Ushaadfaay
the Raron zodiac
The Raron year is divided into six months each with 60 days. Every
month corresponds to a specific animal and two elements, one primary
and one secondary. When Raron children are born, their zodiac sign
is considered part of their general identity. Many feel a deep
kinship with their zodiac animal. For believers in
Id, the Raron dream cult, many will seek out their animals as dream
spirits to accompany them in their sleeping and waking life.
Summary
There are three elements in the Id system and everything is made
up of combinations of these three elements: salt, water, and air.
Salt corresponds to body, mass, to the physical nature of things,
and the reality of how things are. Water is associated with change
and growth, the development and movement of things. Air represents
the environment and the external forces that change a person.
There are six animals in the zodiac.
Unyozeo
Unyozeos are pink shelled slimy creatures that are ubiquitous in
the modern Lake Raro and in its past before the dark ages. Their
primary element is salt and water is its secondary element. An
unyozeo will fight against being eaten to the very end, and this
tenacity and strength is well-regarded. Because unyozeos are
exclusive to Lake Raro and because of their unique role in Raron
society as both food and medicine, unyozeos are recognized as
contributing to the body of a person, making the unyozeo a
powerful zodiac symbol and the first animal.
Day
Days are dog-like creatures with flat faces and hardened scales
on their backs that live in the deserts and shrublands around
the sea. They have been domesticated twice over, once by the
Rarons and once by the Kugma and Iwati people to the south. The
days domesticated by the Rarons are noticeable for being small,
lean, and more friendly than intelligent. The primary element of
the day is salt and the secondary element is air. Their
happy-go-lucky nature and their loyalty to their owners make
them key players in the lives of Raron citizens, so the day is
the second animal in the zodiac.
Dfesa
Dfesas are tall, six-legged horse-like creatures that are used
as working animals across the world. While not necessarily
specific to Raron life, as their habitat stretches all the way
south based the Kugma mountains, dfesas are notable for being
important methods of transporting goods and people across long
distances. Because of their dependable and steady nature, they
are recognized as being stable and sincere, and children born
under the dfesa tend to be the same (at least, to the believers
of the ushaadfaay). The primary element of the dfesa is air and
the secondary is water. As the third animal in the zodiac, it
shares the middle of the year with the koov.
Koov
Koovs are flying mammiles with large wings made up of long
fingers and membranes that connect them and the body. They also
have hardened beaks like Rarites do. While their primary element
is air, the secondary element is salt. Some believe that the
koovs are distant relations of the Rarites and thus are afforded
a special place in the zodiac. The last day of the dfesa month
and the first day of the koov month are the two middle days of
the year, and celebrations are usually held on those dates.
Children born on those dates are also considered lucky. Because
koovs are exceptional fliers, but scatter at even the slightest
movement, people born under the koov tend to be flighty and
feisty, but capable in what they do.
Tyii
Tyiis are long slender animals similar to snakes, but they have
hundreds of tiny legs similar to a millipede. They live in the
waters of Lake Raro and feed on unyozeo, if they can get them
out of their shells, and fish. They travel in small groups, and
when they are in a feeding frenzy the waters roll and boil with
their bodies. When the unyozeos disappeared from Lake Raro,
these animals adapted to living in the waters closer to the
ocean near the Paban mountains. Vicious and venomous animals,
they are associated with ambition and bold action, earning them
a place in the zodiac as the fifth animal. The primary element
of the tyii is water and the secondary is salt.
Muut
Muuts are small, 10-legged creatures with small articulated
joints that make them very adaptable at ambulating and climbing.
Because there are small holes in their exoskeleton, they are
able to secret a soft goo that encapsulates their whole body.
This helps them maintain their amphibious status. The primary
element of the muut is water and the secondary is air. While not
particularly flashy creatures, the muut is well-known for its
adaptability and the cunning it demonstrates to capture their
prey, and children born under the final animal in the zodiac are
known to be quick to learn and dependable in times of trouble.
Historical Basis
When
Kyitum, the Id prophet, foretold the beginning of the Dry Age and
sought to help save the entire kingdom, xe did not expect having
to go back and beg for more visions to help. Instead, the six
animals of the zodiac came to Kyitum and explained the futility of
the ask. Despite xer disappointments and the fear xe had about
letting others down, xe taught people about the animals that gave
xem wisdom.
Spread
The Raron zodiac is well-known in Raron culture. Almost everyone
is aware of the animal associated with the day of their birth, and
it is taught in schools in basic studies. Originally it started
only in Raro itself, but it soon spread around the entire Lake and
even up north, where the Paban people started to acknowledge the
spiritual animals.
Cultural Reception
One of Kyitum's first followers, Snakhnya, listened to xem
describe the experiences of their second set of visions, even as
unrest started to occur among people affected by the great
drought. She wrote down Kyitum's words and wrote the first
treatise on the zodiac animals as well as a list of dates that
corresponded to major events in the history of Raro. The Zeemug
Nyai, or Book of the Animals, was recopied by other believers and
more files were added to document the births and deaths of famous
Rarons. The reception initially was mixed, as the time was seeing
many upheavals and changes, and Kyitum's role in fueling panic was
not forgotten.
In Literature
The central part of the Zeemug Nyai, the one that describes the
animals and their elements, became a well-known song, and the
records of the many births and deaths also became musical, with
different musicians showing off their memories by reciting the
dates correctly.
In Art
The ushaadfaay is a very common subject of art. The walls around
the city of Raro are painted with murals and writings from famous
texts, and along the innermost walls that house the majority of
the Raron citizens is inscribed a full calendar with the different
animals in their places. The art displays a wheel divided into six
segments of various colors, with an animal beside in a matching
color. Like in typical Raron art, the eyes of the animals are not
depicted.
While many works depicting the zodiac have the first animal, the
unyozeo, at the top of the wheel, it is sometimes placed on the
bottom, signifying the structural foundation of the world.