DRAFT: MAIKAI

Maikai is a polytheistic and animalistic religion from Apanalua, and is widely regarded as the country's native religion. Maikai is derived from the Apanaluan and Hawaiian word for good: maika'i. Their practitioners are called Maikaists. Maikai derives from Native Hawaiian religion with heavy influences from Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, Taoism, Traditional Chinese Beliefs, and Shinto due to practitioners of those listed religions migrating to Apanalua from East Asia.

Maikai teaches it's disciples to achieve perfection, usually through an emphasis of a number of values such as Strength/Persistence, Self Control, Harmony, Honesty, Courage, Leadership, Respect and Patience. Whilst there are no central authority and therefore a diversity of beliefs, what was common between the different practitioners were their core values of Maikai which included (usually a variant of) a love for Nature, a duty towards Family and Ancestors, and maintaining Good Hygiene.

In addition, Maikai also revolve around multiple deities and spirits, mostly split within several categories like:
- Gods, which are supreme, divine deities presiding over an aspect of nature of society. They reside in the realm of heaven but when they come to Earth they come in the form of an invisible spiritual power residing in nature or around Shrines/Temples. (Whilst the gods Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa are prominent in Hawaiian religion, Maikai mostly makes them equal to all the other gods in Hawaiian Religion.)
- Guardian Spirits, which are spirits that had a duty to protect something, usually their family, hence why they're also referred to as ʻaumākua.
- Spirits, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Yokai due to some spirit's malevolent nature (or an intentional mistake by weebs)
- Ghosts, the souls of passed peoples or animals which'll morph into Spirits if enough time is spent lurking the world

Kahunas
The Kahunas were a class of educated people who usually served the Chief, King or Emperor and always assisted people of lower hierarchies, gaining their respect from their service and vast expertise in a particular skill. These skills often ranged from being doctors, builders, translators, priests and navigators.

Kahunas also had the ability to communicate with spirits, which was most evidently used by Kahunas who were Healers, who could cure someone of spiritual related illnesses. The most known application of this skill was if someone was possessed by a spirit, in which the Healer could save their patient by conversing or negotiating with the spirit.

Etiquette/Kapu
Kapu when translated into English means 'forbidden,' referring to a system of taboos that shouldn't be committed. Kapu was a code of conduct that stretched universally from politics, religion and social cues as seen in it's Hawaiian predecessor. Punishment for committing a Kapu usually lead to execution. However, by fleeing to Wahi Hoomaemae, a sacred place on Pake Island where they would be absolved of their crimes by a priest.

Social Restrictions brought about by Kapu include:
- Separation of Men and Women during mealtimes (AKA ʻAikapu)
- Using different ovens and cooking utensils to cook food for men and women
- Women not being allowed to eat pork, coconuts or bananas due to their association with masculinity
- Restriction on Overfishing

However when Asian migrants started settling in Apanalua, the Polynesian's reaction to the violations of these social restrictions ranged from curiosity, bewilderment to disgust. However, in the decades after Asian settlement started in Apanalua, certain elements of Kapu were integrated into law and Maikai beliefs, and the Emperor of Apanalua officially abolished the system by dining with the women in his court lead to the downfall of the Kapu system, leading to an ostracization of all Apanaluans from Hawai'i. (i.e., immediate execution of any Apanaluans who landed on Hawaiian shores)

Realms
Leaping Place
The Leaping place is defined as a point in the world where beings are able able to access certain major realms. These are usually used by the souls of the dead to journey into the afterlife. For example, the access to the Underworld, the souls have to arrive at a specific tree on a specific sea cliff located on each major island.

Underworld
The underworld in Western cultures are often synonymous with Hell, however, in Maikai and other Asian religion, it's treated more as a 'holding cell,' where the souls have to wait to be judged for their actions in life and to be bestowed their inevitable fate. Privilege is given to the exemplary, those who were the most generous, selfless and honest people can cross their fingers and hope to be immediately or get an early (depending on the depiction) release into Heaven.

The Underworld is similar to the real world in some aspects, with living descendants of that dead soul burning paper houses, money and animals to send them to their ancestor, allowing them to enjoy many luxuries that they had in life and to improve their experience in the Underworld whilst they wait for their judgement.

There are ten judges, but rather than take charge of a certain realm of punishment like in Chinese Folk Religion or Buddhism, they judge the soul's certain value such as their courage, and then give the soul's reward or punishment. The judge's rulings will be combined into one final ruling on whether that soul can enter heaven or hell.

These Judges include:
- Judge of Life and Death (Chooses whether a soul needs punishment, and which judge should preside over their cases)
- Judge of Molten Iron (Strength & Persistence)
- Judge of Black Threads (Self Control)
- Judge of Crushing Mountains (Social Harmony)
- Judge of False Refuge (Honesty)
- Judge of Haunted Hunts (Courage)
- Judge of Impaling Spears (Leadership: Use of Power and Obedience to Higher Authority)
- Judge of the Trident (Respect for Heaven, Earth and Other Living Beings)
- Judge of Eternal Roasting (Patience)
- Judge of Reincarnation (Status of reincarnation; what being, what social standing, etc.)

