• Wildlife science major! (i am a huge animal nerd Imao)
• Black and Korean American
• Nonbinary, demi & pan
• Got that ADHD
• Conlanger, worldbuilder, pianist, writer, amateur artist
I'm always open to meeting fellow creatives/anyone who wants to reach out!
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Welcome to Amattuk/Amatòqa! This is a blog on my constructed world: Amattuk. Changes will be made, so if you catch an inconsistency, that's why!
Amattuk started in late middle school when I had a dream of a civilization that worshipped the sun. I've altered and revamped this world over the years!
(I am not a linguist, I just have an interest in linguistics! Please excuse any possible incorrect ipa usage.)
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Directory • (under reconstruction)
Conlangs
Divinity
Fauna
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Note about the names: I have several conlangs for this world, but I’ll default to mostly Anfadica for the names of general people and things in each post (Amattuk = Dului, Amatòqa = Anfadica).
• Not new to tumblr, just moved from an old blog I abandoned 4 years ago lol
There exists an array of minor divinities that embody abstract concepts. Specifically in this case, I'm taking inspiration from the term "god of the gaps".
One of these divinities, called Saapha, embodies the concepts that are unknown. If something is deciphered or discovered, that doesn't change the validity or existence of Saapha in any way. The divinity simply is all things unknown.
Due to the unknown being related in some ways to secrecy, Saapha and Pharai are often associated with each other and seen as close/familiar with each other.
In many northern cultures, music tends to have common trends characteristic of Y'mang generally.
There is a heavy emphasis on percussion; percussion is the most vital part of Y'mangi music, and drum is the primary instrument that Photuna is depicted with in the north.
The rhythm is often heavy with syncopation, vertical and horizontal hemiola, tuplets, and other features. A good rhythm is vital to the songs, and is more important than event a melody. Layers of percussion that build with more musicians over time is another common practice.
The Ahohana
Another common characteristic of Y'mangi music (assuming is does have a melody) is a style of singing that may or may not contain lyrics. In public and/or communal settings it traditionally tends to be louder belting with shifts and vibrations in the voice (called the "ahohana" in Sk'ausiya). If not that style, then it tends to be more of a chanting style (the oduhna). In private or quieter settings, it's typically a more soft style of singing.
The ahohana has the nickname of roughly "soul singing" because it's a style that is viewed as someone letting their soul guide their singing, and it's thought that the ahohana is the most accurate representation of the soul's voice.
The ahohana is usually flexible, meaning that pre-written lyrics are plenty common, but improvised lyrics or improvised melodies and harmonies are even more common. The latter is incredibly common in large community and spiritual settings.
i feel the urge to add an example of what i’m aiming for in regards to the vibrating/shifting belting sort of singing. It would be pretty similar to Song Sohee’s performance of Odolttogi. Just imagine the non-percussion instruments are removed and percussion instruments were enhanced or added to and i think you’d get pretty close.
The Oduhna
There is another style of singing, called the oduhna in Sk'ausiya.
The oduhna is a lower-pitched style where one lowers their voices and chants along to the percussion/instrumentals and/or sings repetitively in a very rhythmic, lower pitch. Chanting-/repetition-heavy vocals are very common in communal Y'mangi music especially, and often pairs well with a voice singing the ahohana.
Those with lower voices who cannot, prefer not to, or simply do not sing the ahohana will often sing the oduhna instead. The oduhna is especially common in music and settings related to Atair/the ground, trees, and still waters. It's a very grounding style, "pulling" people to the present and the solid surroundings.
An example of what the oduhna might sound similar to is the deep-voiced chanting in the last couple minutes of "If You Want Me to Say" by LEENALCHI
In Y'mang and other areas, there are several common practices when doing prayer.
The most common practice for prayer is having direct contact with something related to the divine domain of the deity that one is praying to. For example, if someone is praying to Devanhi, they would only pray outside anytime in the day, but it's considered the most effective when standing in direct sunlight. If someone is praying to Khudite, they would either pray on a battlefield or while holding a weapon.
