some facts and musings about dokkalfar opinions on death, cannibalism and preservation just for the halloween season:
A central tenant of Dokkalfar religion/spirituality is that everything within reality exists within a continuous loop -- everything is connected to eachother, where one thing ends another begins, as above so below kinda deal. A big part of their sprituality is striving to live in balance with natural forces of life and death.
Dokkalfar believe the soul is intrinsically connected to the body. The body is not just a vessel to house the spirit -- the body maintains the spirit, and the spirit maintains the body. When the body dies, the spirit remains connected, and as the body decays and turns into something else, so does the soul.
As such, they believe that preservation inhibits the ability of the body and the spirit to move on and rejoin the cycle of nature. Embalming, mummification, taxidermy, wet specimens -- all of them are considered extremely controversial from a religious standpoint among the Dokkalfar.
The Vivisectorium, the heart of medical and anatomical studies in Amorium, has been the center of many controversies for using preserved specimens for research and education. All things considered, preserved specimens are perhaps the least controversial thing the Vivisectorium has done.
Dokkalfar burials are very naturalistic. Funeral pyres, natural burials, and open burials are all common. Coffins are rare, if used at all.
The consumption of flesh is tantamount to a consumption of spirit.
As such, Dokkalfar have a lot of respect for the animals they consume, and some Dokkalfar are functionally flexitarian/ vegetarian due to their spiritual beliefs.
Dokkalfar sometimes engage in what could be described as reverent cannibalism, however this practice is very occult and secretive, a very private experience that demands much respect and solemnness. Eating a part of the body of a passed loved one is a way to take a part of their essence, their soul, into oneself. Dokkalfar might also consume the flesh of 'worthy' foes fallen in combat, to take in their power and to honor them. Myrmidons are said to engage in this sort of reverent cannibalism more commonly than common Dokkalfar, due to the nature of their station.
All Dokkalfar, from the lowest slave to the highest Magister, are afforded funerals under the auspices of the Hierophant and the Temple of Mithra. It is considered important for the overall spiritual health of the Sidhe to respect ancient funerary practices.
The consquence of not respecting the dead comes in the form of the Faer Gorta, undead fae piloted by restless spirits. Usually they are Dokkalfar who were not given proper rites, or was disrespected in some way after death. They are restless but powerful spirits trapped in their slowly decaying bodies.
Every winter, the Hierophant and his most loyal subjects travel into the depths of the jungle to meet the Faer Gorta, bringing gifts and preforming rites and rituals for the peace of their body and soul. It is believed if the Faer Gorta are not appeased, it will bring about failed harvests, war, and general misfortune.
There is a great cultural anxiety and fear surrounding the idea of the undead. Undead beings and ghosts like banshees, liches, dullahan, revenants, wraiths, zombies, and gheists are common antagonistic subjects of Dokkalfar folklore, plays, songs, novels, and tall tales.
