Hyborian Bori

Religion of Gunderland and Hyperborea

Despite the oppressiveness of the Mitran religion, a few small cults exist in the greater Hyborian nations. The Gundermen, for example, originally worshipped Bori, a primitive god from their early polytheistic Hyborian origins. Small cults that worship this ancient god still exist, for the Gundermen returned to worshipping this ancient god after Aquilonia fell.

Most Hyperboreans and some Gundermen still worship the old Hyborian god-hero Bori. Isolated and aloof, the Hyperboreans missed the religious revolution that enveloped the rest of the Hyborian kingdoms converting them to Mitra worship, and the few Gunderman worshippers simply resisted the revolution. The worship of Bori is some form of ancestor worship. Still a primitive culture, at least by Hyborian standards, the Hyperboreans probably still worship their ancestors instead of moving on to some more complex, ritualised religion as their southern kin did.

Bori is a god of wisdom and war, a bringer of victory and a receiver of the dead. He cast down Ymir and the frost giants to allow the Hyborians to move south.

Sacrifices

Every ninth year, in honour of the defeat of Ymir, human sacrifices are offered to Bori. Hundreds of prisoners or slaves are sacrificed and hung from trees. This mass human sacrifice is illegal in Gunderland but widely practised in Hyperborea. Other than the ninth year sacrifice, pigs and horses are the normal annual sacrifices for Bori. The penises of sacrificed stallions are given to women in order that they may perform a fertility rite with them. The meat from the pig and horse sacrifices are boiled and the blood is sprinkled on statues of Bori, on the walls of homes and on the worshippers themselves. Once the meat is cooked, the village gathers around to have a meal with Bori and the spirits. Ale is drunk in large quantities. The first round is dedicated to Bori. The second round is dedicated to the family dead (who are believed to continue to take part in the ceremony every year). The Borians believe they are filled with the power of the gods and spirits once they become drunk.

In years of famine, kings and chiefs are often sacrificed to Bori under the belief that their incompetence brought about the famine. Prisoners are often sacrificed to Bori just as a matter of course, and some Nemedian scholars argue that every person killed in battle by the Borians constitutes a sacrifice to that ancient god. Other sacrifices to Bori are performed in order to gain a change in circumstances or weather; the sacrifice in these instances is usually chosen by lots among the warriors desiring the change. Sacrificing someone who will not benefit from the change in circumstance is not considered helpful.

Gunderland’s ways were ruder and more primitively Hyborian than those of the Aquilonians, and their main concession to the ways of their more civilised southern neighbours was the adoption of the god Mitra in place of the primitive Bori – a worship to which they returned, however, upon the fall of Aquilonia.

Robert E. Howard, Notes on the Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age

Major Borian Feasts

Jare Feast: On the first day of spring, the Borians hold the Jare feast, which is dedicated to the rebirth of life. The feast involves decorated eggs as an emblem of new life.

Kupala Feast: On the first day of summer, a fire celebration is held. Burning fires light the night and youngsters traditionally couple up on this day. This day is particularly holy to blacksmiths and weaponsmiths.

Perun Feast: On the first day of autumn, the Perun feast is a harvest festival involving fortune-telling and animal sacrifice.

Korochun Feast: Held on the first day of winter, the Korochun feast is a feast of the ancestors. Fires are burned to keep the deceased warm and dinners are held in honour of the dead so they will not hunger for the next year. Wooden logs are traditionally lit at crossroads.

Sorcery & Seid

The practise of sorcery is considered unmanly among Borians; however, women may practise a form of shamanism similar to the Nordheimir völva. Female practitioners of seid among the Borians are called seidkona. Seidkonas wear blue cloaks and a hood of black wool trimmed with white cat fur. They carry symbolic staffs of power (called seidstaffs) which aid in their magic. The seidstaff allows a seidkona to cast spells which would normally require her to touch the object the spell is being cast upon without actually touching that object; instead, she only has to touch the object with one end of the seidstaff whilst holding the staff’s other end. In addition, the masterwork nature of the seidstaff gives a +1 bonus to the sorcerer’s attack roll. A typical seidstaff has Defence 7, five hit points, hardness 5, a break DC of 16 and costs 500 silver pieces (in relative value, not necessarily in coin). Seidkonas learn Divination, Nature Magic and Curses as sorcery styles. Unlike the Nordheimir völva, the Borian practice of seid does not involve hypnotism.

The practise of seid involves praying to spirits that inhabit the natural world, such as individual trees, the rivers, the ridged mountains or even the forests as a whole.

Benefits of Worshipping Bori

Bori was the ancient god of the all the Hyborian tribes, when they were barbarians. He is thought to be a deified chieftain, a powerful war-leader who led the tribes to victory in their days of conquest. He is still worshipped in Hyperborea and occasionally in Gunderland, though most Gundermen have adopted the worship of Aquilonia.

Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 2 sp/level/ month to the local priests of Bori. Benefits of Worship: Atonement, Faith. Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Standard; may not take money directly from worshippers other than their regular tithes. Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard.

Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests:

Removal of priestly status.