Theology of Dragon Age- Part One: Dwarves!

Theology of...

Yeah, that's right! I'm finally getting around to exploring the religions of Dragon Age. Yeah I know, I took my sweet time. So let's get to it. The religions in Dragon Age are generally tied to the various races that occupy the continent of Thedas and beyond. That's not to say that folks don't change religion from time to time, but the general feel is that the religion you follow is tied to your race. Heck, one race is named after their religion.

Dwarven History.

The dwarves used to be a really big deal in Thedas, even though they lived underground. Their empire spread across the world in vast underground tunnels called the Deep Roads, connected to hubs called Thaigs and eventually great cities or wealth and culture and general beardy awesomeness.

Everything was going great until the arrival of the Darkspawn, beings that were once human or elf or dwarf but corrupted into a nightmare army led by a corrupted dragon. Their goal seemed to be to murder everything in sight, and they started off in the Deep Roads. The dwarves fought bravely but the horde kept coming and eventually the great empire was lost. The two great cities, Orzammar and Kal Sharok seperated by murderous beasties.

This great horde, who spilled out upon the surface in what became known as Blights, were defeated by an order called the Grey Wardens. The Dwarves however, saw no respite from them like the surface races and holed themselves in their great cities and kept he Darkspawn at bay.

Dwarvern Religion

The beardy folk of the Deep Roads have not had it easy, and this is reflected in their culture and religion. They are a very traditional and practical folk and living underground mining lyrium, a mineral source of magic, has rendered them unable to dream or use magic in any way. This is reflected in their belief system.

Dwarves do not believe in any sort of god or gods, but instead revere their ancestors, praying to them for aid and wisdom. They believe that they were born from the stone of Thedas and will return to it one day, but evidently believe that the soul of the departed continues on to watch over their decendants. Most revered amongst the Dwarven ancestors are the Paragons, dwarves who through their deeds are declared by the Dwarven government to be 'Living Ancestors'.

This brings with it many privilages, including being able to form their own noble house. These great men and women are looked up to by all, and when they die they will have statues made of them to whom pilgrims will visit to pray for help in their particular field, such as smithing or mining or whatever. During the events of Dragon Age: Origins, you will meet one of these Paragons. Let's just say they're respected for their deeds and not their charming personality.

Comparisons

The nearest parallell we have to this is the ancestor veneration we see associated with Chinese and Japanese cultures, although it happens all over the world. The system used by the dwarves is much simpler however, as it does not incorporate any other spirits or deities into their practices. Demons and Spirits exist in Thedas and Dwarves know this, but as they tend to target the other races due to their ability to use magic, the Dwarves do not tend to regard them highly.

So there we go, a brief description of Dwarven Religion. As always, some links below for further reading. See you soon!


See also-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestor_worship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Age:_Origins
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Paragons
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dwarf