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RELIGION: The religious convenant of the Onteen are written down in the Scrolls. To some the dogma therein is very strict and inflexible; but many parables written on its pages, such as the Parable of the Seventh Declamation of the Scroll of Hero, are worthy life lessons. The Scrolls state that the Chosen cannot dicuss their religion to non-believers and must avoid contact with alternate belief systems. The Onteen are prevented from undergoing intrusive surgery. They believe that any deep puncture will allow their soul to escape. Another facet to this belief is that they only puncture food animals, leaving me to conclude that they believe there is a sharp division between themselves and animal life. If one of the Chosen is punctured, through surgery or physical trauma, he is considered "soul-dead" and the body is just an empty shell. If an Onteen that is "soul-dead" is encountered, other of his kind will angrily shun him; sometimes going so far as to treat him as a demon and attempt to exorcise him. Accding to their beliefs it is proper to don the soulless person in a "travelling robe," or llamuda, and dispose of the empty shell of a body (which was in pain because it was empty) with a ritual death. The llamuda is not only used for death, it is also worm for other "great journies." |
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