European Paleolithic Reconstructionism

So, I have been working on this for about a year now. The Bear God Urkto is central to the faith. I do not know his original name (which is likely in the Neanderthal language), so I reconstructed it based on various languages and came up with Urkto (from Ursus and Arktos primarily). The faith has a fire Goddess, a snake spirit, a bull spirit, and others. The priests of whom I am the first in several centuries at least, are called Urktos-vede, or "[he] who knows Urkto". I am working meticulously backwards from extant mythology from the Indo-Europeans and from other descendants of the Ancient North Eurasians (a nomadic mammoth-hunting group that lived about 12-10,000 BP). The religion is Shamanic in nature, but shrines did exist and were something we might consider to be temple-like nowadays. Often they were in highly decorated caves and prominently displayed a bear skull covered in red ochre. I lack a cave and a bear skull. So I have made an altar temporarily in my home and used a sculpture of a bear's head.

I have found that I can only communicate with these deities when I am happy and healthy, and now that I am, I turn again to faith. I have learned in the hospital that faith is central to recovery, that it provides structure and props our moods up. It provides us with a sense of community and our place in that community. I believe that it is needed to be healthy, at least by me.

I think that I should create a small shrine for these Gods and Spirits (I differentiate between them by their power level, but they see no such distinction). To prevent desecration, it needs to be a closed space that doesn't attract negative attention. But it needs to be large enough to comfortably fit myself and another person, 3 altars, and storage for herbs and the like. I have wood to frame it, roofing material,bricks for the foundation, house paint, and vents to let out excess incense smoke. I would only have to buy nails, plywood, and mortar. What do you lot think? Should I build it? I figure it will cost about $200 to build.

Personally I would build it from natural materials, not store-bought, if possible.

Tyler Ludens wrote:Personally I would build it from natural materials, not store-bought, if possible.

I would love to. But, I do not own the majority of the trees surrounding my property. The trees on my property are not suitable. But I already have the beams and the like. Perhaps I could make a wattle and daub wall and green roof. I have those materials, except for the lath.

Thanks for sharing. Wattle and daub sounds appropriate to the time period.

denise ra wrote:Thanks for sharing. Wattle and daub sounds appropriate to the time period.

I think I might plan for that then. I would have to use screens in the gable vents to keep bugs out, but could cover them with woven sticks to hide them. I would still have to buy mortar for my bricks to keep the wood and earth parts dry. Ancient people used seashell lime and stones for the same thing. I just don't have the resources to do it the same way. I think I will paint the whole thing with lime to protect from termites and weather. Some Native American tribes, the Europeans, and East Asians all did this at least up to 2000 years ago.

After communicating with Urkto today, I realized something. I often think of myself as being like Konko Daijin who founded Konkokyo in the 1800s. He was a farmer in the village of Otani in Japan. I often speak to priests of this faith and am friends with 3. I even considered becoming one. But then Urkto revealed himself to me. When this happened, I immediately understood the feelings of Konko Daijin. And so I have been feeling more and more like him as time goes on. But there is another mystic I have realized that I am similar to. He is Moses. He is a very famous fellow, but he didn't start out that way. When he was banished to Midian by his adoptive brother Akhmoset, he was adopted by a nomadic priest and lived with him for some years before having his moment, where El revealed himself as Yahweh in the burning bush. The wandering priests of Midian still exist. Their influence is still felt in the writings of Rumi, in the Koran, and the Bible. These ancient priests founded multiple religions which have shaped our world. I intend to watch after my death, as their ideas continue to shape our own.  The Middle East was rife with them. And while they are a dying breed, some still practice a Shamanic form of Islam in Afghanistan and Turkey. Each is called by a God and sequesters himself in the desert to learn. They are revered by their community and I hope that they go on for another 6000 years as they have so far, preaching peace and love.