Dwarven religious beliefs and practices are generally not well known among those
not of dwarven ancestry, and even in the monumental work by Drute, "The
Rise and Fall of the Dwarven Empire", only a few pages are dedicated
to the subject. It is the goal of this brief work to help to rectify that
situation.
It is a common misconception that religion plays little role in dwarven culture,
but that is very far from the truth. In fact, knowledge of dwarven religion is
critical for the understanding of dwarven culture.
Ceremonies to the dwarven gods tend to be brief and to the point, with the participants hurrying back to work as soon as they are over. The lengthy religious ceremonies of some other races are seen as a waste of time. As with other races, dwarven clerics are generally well respected members of their communities (with the notable exception of the clerics of Blawnostron). It should be noted that in smaller communities their clerical duties are often an addition to their regular work. It is for example not unusual to discover that the head blacksmith of a dwarven village is also a cleric of Rukan.
Most dwarves will offer a prayer to several of the dwarven gods under different circumstances. Dwarven clerics are on the other hand expected to be totally dedicated to their god, as the god has entrusted them with special powers. For a dwarven cleric to pray to a different god than his chosen one would border on betrayal.
Unlike certain other races, the dwarves have only a few gods. To be exact, there
are five gods, each with a well defined role.
Different dwarven clans do not have any special "god of the clan", and neither do dwarves from different regions worship different regional gods.
This does not imply, however, that all the five gods are worshipped to the same degree (or in the same way) by all clans, quite the contrary. Worship of some of the gods is extremely rare among certain clans, but this is discussed in more detail in the chapters on the individual gods.
Rukan is the dwarven god of Creation. However, before continuing, a
clarification is in order. The dwarven word "ta'ruk" is normally
translated into Common as "to create", just like the elven "loinen".
However, those two words represent two entirely different concepts. The elvish
word basically means "to make something out of nothing", but
that idea is totally foreign to dwarven thought.
"Creation" in the dwarven sense means to transform an existing object
into a new one or to construct something new from pre-existing components.
Thus, a dwarven writer sees his work not as creating something out of thin air, but rather as combining existing words and ideas in a new way. A dwarven sculptor sees his work not as making a statue, but rather as transforming a stone block into a statue, or as one (human) put it, "by removing the stone chips that are not a part of the statue."
It is important to keep this dwarven concept of creation in mind to properly understand the position and role of Rukan. This concept also appears in the description of how Rukan created the world, as the following translation from the beginning of the "Tablets of Creation" shows:
First was Chaos.
The elements were in conflict.
Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit.
All fighting one another.
Rukan observed the Chaos.
Rukan said: 'Order!'.
Rukan separated the elements.
Rukan built the world from the elements.
In other words, the world was not created out of nothing, but rather from the initial elemental chaos.
Rukan is the primary god of dwarven artists, smiths, stonemasons and others who create or build non-living things.
Formal ceremonies in his honour are virtually non-existent, and there are no temples dedicated to him anywhere. This has lead some people to regard Rukan as insignificant, but this is a misunderstanding.
From the dwarven point of view, every object created by dwarven hands is equivalent to a ceremony dedicated to Rukan, so formal ceremonies in his honour would be a waste of time. It is a common belief that shoddy construction or creation of an item may result in some unspecified punishment by Rukan.
As for the lack of temples, the reason is simply that dwarves consider the
entire world to be his temple. No building could ever compete with that, and
therefore no temple has ever been built.
Dwarven clerics of Rukan are said to have the powers to bless certain
high-quality items, making them more effective or better in some way.
Tarran is generally seen as the dwarven god of war. This may be because of the
well known dwarven war cry "ren Tarran" ("in the name of Tarran"),
which is often shouted by dwarven warriors when they rush into battle.
However, it would be more correct to consider Tarran primarily as a god of
protection and defense. He protects dwarves from external threats such as racial
enemies and natural disasters. He is not a god of offensive warfare of the
orcish expansionist type.
Temples to Tarran are built according to this philosophy, being in effect easily defensible forts or strongholds.
Even the best stronghold can fall to a superior enemy force, and that is exactly what happened to the former primary temple of Tarran. It used tobe located in the city of Rachadum, in the underground realm known in the common tongue as "Down Below".
As described in chapter 17 of "The Rise and Fall of the Dwarven
Empire", by Drute, the city of Rachadum was lost during the War of
Bloodletting.
