acting on it. Remember faith is just that, faith, and not everything has to make sense to believe. The follower must make the choice to dismiss doubt.

World-building: Mythology

World-building a mythology is an interesting way to come up with something unique, and hold on to a reference that the reader will know and understand. Every culture known in the world has myths. A myth is defined as per Merriam-Webster as: usually a traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a culture or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. Many authors have stolen ideas from mythology. J.R.R. Tolkien took many things from the Northern Europeans, and just about every dragon story ever written in modern day has a root within a dragon myth somewhere in the world. Some of these myths become Euhemeristic, and the culture interprets the mythology as an account of historic events and/or persons. A great example of that are the five mythic invasions of Ireland.
Myths have a purpose within cultures. They help define natural phenomenon, humanize the god(s), and teach lessons or a chosen history. They can often contain information vital to survival within a culture, and can strengthen traditions and ties to the gods. Often time myths are tied to the gods in some way, and sometimes become part of a religion or help define it.All of us remember tales that are told to us as children. Some popular tales that could be considered myths of modern day are the Boogieman, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, big foot, and the Lochness monster all of these still came from somewhere else. As a little girl, my grandmother told me that thunder was God bowling with the angels in heaven and he was losing. What was the purpose? It made me feel safe from the thunder and lightning, but if it were two-thousand years ago in Greece I would have been told it was Zeus in the heavens. In Scandinavia I would have been told well into the twelfth century that it was Thor. Every culture has a different explanation for natural events.
Creating a mythology doesn’t have to be extensive just create what you need. Characters within reoccur throughout the mythology of the culture you create. Remember to be consistent it is essential. Consistency in myth will create a basis of fact by which people believe in the world. Don’t forget that just because it isn’t real . . . that doesn’t give you license to not give an explanation. If you don’t feel comfortable making your own, steal it from a culture. There are plenty of myths out there that aren’t common knowledge, use ‘em.Sometimes it just takes stealing part of a myth. The Tuareg of Africa wear a taguelmust, a characteristic turban. It protects them from their environment, but also has a cultural tie. This Saharan people believe leaving their mouths uncovered opens possibility of inhaling evil spirits. The Norse have guardian spirits that are acquired at birth called a Fylgia or Fylgjur, which protects a person or the family, and can be transferred to another family member after death. Often they appear as animals, in dreams, or as females in times of crisis, but not everyone has one. Then you can mix and match, say you have a culture that wears a cloth across their face to protect them from inhaling evil spirits. In this culture there are small groups of people who have guardian spirits called Fylgjur, which give them magical powers. These warriors are sacred and battle evil spirits that live in the world and their identity is determined lineage, sex, maybe a happenstance occurrence that draws the spirit to them, or they could be anyone the spirit chooses. Maybe there is a sacred ritual to see which family member the Fylgjur transfers to.

There are so many conflicts that can arise from that alone to make a story.

