Ancestors (Kind)

Ancestors (abas, pl. abasse) are the result of an ordinary human death - i.e., a dead body whose spirit is linked to the flesh. Ancestors are cared for by the Voice of the Dead, who can speak with them. Unlike the term bubun, which refers only to the shell, the corporeal body, the term abas includes both the body (ibu) and spirit (lemu).

Cosmology

If a body is not cared for by the Voice, does it still become an ancestor?

Yes, there is no requirement that a body be treated or ritually protected. An unknown, unidentified body lying in the ground for centuries still is an Ancestor.

Is the ancestor inside the body?

That's not quite right. The Ancestor has a corporeal part (ibu) and a noncorporeal part, basically energy (lemu), but both together are necessary components of the Ancestor. The Ancestor is a duality of body and spirit, just as the Corps is a duality of Hand and Voice.

So, it's just a dead person, right?

Yup! If you're dead, lying there in the ground, you are an Ancestor. Your spirit is within your body and you're available to talk to.

Do people not of the Corps have ancestors?

Yes, definitely! Their bodies are treated differently within the temple, but they are definitely kept. One of the ways the Corps has converted others is by demonstrating their ability to talk to people's dead relatives and friends.

Do nonhumans have ancestors?

Theologically speaking, all sentient species are conceptualized as having powerful First Ancestors, mythical beings that are the progenitors of their entire Kind. And the Corps generally holds that these beings become ancestors after death. However, Zunuga only taught the Voice how to talk to human ancestors (for the most part), so this theological understanding has no practical test or effect.

Do corpseborn become ancestors after death?

Well. Of course they do, because they are still human. Theologically, though, this is tricky because Corpseborn are regarded by many as almost outside the Six Kinds. Corpseborn don't exactly have lineages and families in the traditional sense, and their tainted nature makes it impossible for most to accept their storage alongside their own relatives. Corpseborn communities mostly cremate their dead. There is a heresy that regards corpseborn ancestors as valid and keeps them (segregated) on temple grounds. So far this practice has been denounced by the Voice but not penalized.

How long after death does a person become an ancestor?

Theologically, there are two answers. The first is that immediately upon death, a person becomes an ancestor. Because a Voice can immediately talk to a person after death, this shows them to be in an ancestral state. The problem is that the contemporary theology of the Corps also holds that abas is a final state - i.e., once one is an ancestor, one is an ancestor forever, and that all other Kinds end in being an ancestor. Thus, one is not technically an ancestor during the derdis ritual waiting to see if one will become a ula, nor before being reborn as a shoror, nor during service as a bubun. During these phases, one both is and is not an ancestor.

Communion

How do the Voice talk to ancestors?

The Voice must be physically present alongside the body. He speaks questions out loud, but only he can hear (mentally) the response that that ancestor gives.

Can anyone other than the Voice talk to an ancestor?

Well, you're welcome to talk, but you won't get an answer! Seriously, no, only ordained Voice priests have the ability to communicate with ancestors.

How much of the body needs to survive in order to speak with an ancestor?

The body can have decayed to bone, but it must be basically all there. As a general rule, 50% or more of the body must survive and be present for the ritual to work.

What if the body has been cremated?

No, a cremated body is not considered intact, so a Voice can't speak to it.

Do you need to share a language with the person to speak with it?

Yes, the Voice power to speak with the dead is linguistic, and so without a common language, it may be impossible to speak with a particularly old Ancestor or one from another region.

What kinds of questions can you ask an Ancestor?

You can ask anything to which the ancestor could provide useful information or opinions based on its own memories and life experience. You can provide a bunch of prefatory information as part of the question, if it is useful context that could guide the Ancestor's response.

Do you need to know the ancestor's name to speak with it?

No. In fact, for unknown dead, this is often the first question asked, so that, in the future, the ancestor could potentially be reunited with family.

Can you break apart a body so that multiple Voices / temples can talk to them?

Eww, no! What kind of shoddy operation are you running here? Seriously, though, if you separate a body so that no one place has more than 50% of its parts, then no Voice can speak with the ancestor until it is reunified. This is a horrible sin and no reputable Voice would ever do it, even if the ancestor had very dangerous information.

Who do the Voice allow to speak to an ancestor?

