Gurri Murrȧrȧġ
The Children of Gurri, or also known as the Gurri Tribe
Government: Tribal Despotism
Father of the Clans (Kariwangku/Chief): Woollarawarre Yagan
Governmental Structure: On top of the governmental pyramid is the Father of Clans, the one that is said to come directly from the lineage of the first Gurri family. Going down to the ladder is a series of "Tribal Leaders" that are not really head of patriarchal families, but rather people of importance that have arisen to this position through support from the tribal clans. They can put a minimal pressure in the decisions of the Father of Clans through Tribal Meetings, but his word in the end is the law.
History: Creation is believed to be the work of Bodhisattvas who traveled across a formless land, creating sacred sites and significant places of interest in their travels.
Religion: Atjari Buddhism
Religious Dogma: The central teaching of Buddhism is that one must meditate and acquire good karma in order to ascend beyond existence into a state of non - existence,
Nirvana. In Atjari Buddhism, there are several dimensions of re - incarnation that one must face before reaching the Atjari dimension, and after that, Nirvana. The lowest dimension is that of
Yakowai, which means Existence. In this dimension are placed all non - human lifeforms, who are considered to have a lower intellect and perception than that of humans, and are as such inferior in regards to the spiritual dimensions. The Yakowai dimension often serves as a sort of Purgatory for those who have fallen and have refused Nirvana, as when they are re - born into an animal state they do not have the free will or the capacity to acquire good Karma.
From the Yakowai dimension one can only ascend to the
Wiya Yakowai dimension, which stands for Human Existence. Humans are considered to be both spiritually and intellectually the highest corporeal lifeform in the pyramid of creatures, and as such are the first of the entities that can begin consciously acquiring Karma on their own. As such, a human can follow a number of actions, and when their Karma is summed up at the end of their lives and judged by the innate laws of the Cosmos, humans have three possibilities as to where they can be reborn: they can either ascend depending on their actions to the
Wonta dimension, or they can ascend directly to the
Atjari dimension. Of course, they can also degrade into the Yakowai dimension.
The Wonta dimension, as the name implies, is the dimension of lower spiritual creatures. In this dimension, all corporeal pleasures and issues have been shed away just as the body has gone and humans are now pure soul. However, they were not tested enough in their period of existence on Earth, In this phase of existence, souls have to face new decisions that are meant for higher forms of existence in order to be decided by their own actions whether they are worthy of salvation or not. There are now four possibilities as to where a soul can be re - born: The Yakowai dimension, should the soul have been really unworthy, the Wiya Yakowaii dimension, should the soul have been unworthy, the Atjari dimension or Nirvana itself.
In the Atjari dimension reside all higher forms of spiritual existence and also souls that have yet to enter the cycle of existence. This means that this is the "house" of many benelovent lifeforms like Bodhisattvas and spirits - helpers that are known through the Old pagan Mythos, like Ginga, the Crocodile - Man. There are however manevolent spirits of great power that were refused to ascend due to their actions and are now working against the ascension of other creatures, such as Walujapi, the black - headed Python. Many old Aboriginal spirits like Baiame, the Creator God and Sky Father, have been incorporated in one way or another into this dimension. Petrosomatoglyphs, footprints, trails and other forms of inexplicable physical imprint are considered to be the sign of a powerful spirit from the Atjari dimensiion nearby or in the location, and often constitute what is called a songline in Aboriginal mythos. Spirits of this dimension can either ascend to Nirvana or fall back to one of the previous dimensions.
The Question System: A part of the general religious dogma in Atjari Buddhism, each dimension except Nirvana also has it's name based of on a question word that will be able to be answered by the entity once it ascends from it. For that reason, Yakowai also means which, Wiya Yakowaii means who, Wonta means how and Atjari has also taken the meaning of why under this context.
Religious Customs: When the mother feels the child move in the womb for the first time, it is the spirit coming from the Atjari dimension and landing onto corporeal existence. Totems, icons and statues or any other kind of depictions are allowed only for spirits that belong in the Wonta or Atjari dimension, as depicting the picture of a corporeal entity will lead into its soul being forever trapped into its current plane of existence and wandering around it as a lost soul. If the depiction is destroyed, then the soul can be freed. Because of this, many totems that depict pictures of Buddha have begun being created. Animal and human sacrifice is forbidden both for corporeal and spiritual liferoms , as that will end the cycle of torture that is life abruptly and also will lead to the entity in charge of the murder attain bad karma.
Society: While the society of the Gurri has received sizeable influences from the civilizations to their north, men are still regarded as leaders of the household and of a tribal clan rather than women, who are primarily charged with jobs relating to the well - being of their house and their family, especially their children. For that reason, the mothers are responsible for teaching to their children reading, writing and all the other household skills that they will require. As a result of this, girls usually receive more education than boys, as they too will have to teach writing, reading and aforementioned skills to their children as generations pass. Because of their higher education than their male counterparts, women often times take high positions in the priesthood and can join monasteries much easier than men.