Worldbuilding: Temperate Forests

Economics: Temperate forests have a unique perspective of being economically very stable. Inhabitants can use the forests for timber for building, and for construction of other products. The prospects of cultures clearing timber for agriculture or of using internal grasslands adjacent to the temperate forest create lots of potential for agriculture. Forests also have an unusual abundant fauna population. However, the inhabitants would usually hunt that for their own food. It is very easy to upset the balance in a temperate forest. Culling to much in the forest can damage the forest by throwing the predator and prey system off. Too many predator and the predators begin to hunt each other. Not enough predators and the forest dies from too much culling form the herbivores. This could also cause the group to move from place to place within the forest.
Language: Talk of the forest may or may not have influence from other sources. Most likely they would have a heavy influence from traders. Long vowel sounds may be prevalent because they carry better through woodlands. The root of the language here would be extremely important. Many woodland languages evolve from the sounds around them. Keep this in mind when constructing a woodland language.
Kinship and Descent: Travel among woodlands is usually much easier than other ecologies. Rivers, lakes, and grasslands often mingle with temperate forests. Keep in mind if the climate is more warm than cold that travel to find mates will be far further ranged than if it is primarily cold. The perception of the forest is very important here. If the perception of the forest is male the descent may follow patrilineal lines. Vice versa is the forest is perceived as female. The perception of where the power of the forest lies could also challenge this. For example if the forest is perceived and female, but he fauna is considered to be where power lies and is personified in general as male then the linage will be patrilineal. This principle can be arranged in several different combinations.
Organization & Stratification: The motif that the forest is either male or female may repeat itself here. The forest perpetuates a sense of time, particularly old forests. Warm forests are especially perpetual; cold forests seem to be a frozen landscape that can be very mystical when the snow falls through them. In an old enough forest time can seem lost there, so can the immensity of the landscape and the peoples in it. It is very easy for a small creature such as a human to feel small in the grand scheme of things. I think that age would therefore be an asset here rather than a hindrance when dealing with leadership. Leadership therefore would sit with elders, whether male or female in a temperate forest.
Religion & Magick: For religion and magick to not be tied to the forest would go against the very grain of growth within the forest. Magic is often said to flow like a river, grow like a tree, or burn like fire. All of these things can be said of the forest. It needs all these things to grow, water, fire, and the nurturing power of the earth. The forest breathes as a living being and therefore needs air. It is the balance of all things. Religious specialist would also find balance on other ways. Magic within a culture that lives within the forest would demand balance of the caster. Male and female within the magical community would be a growth from that balance. Religious specialists would be of both sexes. The elements make up the forest and it requires all of them. The forest would make up the physical part of their magic as well, yet possibly in places being regarded as holy to the peoples who require it to live. The hunters would prey to it’s should and thank it for its bounty.
World-building: The culture is a group that worships the forest as a whole not just the trees. Trees are considered part of each person as they grow old. When they die each becomes part of the forest itself, helping it to live and breathe. Elder parts of the forest, become centers of wisdom for shaman. They would be traveled around at all cost, and considered ill omen if not invited by the grove to enter.
The people would harvest from the forest in places that would help the forest to grow, ritual surrounding the cutting of trees. Yet the act of culling the forest would not be an act of sin, but an act of care. The forest can’t exist as a perpetual fixture. As life grows it also changes and so does the needs of the forest. The animals within the forest would therefore be understood to have a symbiotic relationship with everything around them. Circles of nature creating an outstanding presence of balance within the lives of the peoples here.
The council of elders might be made up of the eldest amongst the groups. Not just one group having a governing body, but each group having one elder that helps to govern the entirety of forest peoples. Possibly even being the religious specialist or the religious specialist in some groups may have a taboo from holding both positions.
There may be two languages. One that is spoken, and another used as an oral tradition to set forth records of lineage and tales of glory, and a holy language that wasn’t spoken, but, universally known to all within the entirety of the culture, pictographs using symbols created by circles and lines. These symbols could direct someone through the forest as carvings in the trees made by shamans.

Tundra


The tundra is no real place for anyone to live for long period of time without the proper materials. The sun can disappear for months or shine constantly for the same time periods. The solar winds of the sub beat upon the skies to create paintings of light that to lower technologies may seem to be the magic of the heavens. This is a very cold, cold place. When world-building in the tundra this is one ecology where knowing the specifics is very important. For every one degree closer to the equator the timberline will raise 360 feet. It is there for possible to have tundra on the equator but the mountain would have to be extremely high. Vegetation is minimal and the fauna not as diverse as any other ecology. Tundra flora grows very low to the ground due to wind and other restrictive elements.
Economics: Economics of a culture living in tundra would be one trade system. Mining might be an option; usages of the mining tunnels might begin from the expansion of living quarters. Living underground usually has a constant temperature of 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit approximately. If not living in underground environment then hunting for fur would be essential to survival, but would also make an economic basis for trade for goods not obtainable in the tundra.
Language: Language would tend to evolve from the base language brought with them, and/or be part of a larger language group that was spoken by a trading community that hunted over a large area. If they were living in an underground area they may never encounter another language. Their language would remain unchanged with evolution halted or on its own. It may evolve to a point that the parent language may have little or nothing in common with it over many centuries or even as little as decades, usually longer time frames are required to change language that much from the parent vernacular.
Kinship & descent: Kinship in a group such as this would become very important. Small populations would quickly become small because of the universal taboo of incest. Almost all cultures of the world have a taboo against incest. There have been parts of cultures that take part in it, and have paid the price later. Therefore introduction of new bloodlines into the community would be very important. There may be rituals or festivals where groups come together and mass marriage ceremonies are done. This solidifies ties to surrounding communities and serves to keep the genetic pool in a community from getting to small and causing problems.
Organization & leadership: Leadership could be anything. It would most likely depend upon if the group in question was isolated or had contact with others and how much. Isolated groups would lean more toward a highly stratified unity of leadership. While a group with more contacts may be influenced to have leadership ties of some kind with a separate group. The divisions could be matriarchal or patriarchal or a mixture of both.
Religion & Magick: Religion among a people who live in such a desolate place or those who would live underground may be steeped in folklore. A place where winter is long and traps its inhabitants with in the snow is often the place of storytellers. Stories are told often when there is nothing else to do. There are other places which stories are generated and storytellers are an integral part of the culture, but in an ecology where 8 months of the year is outside the growing season fire may be essential to survival along with the hunt. Gods of these things may become so important because the material representation transforms into iconic figures within the mythology of the people. That doesn’t mean those are the only things that may become iconic. The gods’ purpose is to explain things that humanity (and other races) can’t explain such as; emotions, natural occurrences, and other things that are beyond mortal control.
World-building: Hypothetically a culture in this environment would possibly be a culture that lived within cave systems that were scattered throughout the tundra. Hunting on the surface but living where the winter has no or little effect. The group would move between cave systems either via underground passages or between the seasons. The group may have a matriarchal naming system and a patriarchal leadership. Lineage would be tracked through the mother so that her heritage would be clear. That would account for origins of the groups from village to village, so people new whom they were related to.
The god of fire would be very important and considered a good deity while the goddess of snow and ice would be a harsh and unyielding force. The summer and harvest festivals would be times of marriage and celebration. Each time would be an opportunity to rejoice in the fact that they had survived another year, or a good harvest had been secured for the winter months. Storytelling may be the province of a religious specialist or possibly the eldest people of the community. There by giving the elders a sense of purpose and a respect from the younger generation. Elder people in some cultures where survival is difficult sometimes may be regarded as a burden. However, in this case they are given a cultural relevance that is unprecedented for the young. Economic relationships would generate with outsiders more over by chance or habit. Either way very limited. The limited access also means that language would change little from outside influence, and more from internal change.

