Hangism
Hangism is a universial nontheistic religion and philosphy observed widely on Nongba. Hangism concerns the life of Hangmeng and her actions. Hangism generally teaches followers to think and act in ways that align with Hangmeng's beliefs. Hangmeng was born between the year -10 and 12 of the Nongban Calendar (9812 TT to 9803 TT). Hangism is believed to have been first observed 50-80 nongban years after Hangmeng was born. Hangism has evolved over the centuries, splitting into 10 sects. Today there are 3 commonly observed sects, the Western or "Urban" sect, a Nothern Sect, and the Desert or "Rural" sect.
Story Of Hangmeng
Hangmeng was born between the year -10 and 12 of the Nongban Calendar (9812 TT to 9803 TT) . Its commonly agreed that Hangmeng was born on or around the day of Ponhan, Honghantan month of the Junana (harvest period). Hangmeng's Mother, "Gunton", was a slave in the Shunta mine. Hangmeng was given the name “Inlulut”, the meaning of which is unknown. The father of Inlulut is unknown but was most likely a slave master working at Shunta. Different sects of Hangism believe in different fathers of Inlulut. For instance, in the western sect, it is believed that the father of Inlulut was a Nobleman from Tolha or Yumpa that was visiting Shunta. In the mountain sects, it was believed that the father of Inlulut was a barbarian cannibal who raped many slaves during a raid. The desert sects believe that the father of Inlulut did not exist and that Inlulut was born through immaculate conception.
Until Inlulut was an older child or a very young teen, she was working in the salt mines. The salt mined in Shunta was used to preserve fish in Tolha. At some point around the age of 11 Inlulut was separated from the salt mines and used as a sex slave for the Shunta slave masters. After 3 years of rape should be forced to birth a nameless child now known as “It”. The transition from physical labor to sexual labor was particularly tough on Inlulut, as she was known to show far more symptoms of stress.
In the year 41 (9792 TT), when Inlulut was approximately 16 years old. She escaped from the Shunta compounds and climbed the great plinth on mount Urupun. The plinth was used as a beacon for traveling traders and to ward nomadic tribes away. When Inlulut was atop the plinth, she would use the strength gained from salt mining to push gigantic bricks down a valley and smash into traders that were moving salt to Tolha. After pushing over nearly half the boulders, closing the main path to shunta, she would use her clothes as fuel to light a fire on the top of the great plinth. For approximately 4 days she would stay on the plinth and attempt to keep the fire continuing.
Over the five days that she spent on the plinth, Inlulut would not leave or be encountered by anyone. It is believed that she had nothing to eat or drink. At that time she had burnt all the possessions she had including her only clothes. When the fire died, the only thing that remained was ash and a clump of salt that was melted by the fire. At which point she would climb down from the plinth. She found that nobody was left in Shunta. Therefore would proceed to Tolha.
It is heavily debated what happened during Inlulut's trip to tolha. At the time there were some nomadic mountain tribes known to inhabit the area. In certain sects, it is thought that Inlulut was encountered by that tribe, yet there is fleeting evidence of that.
By the time that Inlulut reached Tolha, she was encountered by the Tolha militia. The Tolha Militia attempted to execute Inlulut by setting her on fire. Yet was able to escape by falling into the water and pretending to drown. However, when the chance was given, Inlulut would swim up the bay to dry land and would walk north, eventually reaching Yumpa.
When Inlulut reached Yumpa, she was greeted welcomely as a stranger and would be housed and unofficially adopted by a Yumpa family. Inlulut would stay in Yumpa for 2 Nongban years. She spent much of her time in Yumpa telling locals about what happened to her and what she did in Shunta. In the Yangana period Inlulut had regained much of her strength lost from slavery, starvation, and dehydration. She returned to Tolha with a bundle of poor Polbi. When Inlulut returned to Tolha she encountered a large number of starving people, particularly children, and a lack of soldiers. When Inlulut closed the Shunta mines it caused a major salt shortage in Tolha, leading to a famine and loss of trade. Instead of using the bundle of polbi to set fire to the village –like originally intended– she instead entered an abandoned house and began to bake Yumpa-stylee bread and heavily salted them. She proceeded to feed young children this salted bread. Inlulut would continue to enter tolha and feed the children salted polbi bread. At the time, trade between Tolha and yumpa was severely decreased due to Tolha’s salt shortage. At age 60 she would move to tolha permanently and regularly feed salted bread to the children of Tolha. Inlulut would tell children stories of what she did, and is where many of Hangmeng’s great truths came from. The children eventually called her “Hangmeng”, which means “Salted Woman”.
In the year 100 (9769 TT), Hangmeng noticed the nobility of Tolha was planning on reopening Shunta. When Hangmeng learned of this she held a public protest. She told everyone that she was a slave born at Shunta and all the things that happened to her. The protest she held grew to include many of the people that she fed (of which there were many). The protest would grow so large that there was rioting. The rioting held at Tolha eventually led to the public execution of the nobility who wanted to reopen Shunta. Some sects of Hangism believe that Hangmeng had raped the nobles during this time as a form of revenge, others believe that she did not even participate in the execution.
After the nobles were executed, Hangmeng would reenter her home in Tolha where she baked bread. But for 12 weeks (One nongba year) she felt such an overwhelming sense of guilt and depression for the execution that she stopped baking bread. However, she would begin to feel guilty about not feeding bread to the children and she would begin to bake and feed bread twice the size as usual as compensation. After another nongba year, she would return to normal-sized loaves of bread. As she spent less time baking bread, she began to notice injustice the world and would call children into action and fix the issues she saw. But after a year of calling people to action, she would notice that some children used her words to harm others. Following that, she became overridden with guilt, and stopped producing bread. This 3-year cycle would continue a new and is where the modern 3-year cycle of Nongba originates from. The Yangna Year (Stale), Junana (Harvest), and Somana (Fertile).