Heaven
For the most exemplary people in life, their generosity or other excellent qualities will earn them the privilege to ascend into the sky. The entrance to heaven only features two bridges. The more utilised of these two bridges: the Silver Bridge, where crossing it will bring the soul into the realm of gods, extraordinary beings, and heavenly officials. All souls who enter Heaven will eventually be reborn as a human of high social standing, a god, a benevolent spirit or a guardian spirit of their family depending on their sentence.

On the other hand, the Golden Bridge leads to the Pure Western Land, and upon taking that path you will be transported into a realm outside this universe, where you will be liberated from the Cycle of Birth and Rebirth and as an extension: suffering. Unlike Buddhism, where the Pure Land serves as a place to train for and attain Buddhahood under the watch of Buddha, Maikai's version of the Pure Land is very less certain about it's depiction of the Pure Western Land. Usually practitioners depict it as an empty space, or in layman's terms: it is similar to our universe before the Big Bang. Nothing exists except for the liberated souls, with some versions saying that these souls can train and attain Buddhahood and Nirvana.

Apparently some practitioners of Maikai believe that there is a floating bridge that links the Earth with Heaven, with some believing that the bridge was destroyed when it fell down to the Earth, forming Kennoshima Island, with others believing that it still survives to this day, but resides somewhere in Kennoshima.

It's said that Kāne; the creator god who bestowed life to the first human, the head of the Maikai (and Hawaiian) Pantheon and the god of light is the leader of heaven and earth, but spends most of his time in heaven. Some versions of Maikai also depict Kāne as holding the position of the Jade Emperor, legitimizing his rule over Heaven.

Hell
Hell, as depicted in most cultures is a realm where most souls go to be punished for their crimes. Rather than have a set number of 'layers' or 'circles' which becomes a dumping ground for people who commit a more severe or specific crime are thrown in, Maikai hell is more like a train station that connects to different, separate realms that punishes people for a specific crime. In essence, it isn't hell you should be afraid of, but where it'll take you to and the seemingly eternal torture the sinner will face time and time again.

Once a soul has been tortured for the prescribed sentence, they're immediately sent to be reincarnated into a 'lower being' such as an animal, plant or even a spirit or wandering souls known as laper; damned to eternally wander the Earth and be feared by the living. Those who have mostly atoned will be reincarnated as humans of a lower social standing.

Maikai Hell is depicted as a densely built ecumenopolis (although the aesthetic may vary between depictions) built in a maze like pattern on all levels. These levels filled to the brim with the entrances to each realm. This realm is supposedly located under the sea, and is ruled by Kanaloa; the god of the underworld and the ocean god in Maikai and Hawaiian religion. However, in some interpretations: Milu acts is also the de facto leader of the underworld and appoints the judges to their position whilst Kanaloa owns the realm.

Practices

Ancestor Worship
In Apanaluan culture, there is an extreme emphasis placed upon respecting your parents and elderly people in general. The veneration of these people stems from the fact that a person's body was created by their parents, who put in their time and effort to raise their child until adulthood.

In return, the child repays their parents in many ways, with one relevant example being that children should their parent's graves (usually during Qingming Festival/Tomb Sweeping Day) or food and drinks were to be left as offerings the spirits to eat. In addition this would also convey some spiritual message towards your parents. Famously, paper mache replicas of certain earthly items (e.g., money) are burnt at every important festival (e.g. Chinese New Year) in order to send these items to their ancestors in the underworld.

Shrines and Temples
A Shrine is basically a house for the gods. The structure usually includes an area where the Shrine's patron god is enshrined at (whether it'd be a sacred landmark or a hall with an altar), which is usually where practitioners can pray or worship the patron god. In addition, spirits usually gather around the Shrine thanks to Epules, which means to pray. Epules play a role similar to Yorishiros: to call the gods and to temporarily give them a space to occupy whilst people are praying to them.

Temples are usually built near or adjacent to Shrines. Whilst acting as places of worship, they also allow for people (usually Priests) to deal with spirits more easily, store important religious artifacts and enshrine deities other than gods such as guardian spirits, ancestors, folklore characters, and influential figures.

Other notable features of Shrines or Temples (although usually for the latter) are the four gates, bell and drum towers and the living quarters. The Four gates consist of one giant gate for the gods segmented into three parts which represent (from the left side:) Earth realm, Heaven realm and Human realm. It is standard practice to never walk in the central segment (Heaven realm) as it's personally reserved for the gods to walk through unless you're giving a prayer on New Year's Day.

The Bell and Drum Towers are usually indicators of time and serve ritual functions. The Bell rings in the morning and the Drums bang in the evenings whilst the Living Quarters are for Shrine/Temple staff and Practitioners who use it to eat/drink, learn and preserve valuable knowledge.

CULTURE- VALUES, TABOO, FESTIVALS

ʻAumakua also acted as judge and jury after a person's death. They had the power to punish or reward the personʻs spirit depending on whether or not that person lived a righteous life, or even send the spirit back to the body if it left the body prematurely in “apparent deaths”.