Kumo-Sūhai

Kumo-Sūhai (Pronounced KOO-mo SOO-hi) is the ancient and traditional religion of the Drow. Though some scholars argue that at one time Kumo-Sūhai might have been henotheistic or possibly even polytheistic, for as long as the Drow have kept written record it has been a monotheistic religion centered around exclusive worship of Lolth, the spider goddess.

The origins of the religion run parallel to the origins of the Drow as a slave race forced underground by the dominant high elves roughly four millennia ago. Archeological evidence suggests that the races might not have had as much genetic variance at the time that this occurred. Overtime, while the underground slaves tended to suffer from mineral deficiencies, some few drow were born with darker skin and paler eyes and hair that did not suffer from the same maladies as the rest. This very quickly became associated with the cult of a goddess identified in High Elven texts as Lolth who was said to bestow this boon to those who worshipped her, particularly through the practice of sacrifice. Out of this was born the ritual whereby material wealth, livestock, and even other Drow were burned for ash which would be rubbed on the stomach of a pregnant woman to ensure she would earn Lolth’s blessing. As the vessel for the salvation of the Drow race, women soon rose in importance until, by the time of the eventual Drow revolt against their masters, women were regarded as the “Mirai Sentan,” or guardians of the future.

After a violent and bloody revolt, the drow eventually emerged victorious and independent, albeit relegated to the subterranean warrens they had traditionally inhabited. This was the origin of the Matriarchate of Lolth, or rule by a single, unchallenged Drow Matriarch. Though in the intervening millenia the reality of this concept has not always held true - with long periods of civil war, in-fighting, and fracturing, and eventually the deflation of the term Matriarch until the new term “Archmatriarch” was rendered necessary - the notion that there should be one Matriarch to whom all Drow should answer remains a compelling one to most, with the disagreement simply being who it should actually be.

The traditional reckoning is that the title should be passed down matrilineally from offspring of the leader of the original revolt and first Matriarch, Kurono of the Kinumoto Clan. The issue being that any Drow of remotely significant social standing can claim some manner of matrilineal descent from Kurono Kinumoto. Complex family trees of dubious authenticity stretching back millennia have been produced to legitimize claims to the title, but the de facto arrangement is that it goes to whichever branch of the Kinumoto house is the strongest and craftiest at that point in history. At present this is the Shinkei-Kinumoto branch, which has ruled for the past 250 years.

The nominal religious leader of Kumo-Sūhai is the Archmatriarch, but due to the demands of being on top of diplomacy, the military, the economy, and intrigue, it is common practice for the Archmatriarch to appoint a Yatsumechō, or high priestess, to oversee the traditional rites, rituals, and services demanded of the worship of Lolth as well as oversee the extensive church hierarchy.

One might think that the strict hierarchy and simplistic doctrine would make for a monolithic, or at least a largely homogenous church. On the contrary, the amalgam of state control, cultural significance, and unwavering monotheism has resulted in several schisms and heresies throughout Drow history. Especially from those wishing to climb the social hierarchy by claiming greater knowledge and devotion to Lolth, or those wishing to unravel the legitimacy of a ruling matriarch. Historically, however, the state religion has permitted some difference of belief with the caveat that it does not become associated with political or cultural movements, and remains strictly a matter of dogma. It’s almost a rite of passage at this point for a younger Drow to proclaim their difference of faith from their parents and ancestors - so long as they eventually settle back down when they become married and have a family of their own.

Given the historical and cultural circumstances out of which Kumo-Sūhai was conceived, the religion has almost no non-drow adherents. Nonetheless, ambassadors and diplomats sent to the Drow neglect the millennia of accumulated rites and rituals at their own risk. Far from having any kind of separation of church and state, or even a clerical theocracy, it might be more accurate to characterize Drow society as so suffused in worship of Lolth that the notion of needing a theocratic government would never cross their minds.

Clericalism
Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Domains: Order, Divine, and Night

Clericalism is the mainstream church of Lolth. The actual doctrines and theological positions it holds are not necessarily fixed, though it tends to take them a very long time to change. Rather, the key philosophical belief that marks Clericalism is faith in the sacrosanctity and infallibility of the church hierarchy. What is demanded of the congregation tends to vary based on social class, gender, and seniority, but all duties and responsibilities are carried out without minimal debate. Because of its naturally open definition, the term Clericalism cannot be said to say much about the individual beyond that they are a part of mainstream Drow society. While one follower of Clericalism might be a zealous and pious follower who never misses a church function or ceremony, another might only interact with the church on the bare minimum basis of birth, marriage, funeral, and Uprising Day.

Antinomianism
Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Domains: Trickery, Light, and City

Antinomianism is not necessarily an organized school of thought or house of worship, but rather a recurrent strain of thinking that pops up now and again. Hermetic Drow that practice asceticism and meditative absorption have a tendency to emerge from their hermitage with a disdain for the rigor and inflexibility of the Drow social hierarchy and its consequent social etiquette. Accordingly these hermits may deliberately or unintentionally violate these cultural norms and taboos to demonstrate that their devotion to Lolth has permitted them to transcend traditional behavioral restriction. Ordinarily these Drow are considered not much more than a minor annoyance and disruption. Occasionally, however, such hermits may go on to become a charismatic leader or prophet, and possibly to even undermine the moral authority of the Archmatriarch. This is generally where the traditional church will begin to take notice and make efforts to quash the inevitable revolt as soon as they possibly can. The Clerical view on antinomianism being summed up in the saying, “Prophets are like pickles. The longer they ferment, the stronger they become.”