Ever since then, it has been the dream of dwarves to recover the city andthe
temple. A common dwarven farewell greeting, "da Rachadum trak"
("next epoch in Rachadum") reflects this dream. However, at the moment
this goal seems impossible to achieve, as all known routes to the city have been
blocked.
Tarran is primarily the god of dwarven fighters, but every home owner will pray to him for protection of the home.
Dwarven clerics of Tarran are given some special defensive capabilities, but also certain offensive and healing abilities.
Drelin is the female god of childbirth and growth. Most of her worshippers are
female, but any dwarven farmer will pay homage to her. There are small shrines
dedicated to her in most dwarven towns, in particular those on the surface.
Ceremonies to Drelin typically take the form of feasts, usually around harvest
time.
All known clerics of Drelin are female, but whether this is just because of tradition or a requirement by Drelin herself is unknown to me. The clerics who were asked said that a male cleric of Drelin was simply unthinkable.
Dwarven clerics of Drelin have the ability to neutralise any poison and also various healing abilities. They are also said to be able to make plants grow faster and larger.
Blawnostron is most certainly not a typical dwarven name, but then there is
nothing typical about this god. To start with, he is also known as "The
Beardless One". Now, even a dirty, uneducated orc or a Sylvandorian elf
knows that dwarves place great pride in their beards.
For most dwarves, the idea of shaving off their beards is just unthinkable, and
suggesting that would be a serious insult, as it would imply that their beard
was not worth keeping. In fact, shaving the beard off has been a punishment
reserved only for the worst criminals and traitors. Their beard is shaved off
and they are then paraded around town in that condition before their execution.
Yet, Blawnostron is utterly beardless, as are those few clerics that follow him. It goes without saying that clerics and worshippers of Blawnostron are often met with scorn or even outright hostility, and yet his worship continues.
Blawnostron is probably best described as the god of luck, pranks and alcohol.
Worshippers of Blawnostron can be found among the young ones, perhaps as an act of rebellion against society, but they generally seem to grow outof that as they mature.
Dwarven miners, gamblers and others who rely on luck will frequently pay
their respects to Blawnostron, by muttering a short phrase and ripping one hair
out of their beard. This is normally done secretly, for obvious reasons,
although there are unconfirmed rumours of more extensive ceremonies to
Blawnostron, typically involving copious alcohol, as it is said that Blawnostron
will respond more favourably to prayers from his worshippers when they are
intoxicated. I have not been able to confirm this, however.
There are no known temples dedicated to the worship to Blawnostron.
His clerics are said to have the ability to perform various pranks, such as transforming alcohol into water, so it should not be surprising that most of them are wanderers, not welcome in any dwarven settlement.
This god is also known as "Taz ren na", which translates to "He
whose name is not said". Uttering the name of this god is something dwarves
will not do, except in special circumstances as noted below. Even writing down
his name in full is something that is just not done. The customary way around
this is to say "His name ends in -azran, and the first letter is Z".
The Dark One is the dwarven god of fratricide. A dwarf killing another dwarf in anger or by accident must answer to him.
If a dwarf dishonours another dwarf in some way, the offended party may by dwarven custom declare a blood feud against the offender, or in extreme cases against his entire clan. Declaration of blood feud must be done in public and the traditional phrase that is used includes the full name of The Dark One.
On occasion, the dwarf declaring the blood feud has dropped dead on the spot. This is interpreted as a divine sign that the motivation for the blood feud was insufficient. Otherwise, a state of blood feud now exists between the parties, and that remains in effect until one of them is dead.
There have been cases where a blood feud has gotten out of control, and eventually involved the entire clan on both sides, resulting in decimation of an entire clan.
I am not aware of any clerics of The Dark One, but there is a persistent rumour of a shrine dedicated to him in a cave somewhere in the Claw mountains.
Some religious scholars have claimed that dwarves practice ancestor worship,
that is, praying to the spirits of their ancestors, in particular the clan
founders. This is somewhat misleading. Dwarves venerate their ancestors, and may
in times of great need seek guidance from the spirits of those who have
departed. However, they are not worshipped in the traditional sense.
Finally, it must be noted that a few dwarves have abandoned the gods of their
race. Some now pray to various evil gods, while others have joined the ranks of
paladins, and worship their gods. However, as this document only deals
with dwarven gods, I will not discuss this particular subject.