Another common practice is baring one's throat as opposed to bowing one's head. One will raise their head to expose the underside of their chin and throat because prayer is viewed as a gesture of extreme vulnerability and trust in the divine being whom they are addressing.
Obviously, the domain of the deity one would like to pray to isn't always available when needed. To increase daily accessibility, it's a common practice to carry a symbol or piece of the domain on one's person in the form of jewelry or in a sachet. This isn't possible for all deities though.
In many northern cultures, music tends to have common trends characteristic of Y'mang generally.
There is a heavy emphasis on percussion; percussion is the most vital part of Y'mangi music, and drum is the primary instrument that Photuna is depicted with in the north.
The rhythm is often heavy with syncopation, vertical and horizontal hemiola, tuplets, and other features. A good rhythm is vital to the songs, and is more important than event a melody. Layers of percussion that build with more musicians over time is another common practice.
Another common characteristic of Y'mangi music (assuming is does have a melody) is a style of singing that may or may not contain lyrics. In public and/or communal settings it traditionally tends to be louder belting with shifts and vibrations in the voice (called "ahohana" in Sk'ausiya). If not that style, then it tends to be more of a chanting style. In private or quieter settings, it's typically a more soft style of singing.
Ahohana style is usually flexible, meaning that pre-written lyrics are plenty common, but improvised lyrics or improvised melodies and harmonies are even more common. The latter is incredibly common in large community and spiritual settings.
i feel the urge to add an example of what i’m aiming for in regards to the vibrating/shifting belting sort of singing. It would be pretty similar to Song Sohee’s performance of Odolttogi. Just imagine the non-percussion instruments are removed and percussion instruments were enhanced or added to and i think you’d get pretty close.
As mentioned previously in "On Divinity & the Divine", there exists such a thing as a "deified" mortal. These are originally-mortal souls that, upon death, became "deified" or spiritually elevated instead of the typical cycle of collecting and recycling their soul material after death.
In these cases, instead of Ophiuke showing up, Faiti herself does. Whether a mortal is to be deified is based on various factors, but particularly if they were an exceptionally beneficial/impactful individual, incredibly devoted to someone/thing, or impressed Faiti or any other deity.
While these mortals are spiritually elevated, they are not on the same level as "true" gods. They are more like strong spirits or regional/local deities that have limited power. These deified mortals can often act as a divine guardian of an area/place, a guardian of a lineage, or even a helper spirit to one of the "true" gods.
While many may first think of people when they think of deified mortals, there are actually a much greater number of non-human deified mortals (both animals and even plants in the cases of things like trees).
"Divinity" is not black-and-white, it's more of a "gradient". Primordial and eternal gods are their own categories, but deified mortals are not all that uncommon either (deified mortals are similar to guardian spirits and are akin to spirits or folk heroes). Generally speaking, it can be broken down and approached as a few chunks.
In the "beginning" (better phrased as the "before"), there were the primordial gods. It's not known for certain when or how exactly they came to be, but different cultures have different myths and theories about their origins. Some believe that they were formed from pools of chaotic divine essence; others believe that they were created by pure chance from the unknowable chaotic material and energy. It's to be noted that these theories and myths are passed down as just that: theories and myths. It's frowned upon to claim with certainty that you know the true origin, since it's seen as arrogant.
The First Seven eternal gods include the first generation descendants of the primordials involved in the [TBD]. The First Seven (TFS or FS) are Devanhi, Faiti, Ihena, Kephine, Khudite, Atair, and Hostus. It's generally agreed upon that the primordials were mostly destroyed and using the primordial material, TFS then reformed the universe into one where they were completely integrated and interwoven into it. They were thus inseparable; eternal, mutable, but unkillable.
