Aijitu



Aijitu (also spelled as Aijito, Aizitu, and Aizito), also known as Dengism, was a West Thadian system of religious beliefs, rituals, practices, and traditions, that developed in the early 24000s. It existed for over one thousand years and was vital in the development of West Thadia (and to a lesser extent, East Thadian) culture, politics, and society. Although rooted in a creation myth involving deities, it was primarily non-theistic and instead was animistic in nature. Its followers believed that spiritual forces, called anari, were present in all things, animate and inanimate. Dengist scholars identified six elements that constitute all anari in the world that co-exist with the forces of chaos and order: fire, water, air, earth, light, and metal. This is reflected in the jumon, the primary symbol of the faith.

Aijitu was borne out of folk beliefs and traditions that existed in West Thadia for centuries. With the beginning of literacy in the Tiang Ji, these beliefs were consolidated into one religious movement and system. Deng Ki (c. 23921 — 23998.03.19) was the first to organize West Thadian folk beliefs and he wrote extensively on the spiritual nature of the world, melding his own beliefs along within his works. A Teaching of Nature was a very influential piece of literature among the upper classes of society and eventually made its way down to the common classes, where it was responsible for turning Aijitu into the predominant religion of the population.

Aijitu is commonly separated into two categories, Dengist Aijitu and Traditional Aijitu. Dengist Aijitu is based on the teachings and writings of Deng Ki, a monk and cleric who lived in the Tiang Ji, and took a more rigorous approach to the belief system, establishing rules and laws that all followers should do their best to follow. It was also very political in nature, with Deng directly referencing monarchs and other rulers of his time and their relation to the faith system. He believed that the King of the Tiang Ji and his relationship with the qolia were reflective of the relationship between the elements and the chaos-order dichotomy. He also noted the number of qolia was the same as the number of elements (six), which he believed was not a coincidence. Traditional Aijitu, on the other hand, was far more decentralized and varied quite significantly based on location. There were far less clergy in Traditional Aijitu and it was viewed more as a personal matter; that it was up to each person to discover their relationship with the forces and spirits of the world. Traditional Aijitu was also said to be more theistic but this has been disputed by some historians. Aijitu is also sometimes referred to as Dengism, albeit somewhat incorrectly, regardless if it involves Deng's writings.