World-building in Taigas

Taiga

Economy: the economy of the taiga would exist only within the group or groups of an area unless the traders encountered another nomadic group from a climate that was not their own. This climate is very harsh often with an average growing season of 3 months. These areas are often cool with rainfall that doesn’t evaporate. This creates a type of wetland. Trees here grow slowly and are often conifer rather than deciduous. Exports might include furs, but not likely as those would be used by the indigenous peoples. Bone beads might be an export as peoples of this ecology types throw nothing from the hunted kill away. They usually will not kill a young tree. With such a short growing season they are likely to be hunter-gatherers but not nomadic except by season; perhaps not even then, depending upon the availability and the materials used for housing.
Language: The languages would be fairly isolated. Parent language groups might exist but the dialects would evolve on their own; unless groups frequently can into contact with one another.
Social Structure: Leadership of the groups would likely not be in the hands of one individual, but most likely many. Harsh climates tend to produce wither singular leadership with a defined chain of succession or a groups leadership usually consisting of elders or the strongest individuals or both.
Kinship & descent: Kinship in a place like this would be extremely important particularly if the leadership was a hereditary based council of elders. Patriarchal or matriarchal descent patterns would be likely as well as either possibility for naming patters. The nuclear family would be essential to survival and would be held in the highest regard. There may be some care giving system for those nuclear families that have lost the main provider of food. An adoption system that would help the group as a whole survives.
Religion: Animistic cultures would thrive here. Supernatural forces are often used to explain the things with in nature that humankind (or other sentient being) doesn’t understand. It would most likely be safe to say that predators and natural forces would manifest as gods or demons. Some of the most powerful predators would be considered sources of power and deeply respected or feared.
World building: To create in this ecology is a two edged sword. The culture would be steeped in lore and very detailed, but at the same time to an outsider may seem sparse. People here would let nothing go to waste as resources are very limited. There for amenities would not be found as valuable even if they were in a stable living environment such as a permanent structure. Most things of extreme value that may be frivolous would be small even tiny.
Gods and people would be close. Life here is a precarious thing with potential fatality for any moment of stupidity for the one having the stupid moment or those surrounding them. There would be some animals that would become as members of the family; domesticated animals would be cared for with the utmost respect because of their rarity. Parts of nature would hold fearful supernatural entities, yet others would be good helpful. Supernatural forces, each, a reflection of the environment’s inhabitants.
Cold climate would create a reverence for furs, but summer would be fleeting and a thing to be enjoyed. Women of this culture may be just as capable at defending themselves again the natural elements of danger because men may be away for several days at a time on hunting trips to feed the group. They would also be important as the givers of life to the linage of the village. Depending on if the village is matriarchal or patriarchal males or females may take precedence for survival depending on the social structure of the group; which could vary from one small group to the next. Not a universal thing throughout the ecological area. There may even be some ritual surrounding the forced exogamy need to keep bloodlines from becoming to inter-married.