The Major eternal gods include TFS, along with their primary descendants. These primary descendants include Minka, Tiphine, Numphine, and Pharai. There are other Major eternal gods that either formed during the process of reformation or have an unknown origin. The eternal gods that were created during reformation include Edes and Photuna, and those that have an unknown origin include Ames and Miphi.
The Minor (or "secondary") eternal gods include those descended from the Major eternal gods or those that are minor gods created during the process of reformation. The former includes Tasike (and Tulun and Kalase) and Ophiuke; the latter includes the four seasons: Isna, Vuna, Nuara, Enkaio.
There exist divinities formed from the eternal gods, and they would all be considered on a similar level as stray deities or spirits. There are also many stray divinities that formed during the reformation process as well as formed from divine material in the atmosphere and environment. These stray deities are not eternal and can be killed, and the more actual worship and offerings they get, the more powerful they can grow. In this, guardian spirits for individual communities are not uncommon. Plenty of these divinities act with malintent though, so it's advised to be cautious when reaching out.
While primordial gods can be killed/destroyed, it doesn't mean that all were truly destroyed. Some were trapped under the earth and oceans, and it's thought that whenever there is a tsunami or earthquake, it either means the relevant gods are angry, or that the trapped primordials are shifting and straining.
In Y'mang, there is a sort of simple pidgin/common language that is defaulted to when two or more speakers/listeners don't share a language. This is called Skausa (Endonym: Sk'ausiya).
Skausa is purely used as a common language and not as a first language. It's agglutinative, primarily OSV word order, and pronoun dropping is common.
In many northern cultures, music tends to have common trends characteristic of Y'mang generally.
There is a heavy emphasis on percussion; percussion is the most vital part of Y'mangi music, and drum is the primary instrument that Photuna is depicted with in the north.
The rhythm is often heavy with syncopation, vertical and horizontal hemiola, tuplets, and other features. A good rhythm is vital to the songs, and is more important than event a melody. Layers of percussion that build with more musicians over time is another common practice.
The Ahohana
Another common characteristic of Y'mangi music (assuming is does have a melody) is a style of singing that may or may not contain lyrics. In public and/or communal settings it traditionally tends to be louder belting with shifts and vibrations in the voice (called the "ahohana" in Sk'ausiya). If not that style, then it tends to be more of a chanting style (the oduhna). In private or quieter settings, it's typically a more soft style of singing.
The ahohana has the nickname of roughly "soul singing" because it's a style that is viewed as someone letting their soul guide their singing, and it's thought that the ahohana is the most accurate representation of the soul's voice.
The ahohana is usually flexible, meaning that pre-written lyrics are plenty common, but improvised lyrics or improvised melodies and harmonies are even more common. The latter is incredibly common in large community and spiritual settings.
i feel the urge to add an example of what i’m aiming for in regards to the vibrating/shifting belting sort of singing. It would be pretty similar to Song Sohee’s performance of Odolttogi. Just imagine the non-percussion instruments are removed and percussion instruments were enhanced or added to and i think you’d get pretty close.
The Oduhna
There is another style of singing, called the oduhna in Sk'ausiya.
The oduhna is a lower-pitched style where one lowers their voices and chants along to the percussion/instrumentals and/or sings repetitively in a very rhythmic, lower pitch. Chanting-/repetition-heavy vocals are very common in communal Y'mangi music especially, and often pairs well with a voice singing the ahohana.
Those with lower voices who cannot, prefer not to, or simply do not sing the ahohana will often sing the oduhna instead. The oduhna is especially common in music and settings related to Atair/the ground, trees, and still waters. It's a very grounding style, "pulling" people to the present and the solid surroundings.
An example of what the oduhna might sound similar to is the deep-voiced chanting in the last couple minutes of "If You Want Me to Say" by LEENALCHI
Time and time again do I warn others about the importance of diuhri. Perhaps I was not blunt enough--it is fatally dangerous to allow a muihse to be. It is a cruelty to put onto the soul, and it is a cruelty to put onto oneself.
