Tarxē rahzañ sāyelef!

To all followers of Daina - Happy Creation Day!

According to a suddenly established tradition, instead of congratulations there will be another lecture; this time about the origins of the holiday and the daina as such. But since I understand all this disgustingly, my good friend Zear, with whom we are now drinking beer, will tell about it instead of me.

The traditional religion of the Eryakhshar Jearts is Daina (from the Cl.-J. ḑaynā, modern ḑoynā) — a completely stunning synthesis of all those beliefs that the Jeharts learned from neighboring peoples while migrating back and forth across Orova. They almost completely lost their original beliefs (the cult of ancestors/nature spirits with a very complex hierarchy) during this time, replacing them with a peculiar version of Mazdayasna, in an unclear proportion mixed with the beliefs of the Draghars; even the name of the religion — Dayna (from the Khvenvant ḑaenā "custom, order") clearly hints at this.

However, first things first. The main teaching of the Daina is that the world consists of two principles, races (movements) and ours (peace), which are personified by two brothers-Gods, whose names are Azursherkh and Menagrad. When the world did not yet exist, they were united and did not have consciousness in the usual sense of the word; one day, however, they began to separate from each other, each acquiring its own personality and in this process forming the entire Universe. According to legend, the act of creation lasted eight days, on the first of which Darkness and Light were born in the world, where the second was represented by stars and luminaries.

That's why the creation of the world is celebrated on the eighth day after the winter solstice, yes.

Returning to the brothers, we see the following: according to legend, having acquired separate personalities, they ceased to be omniscient, and therefore they had to learn about the created world anew. Azursherh asked more questions about the properties of the world and its structure, and Menagrad - about the origins of the processes occurring in it; Azursherh asked how the world is structured, and Menagrad - why it is structured this way. But if the first was able to find satisfaction in the incomplete answer he found, the second could not - and went mad.

Since then, Menagrad is not revered by the Jearts, because his spirit, filled with malice, fell away from the world. But Azursherh also lost most of his powers because his brother separated from him, and he himself went into exile. But even so, he watches over his lands and loves all who live in them, and tries to help everyone as much as he can.

The eschatology is very simple: one day the brothers will have to meet again in battle, and then Azursherh will defeat Menagrad, but will not kill him, but forgive him - and, reunited again, they will restore harmony in the world. Then from all living and lived in the world, according to their merits and exploits, they will gather a flock for themselves and will all live together as one big family.

I won't tell you where certain elements were borrowed from in the daina - a detailed analysis would take up a rather large book, and the post is already too long. Instead - once again, happy holiday to everyone, brothers! Azūr rād!