Generally speaking, other Voices, known relatives, and (with cause) legitimate authorities. Other people are sometimes permitted to be present. But in general, the Voice exercises great caution over its stewardship of the ancestors and doesn't just trot them out for anyone on a whim.

Can corpseborn talk to their relatives?

Generally no. Corpseborn after death are normally cremated. Of course, corpseborn often have living human kin. But normally, Voices will not allow corpseborn to speak to these relations, restricting access only to those socially recognized family members. There is nothing impossible about it; it is simply regarded as unacceptable.

Capacities

How much does the ancestor remember of its death?

The ancestor remembers everything up to its death, but nothing afterwards.

Is an ancestor's memory infallible?

No - it can roughly be assumed to be as intact as it was at the time of the person's death. If the person suffered from memory loss or dementia, they may not remember various things well.

Is an ancestor's personality intact?

Yes, intact more or less as it was at the time of the person's death. So a crabby person will make a crabby ancestor.

Can an ancestor give an opinion rather than a statement of fact?

Yes, absolutely. If you ask them a question about what you ought to do in some situation, as long as you provide some information, it can give you an answer based on what it would have thought at the time of its death.

Can an ancestor lie to a Voice?

No, not really. An ancestor can be misguided or deluded, based on what it knew in life, but it can only speak the truth. Moreover, it generally will speak some form of full truth, not riddles or mysteries.

Does an ancestor know about the afterlife?

No ancestor has ever been able to reveal any such information. It doesn't stop people from trying, though!

Does an ancestor remember prior times a Voice asked it questions?

No, it has no memory of anything after its death whatsoever.

Does an ancestor remember earlier questions in an immediate sequence?

No, not even this. The Voice asking the question must word each question in a way that it provides the relevant information to the ancestor.

When an ancestor isn't being spoken to, is it conscious?

No. It is effectively non-sentient except when being spoken to by a Voice.

Can you destroy an ancestor?

Technically the most you can do is destroy the body such that its connection with the spirit can no longer be maintained. But yes, you can, for instance, cremate or powder bones and that will do the trick. The Ancestor's spirit will still be there, in some sense, but forever unreachable. They're still your ancestor, but they aren't Ancestors any more.

Social

How are ancestors stored?

Ancestors are stored in stone sepulchres, caves, or mausoleums, within ornately carved caskets, also normally made of stone, within or next to Voice temples. Often these areas have protection against fire and the elements. These need to be accessible to the Voice without being readily accessible to the general population. Stoneguards, or in the absence of these specialized religious warriors, burly folk from the local area, are often called upon to guard a temple's ancestors, which are more valuable than its finery.

How are ancestors moved?

Very rarely and with great caution, normally under guard. This might happen if a temple is unhallowed, or if a major lineage has moved a great distance, or if there were a threat (erosion, earthquake, flood, etc.).

What happens if an ancestor is stolen or goes missing?

Theft of ancestors is, in most areas, a crime punishable by death or mutilation, if it is shown to have been willful. It is a grave, grave moral and legal offense to tamper with the ancestors. Don't do it! Ancestors whose whereabouts are unknown, e.g. those lost at sea or irretrievably lost after a battle, need to be treated socially with great care. Their names should not be spoken or else one needs to be hallowed.

Are there ever conflicts over access to ancestors?

Oh, yes. Definitely. The Bone War (727 - 730 I.E.) started in part (though not solely) because nobles on the Sharaian peninsula believed they were being denied access to their ancestors in the Imperial City of Omba. But at a smaller scale, whenever you have the potential for a dispute over inheritance, you can have a dispute over ancestor access.

Do Voices ever bring out an ancestor just to keep them company or ask random questions?

This definitely happens but is frowned upon. Technically, a Voice has some considerable latitude to ask questions of any ancestor under his charge, but it is not meant to be used frivolously.

What happens to ancestors with no known kin?

Normally, these are questioned by the Voice, who will attempt to identify the individual and record basic facts about their life, just in case someone shows up in the future. Individuals of the Corps are stored separately from individuals who were not believers, but all are treated with great respect.

Are ancestors ever brought out for wider display?

In some communities, yes, great lineage elders or ancestors are brought out of the temple on special days, most notably the Abas Feast at year's end, for public display or to ask questions of import to a whole community.