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a mia-o'daalad di-salilan-daal

This is a small subset of the larger group known as a o'daalad di-adaad. As stated in the name, this mia-o'daalad is found almost exclusively in the city and surrounding villages of Salilan-daal. The feature that defines this tradition as seperate from the rest of a o'daalad di-adaad is that music is seen as the only way to communicate with any divine being.

Whilst the difference between di-salilan-daal traditions and the more general di-adaad faiths may appear subtle at first glance, the beliefs local to the city of Salilan-daal are distinct from the practices of surrounding areas and unique when compared to worship across Syana. The traditional beliefs of the northern Balisan people are collectively known as a o'daalad di-adaad, and the characteristic that defines all of these varying traditions is that music plays a large part in their worship of the gods. However, a mia-o'daalad di-salilan-daal takes this further by being centred around the belief that all divine beings do not communicate using human language, rather they communicate with eachother as well as with mankind using the divine language of music.

The concept of divine beings not speaking Syan is not found in any other form of Raa-dyanism, with all other subgroups of raa-dyan di-roa and every o'daali of raa-dyan di-akara-so being in agreement that the gods communicate in the same way as humans. Due to this highly unique view of the divine, worship in a mia-o'daalad di-salilan-daal takes on a unique form. Followers of this tradition worship through a practice known as maamaar, in which they gently tap a small hand drum whilst chanting or singing aloud the message they wish to convey to the divine. Whilst it may seem that the words being said are intended for the gods to hear, it is infact the drumming that is believed to be the sound that travels to the realm of Saarakaara. This is because the words that are chanted or sung are used as a reminder of what the person is praying for as they enter a trance-like state. This trance, known as daali-di-kaara, involves a person relinquishing control of their hands and allowing impulses and their subconcious to decide when they tap the drum. This creates irregular yet still musical drum patterns that are divine translations of the message being said out loud.

Unlike other forms of worship in di-adaad faiths, the maamaar of di-salilan-daal tradition is a practice that is always done alone. Whilst wider Balisan culture places great importance on communal singing and dances, this type of worship is deeply personal and is typically performed in a quiet and dark room, away from anyone else or any possible distractions. It is also common for branches of the kaara-karan bush to be burned during maamaar, often due to their calming and mildly hallucinagenic qualities.

Whilst this mia-o'daalad was facing possible extinction during the late 20th century, it is currently seeing an unlikely resurgence as a small portion of Salilan-daal younger population reconnect with their Balisan heritage and convert to the di-salilan-daal variety of the raa-dyan di-roa religion. Due to this modern comeback, the 2015 city census held in Salilan-daal reported that over 5 thousand people identified as following "raa-dyan di-roa di-salilan-daal", which was included as an optional variant of the Raa-dyanist answer (due to a request made by the Balisan History Council of Salilan-daal).

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