Reincarnationism
Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Death, Grave, and Virtue

The perennial problem of Kumo-Sūhai is the theodicean concern of the caste system. The central premise that Lolth is steward and guardian of all Drow appears to run counter to the practical reality of a stratified social system. Reincarnationists believe that reality is somewhat akin to a spider web with Lolth at the center, and that virtue, good deeds, and working within rather than rejecting one’s social caste are the conditions for a more beneficial rebirth. Though officially a heretical belief in the eyes of the clergy, it is permitted to exist because it tends to act as a pressure release valve for rebellion - especially for the lower classes. There are also reincarnationists in the upper-classes however, for whom a notion of noblesse oblige guides their charity and temperance. The vast majority of all reincarnationists, however, also attend the sermons and services that constitute mainstream religious practice. In a sense, reincarnationism isn’t so much a rejection or radical reinterpretation of clericalism, but an optional belief system that an individual can decide for themselves whether or not to believe in.

Determinism
Alignment: Lawful Evil

Domains: War, Luck, and Forge

The antithesis to reincarnationism is determinism. Though it too believes in a kind of reincarnation, it diverges from its more virtue-minded sister philosophy in its interpretation of what determines one’s birth and fate. For most other schools of thought in Kumo-Sūhai, the sacrifices that originally comprised the central form of worship to Lolth have faded into abstract rituals and memorized motions whose significance has long since been forgotten. Determinism, though only about a millennia old and thus the second youngest school of thought, has revived the practice of ritual sacrifice and enshrined it as the central determining factor in one’s rebirth. Unsurprisingly, almost all of its adherents come from the upper-class, whose wealth and resources mean that they can ensure their continued fortuitous rebirth, with some clans having even established complex rituals to ensure rebirth into the same clan. While these sacrifices are allegedly supposed to only consist of livestock and objects of great value, it is whispered that there exist some Drow noble houses who have continued the practice of live sacrifice to this day. Even though the decadence, moral ambivalence, and even outright predation that comes out of determinism constitutes a risk to the stability of the church, because its followers are almost always wealthy and connected, its continued existence is permitted by the clergy as a necessary evil.

Notes on Eschatology
The process for most heretical views in Kumo-Sūhai is to first be suppressed while the high church officials ascertain the threat it poses, whereupon it is either embraced by the church and incorporated into mainstream practice (as in certain interpretations of the divinity of Lolth), deemed heretical but innocuous enough to not bother stamping out (as in reincarnationism and determinism), or it is decided that it represents a threat to the church and state.

With only two exceptions, the clergy has always succeeded in this last endeavor. The two flavors of eschatology are these exceptions. Though dogmatically disparate, both fall under the same term "Eschatology" owing to their emphasis on end-times and the ultimate fate of Drow souls.

Orthodox Eschatology
Alignment: Neutral Evil

Domains: Tempest, Protection, and Arcana

Orthodox eschatology has a long history of appearing, disappearing, and reappearing as a heresy since almost the inception of the church itself. At the center of the belief is that, when the clergy and the Matriarch as its head drift from sincere and genuine worship of Lolth, they will ultimately bring her wrath down upon the Drow who will - depending on the particular movement in vogue at the time - either cause the Drow to collapse into war, cause the Drow to become enslaved by the surface-dwellers once more, or actually end the world entirely and permit only the faithful into her web. Some movements emphasize the need for personal salvation, but others believe that only religious zealotry and attempts to overturn the clergy itself constitute the level of faith sufficient for salvation. As such, some movements of orthodox eschatology have resorted to terrorist acts, up to and including the assassination of archmatriarchs. While not all eschatologist movements are violent or subversive, as there is no kind of centralized authority to dictate use of the term, any form of orthodox eschatology is to be treated as a terrorist threat, regardless of the actual views of its believers. Hermeneutics being a state monopoly. Yet, no matter how many times it is stamped out by the state church, it is only a matter of time before another movement pops up again.

Reformist Eschatology
Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Nature, Knowledge, and Life

Compared with all the other myriad schools of thought on Kumo-Sūhai, reformist eschatology is by far the youngest. Started 200 years old, it is also the only one whose founder is still alive, albeit close to the end of his life. Similar to many other eschatologist movements, it began with an ascetic emerging from his meditation cave with a list of grievances against the church which, if not addressed, would most likely result in some unspecified act of retribution from Lolth. Where his message differed from orthodox eschatology was in taking a hardcore pacifist stance which not only abstained from using violence against the church, but stated that martyrdom in pursuit of clerical reform was sufficient to permit a Drow entry into the web of Lolth upon their death.

The charismatic leader Yogen Kumare soon grabbed the hearts of both his followers and mainstream Drow society when he was arrested for peaceful protest on the charge of treason. He ran his organization The Eschatological Society from his prison cell for 20 years before the Archmatriarch, under mass societal pressure, was forced to give him a pardon. The first restrictions on crown authority in a over a millennia. In the 200 years since, despite many of its supporters being executed or exiled, and some few breaking ranks to violate their pacific precepts, the movement perseveres as a constant pressure on the Archmatriarchate to reform and democratize. Even to end caste segregation during sermons. Those in powerful positions toe a fine line between keeping this offshoot cult impotent without resorting to the violence proven to swell its numbers. Thus far it remains criminalized, but the lower-ranking Drow charged with the enforcement of the laws often find it more expedient to ignore signs of its existence.