Ávabuz is very loose and not uniform. There are many traditional myths and stories, some of which are tied to specific regions. There are no gods, but worshipped ancestors and legendary heroic figures. They are regarded as real historical figures even tho they have god-like powers. It's the successor of the ancient beetle pantheon, the religion prior to Ávabuz.

Name

Ávabuz is a combination of Old Ribäng ‘a̋bi’ (act of breathing, life) and ‘ábúz’ (death). It can therefore be translated as ‘living death’ and refers to the ancestors' belief in spirits.

Traditions

Deceased family members are honoured, derived from the holyness of the ancestors. Believers keep an ancestral altar in their home, which functions as a permanent ritual site. It must be sanctified by an Ugbanba (‘shaman, priest’). They are usually decorated with candles and smogged with incense. Prayers to the ancestors are usually sung., sometimes accompanied with music. Believers dedicate some activities to their ancestors. For this purpose, things are done that are connected to the ancestors. This follows the principle that actions count more than intentions.

There is a belief that his soul can be stolen or attacked. If his corpse is not cremated, the angry soul walks near the dead body in the form of an evil spirit. However, there are also ambivalent spirits in the neighbourhood, where the deceased still have a task to fulfil.

It is assumed that a person will soon achieve great things and thus become a revered ancestor.

Celebrations

The first festival is dedicated to Ítmibugwa and is in the Warm Period. It is celebrated for the defeat of the beetle beast and the creation of the new world.

The second festival is at the end of the Cold Period. People look forward to the warm and rainy season and ask the ancestors to help with a good harvest.

The third festival is at the end of the rainy season. After it, the new year and the cold season begin. The festival lasts two days.

Ancestors

There are only a few widely-sanctified ancestors who are worshipped by the Ribangese everywhere. Depending on where they come from, they are regarded as regional personifications. Ancestors walk in the form of their soul in the Otherworld: a second level of this world. From there, they have the opportunity to watch over and influence their descendants. The spirits of the ancestors come in the form of beetles. It is the human-understandable form that is recognisable and perceptible. Basically, all supernatural beings are comparable to beetles, but they are not beetles per se.

Afterlife

After death, the soul remains in this world. It walks in the Otherworld where it can watch over its descendants.

Burial traditions

After death, the body is cremated and the remains are buried in an ornate vase. Multiple grave goods are also buried.

Healers of the dead often wrap themselves in white robes adorned with plants such as seaweed and algae. They wear large masks with grimaces that resemble the psychopomps of Albuno.

Structure

Each village usually has a local Ugbanba who is well versed in the history of the religion and is responsible for rituals involving incense. They are usually very learned and are called upon for their wisdom. They can communicate with ancestors by making contact with the Otherworld through drugs. (Mediators to the spirit world, healers and ritualists, drugs enhance sensory perception). Depending on their gender, Ugbanba can be divided into three categories. Female Igbänb are responsible for healing, dream interpretation and fertility rituals. Androgynous Ugbanba are responsible for divination/prophecy, conversations/counselling and the role of spirit medium. Male Ugbanba are responsible for hunting magic/rituals and military counselling. Male Ugbanba are responsible for hunting magic. Local Ugbanba are often commissioned to consecrate weapons for hunting in order to increase their strength. To do this, they paint certain patterns on the weapons to simplify and focus the help of the ancestors. The profession of Ugbanba is passed on in the family, the eldest child of the same sex of the parent is raised to become the next Ugbanba. If there is no child of the same sex as the parent, a child is sent to a foreign Ugbanba.

Some cults are still formed around beetle deities today. This can be compared to witchcraft and is considered a criminal offence.

Creation myth

Before the first ancestors appeared, the world was different from today. The fish people worshipped giant beetles as gods, to whom they made brutal sacrifices. One day, Ítmibugwa the hunter appeared and killed Rábtirif, the leader of the beetles. After he sank to the depths of the great mangrove forest, the fish people built the new world from his exoskeleton. The beetle's head was used for the sky, its eyes for the celestial bodies, its legs for the plants and its body for the mountains. Its descendants are the giant isopods found in the mangrove area.

Symbolism

The colour orange is used as a religious colour. The drug ‘Abútwugg’ is produced according to a traditional recipe and is usually a symbol of religion. An abstraction of a spear and a beetle is also a symbol.