One must understand, a stray soul, missed by Ophiuke, is no more familiar to you than a stranger. A stranger to whom you've just sentenced to what could be centuries of suffering.
Centuries of wandering unseen; of agony and confusion; of yearning for a normalcy they can no longer fathom. Centuries of parasitism on the living. Faiti spares none in the end, and to hide a soul from Ophiuke is simply an act of cruelty, however misguided.
Their memories remain with the namhie, so seek shelter with them, in what community you may have. However you may cope with your loss, I urge you to perform diuhri to the best of your ability. Do not allow a muihse to be.
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"On Muihse" is an excerpt from a strongly-worded, multi-page lecture booklet written by Q'alui of Neusuq lauK'eteka. Q'alui is a well-known Interrer of Ophiuke (an individual whose job it is to locate and relinquish any muihse they find to Ophiuke). She wrote the excerpt after witnessing a recent uptick in reports of muihse attaching to and draining or killing hosts in the "city" (called eumeuya in Sk'ausiya) of Hahel.
Q'alui is well known as not only a muihse hunter, but also as a scholar of topics regarding death, and a devotee of Faiti.
Kailenge (Dulw) or Ka’elenge (Anfadica) is the name of a vocal art originating in the northern regions, specifically from the Syķausa, Kićia, Aůklela, Nuahaka, Hayùq, and Caalýq peoples.
Kailenge is an art form where an individual or a group use their voices and mouths to imitate non-human sounds as perfectly as possible. This is not only an art form, but a way to pray and worship Photuna/Fotúna and other divinities.
This art form has been strictly used for the purposes of worship, recreation, and other harmless activities. The use of Kailenge to lure animals for poaching has been expressly forbidden and outlawed in many regions as it’s said to bring Minka’s/Minòqa’s anger upon those who do so.
Diuhri (also other names depending on language) is a ritual performed at night after someone dies.
The deceased's body is taken to their home, a home theyve resided in in the past, a loved one's home, or a place of importance to the deceased. If the body can't be taken to a place of importance, diuhri can still be practiced, but offerings are heavily emphasized. Their loved ones then place offerings of food and items that held meaning to them around the body.
It's believed that when someone dies, the person's memories are stored in their head until Ophiuke (psychopomp) comes and releases them. Due to the soul having lost the actual memories after death, it's thought that the loved ones' presence along with the offerings will keep the soul occupied and in the area until Ophiuke can release the memories and escort the soul to Faiti.
If an individual dies alone without diuhri, the soul may stay close enough to their body until Ophiuke arrives, but often they wander too far off and are never found by him. As a result, these souls become muihse (wayward ghosts).
Some have purposefully mislead Ophiuke, or tried to hide or mask the death of someone to keep him from taking their soul. This most often is done by either an enemy of the deceased or by someone desperate from grief not wanting to let go. Unfortunately this is pointless as even as a muihse, the soul is without its memories.
Muihse are tortured with the distress and restlessness of being stuck on Heśoq without memories or a physical form. They begin to hunt for a new physical body but often kill their host in the process.
It's taboo to cremate or otherwise burn a recently deceased body because fire is said to expel souls and scare them off (bc the fear of fire's destructive power was ingrained into all mortal soul material bc a backstory or whatever), and fire is kept away from the dead and any diuhri.
Unfortunately, those who die in fires always become muihse, and as a result, warring nations have used the practice of burning fallen soldiers as psychological warfare. The vast majority of nations have now denounced this practice in war, and view it as a bastardization of fire and an act of disrespect to life and death.
After performing diuhri for two nights, the body is buried at the base of a tree, set in the ocean, or set up on a mountain to decompose (depending on the location).
Faiti (death god) takes souls after people have died and basically crushes them up into "base material"/energy to be used for newly created souls. It's like how matter cannot be created nor destroyed? These souls aren't reincarnated necessarily; they are broken down and used for completely new souls