Ecosystem World Building: Tropical Forests

Social Structure: Usually groups are no bigger than a large clan or tribe. This gives way to government from within. This is important in reference to whom governs the group. The only reason for migration is to find sustenance, territorial dispute, and /or seasonal migration due to weather. Neither matriarchies nor patriarchies have a history of dominance on Earth in these environments. Matriarchy/patriarchy has a large role to play here. Division of labor is usually based on sex in small groups like this. This type of ecosystem usually spawns a hunter gatherer society. Hunting may most likely be accomplished by males and gathering and child rearing done by females.

Kinship and Descent: The group is most likely to have a very strong emphasis on family. Marriage is usually from within the group, unless a bride is negotiated for from outside, via bride price, raiding party, war, or trade. Children usually stay with the mother until a certain age, and then they can go elsewhere; such as if the child is male and learning to hunt with the father. However, do not discount the power of woman in a culture such as this. If the father has little to do with the early child rearing then most of the early values are impressed by the mother.

Religion & magic: Tropical forests generally create an individualistic or shamanistic religion. Shamans are highly respected as they are the only connection to the supernatural from the profane (mundane), and they can often bring or keep health from failing, or bring doom or save the group. The religion itself defines whether the religious specialist is exclusively male or female. It doesn’t have to be influenced by the gender dominance within the social structure but it often is.
Usually if the society is matriarchal the main deity of power is female and vice versa. Hunter-gatherers tend to be nature oriented, and use the personification of animals, and/or celestial bodies. Ancestor worship can occur, but sometimes it’s found within a more stable environment where the group isn’t constantly moving; such as the ancient Chinese.

Economics: Economics of the Jungle could be interesting. Hunter-gatherers are most often traders. They lack the stability to have a hard currency because creation of money requires a stable site of residence. Unless each tribe used something that it manufactured from nature, but then counterfeiting could be an issue. Tribes could be raiders, and pillage until they have enough goods. They would then move past the raided tribes range to trade the goods acquired in another area as though it were their own.

Language: This would be more affected by the type of life that the ecology forces upon the inhabitants. The nomadic lifestyle would create a high exposure or a low exposure to other dialects or languages, and influence the originator's vernacular accordingly.

World building Tropical Forest:
Creating a culture here from nothing must take into account the effect of the ecology on the creature living in it. Carrying capacity dictates that a certain area of land can only support a certain amount of life. Therefore as groups grow larger they need more land to sustain them; (IE: hypothetically 50 people for food and water per 5 acres). The nomadic tribe may use women as a commodity in trade, creating a patriarchal system where daughters are highly valued because of the wealth obtainable through trade. If this is the case what does the religion say... most likely a male deity is at the top of the pantheon... or is there a pantheon?? Monotheism could create a way for control via the male patriarchs.
This eliminates a higher power for appeal within the supernatural. Then what is the "evil" supernatural like. Is it dominated by the feminine? What traits does this evil portray? It would concur that the evil deity would personify female disobedience, and is there a reviled cult of rebellious women that run the cult in secrecy..., logic would stand that it may be made of mostly mothers and grandmothers, very few maidens. Mothers would be the most likely to rebel against this part of the economy and religion being reluctant to part with their flesh and blood.
This cult would create political strife within the caste of women in reference both to each other, the loyal obedient women of the culture, and the independent thinking females that realize that the religion is being used as a source of power for the men. Are there separate eating, sleeping, and dressing areas for woman and men. Division of labor becomes a must, and thereby affects the economy of material wealth other than the women that the tribe gives birth to. The language may use all references to things in a general form as a male point of view. It may also have given way to a separate language of prestige used among the males for political and social ties.

Apsects of Cultures

Language: Verbal, written, & physical movements(body language) used to communicate between creatures.
* this doesn't mean that it is communication between creatures of the same species.
Economics: The supply & demand that goes on within or between groups of peoples. That is not limited to within the same culture, geographic area, or within fantasy the same species.
Kinship & Descent : This is how a culture determines relationships between people, who is related to who & how or why, and how lineage is tracked.
Religion & Magick: The supernatural belief system of a culture. What do they believe in and how do they manifest that belief in the physical realm.
Social Structure: The way a group organizes itself. This is possibly one of the more complicated aspects because one culture can have many groups that organize themselves differently within a culture for many reasons.