By the year 250 of the Nongban calendar (9710 TT), Hangmeng was age 98, and had repeated the cycle 9 times, and the end of her life was coming near. Therefore committed herself to break the cycle and feed everyone a normal amount of bread all the time. Unfortunately, she could not gain enough salt and grain to feed everyone. However, instead of waiting for more food to arrive, she decided to secretly stop feeding herself, and instead give away the food she would save for herself. Eventually, at the age of 101, she died of voluntary starvation.
The dying wish of Hangmeng was that nobody enters her home, or sees her body. As she did not want the people she fed to feel guilt, as they would enter their 3-year cycle of guilt and giving.
Beliefs
General Philosphy
Hangmeng often gave advice about compassion and the conservation of resources. Different sects focus on difference aspects. The Western sect tends to focus on compassion, while the desert sect almost entirley focuses on the conservation of resources.
Hangmengs truths
Over the course of Hangmeng handing out bread and giving advce to children, a collection of statements made by her were passed through oral tradition, and later written down. These statements are called "truths". About half of Hangmeng's truths have been lost, however there are 12 remaining still commonly taught.
| Hangmeng's Truth | What it is believed Hangmeng said | How the Truth is taught today | General Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truth Of Life | Life is not precious. The inherent value of life comes from the actions that one takes to cause action in others. | Life is not precious. The inherent value of life comes from the actions that one takes to cause action in others | Life means nothing if you dont do anything with it. And if you do something bad with your life it must be worth less |
| Truth of Death | Death occurs, but you must prevent it. There is never a case where it can be defended. | Despite everything, death cannot be excused. It was never planned, it was never wanted, it is a waste. | Do everything in your power to prevent death. |
| Truth of Forgiveness | Forgiveness is an action that causes inaction. | Forgiveness is an action that causes inaction. | You must forgive, even if it doesn't seem right. |
| Truth of Action | The action of one causes the action of another. Yet the action of another may never be truly right. | The action does good and evil. | An action has consequences. |
| Truth of Inaction | Inaction causes an action but that action will stop inaction. | Inaction causes inaction however the actions that inaction can cause worse actions. | Just because you didn’t do something, does not mean you are not responsible for the consequences. Which often has a strong effect on you |
| Truth of Hatred | Even hate is not a reason. | Even hate is not a reason. | You cannot defend an action just because of your hatred. |
| Truth of Hunger | Hunger is inaction. | Choosing to be hungry is inaction. | You should not starve yourself of something necessary to prevent waste |
| Truth of Waste | Waste is a despicable action. | Wasting is an action of inaction. Wasting will make any one truth untruthful. | To waste something is the worst sin. If you are wasteful, you must redeem yourself. |
| Truth of Animals | *Was not said by Hangmeng* | Animals are not actions. | Animals are not responsible for what they do and are not held up to human standards. |
| Truth of Salt | Salt preserves. It can be your greatest friend, however, you cannot survive on it. | Salt preserves truth. It is your greatest friend. | Salt is love. |
| Truth of Water | Water drowns what it creates. | Water drowns what it creates. It is the symbol of Hatred. | Despite water killing many people, we are made of water, so you should not waste water. However, it is easy to waste water. This double meaning is a symbol of hatred. |
| Truth of Fire | Fire is a signal. It is in the sun and the bread oven. | Fire is a signal. It is on the tower and the bread oven. A symbol of life. | Fire is life. |
General Practices
The tomb of Hangmeng
The house that Hangmeng lived in should not be entered, and her body must not be touched or seen. Historically the entering of her house or touching her was considered the strongest declaration of war.
Salted Bread
Salted bread is incredibly popular due to its connections to Hangmeng. Many villages consider giving away free bread just as important as having a house of worship. A mayonnaise-like dressing is a popular condiment.
The Tower of Hangmeng
The tower of Hangmeng, where Hangmeng had toppled, set fire to, and fasted on, is the greatest holy site in Hangism. Yet you should never climb the tower or touch the rocks that fell from it.
Houses of worship
Most villages have atleast one house of worship, called a “Mengmin”. One is allowed to enter the Mengmin at any time to receive advice from leaders and community members. Generally the Mengmin is used to unite the community during specific events. It is generally accepted that the average person should visit twice a week, and a devout hangist should visit every one or two days.
Salt
Gathering of salt from mountains should only occur in the fertile year as respect to Hangmeng. To qualify to gather salt you would have to train in Hangist philosophy and be appointed by a Mengmin Leader.
Holidays
The last day of the year, known simply as “honhang”, (6/12 or “Honghantong Hanhan”) is the holiest day. You must spend that daying doing as much good things as you can. If working and study will not cause good actions you should do other better actions instead (most don’t work on Honhang).
The 50th day of the fertile year is “Polbi yan tuang” (Lit: Naked as a Polbi). The day said that Hangmeng had entered the village of tolha naked. Traditionally everyone who is a woman between 16 and 20 would wear as little clothes as possible on this day to celebrate Hangmeng. However this holiday is being phased out due to safety concerns and participation is increasingly frowned upon. However is still practiced in some areas.
Sex
If sex will not create a child, do not have it, it is waste. This extends to masturbation and rape. This has caused the birth rate to be artificially deflated.
The search for “It”
The “Search for It” is a traditional ritual where one enters the desert alone to search for Inlulut’s lost child “It”. This ritual is a test of ones strength and is done before other important rituals. This ritual is purely done for cultural reasons, and most do not expect to actually find It.