Ahua the Great: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:The Oan Isles]] [[Category:Characters]]
{{Infobox person
| name = Ahua the Great
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'''Ahua the Great''' is the central founding figure of [[the Oan Isles]] and of the [[Mauism|Mauist religion]]. He is a semi-legendary figure in that while there is historical evidence for his existence, many of the stories and actions attributable to him are unprovable.
==Background==
== War of the Mermaids ==▼
The Oan Isles and surrounding island nations largely practiced the worship of the ancestors, several gods and nature spirits. Their beliefs were varied and diverse depending on their needs and circumstances. From 700 to 900 CE, missionaries of Thaerism from Aurora landed on the Polynesian Islands and spread their religious beliefs. Many people converted to Thaerism but they disagreed on some of its tenets and continued to practice syncretism with their native religions. Several scholars held their own interpretations. The Purist school believed in sticking to Thaerism and disavowing other Deities and religions. The Moderate school called for a combination of Thaerism and folk beliefs. The Traditionalists believed that folk beliefs held precedence over imported ideals.
Around 1000 CE, the islands of the West and South Pacific faced many challenges such as natural disasters, population pressures and political disagreements which exacerbated religious differences. In the midst of these religious debates the Kingdom of Tokamotu had established itself as the champion of Thaerism. It used this momentum as well as its wealth and military might to exert control over surrounding islands and lay the foundations of the imperialism that would emerge under Ahua the Great.
==Origins==
By 1000 CE, there were approximately 30 to 40 different polities that in that area that comprises the Oan Isles and the Morstaybishlian West Pacific Territories. Please refer to the official page on the history of the Oan Isles for maps and more details. One of the largest and most powerful was the Kingdom of Tokamotu which ruled over the island of Tokamotu. The King of the Toka, Manupatea was the father of Ahua the Great. He had continued the work of expanding the Tokamotu military and exerting military and economic dominance over surrounding islands.
==Reign and exaltation==
In 983 CE, Prince Ahua ascended to throne of the Toka as King Ahua.
He continued the work of his father and expanded their sphere of influence. In 987, on his conquest of Koroimotu, he met Thaerist. Believing they were heathens, he persecuted them and purged Thaerism from his realms. In 992 CE, he had a traumatic emotional experience at high seas following a defeat in battle that led to him seeing visions including believing that he a bird telling him to convert to Thaerism and unite the South West Pacific Islands (as the Oan Isles and the MWPT) were known at that time.
Reluctantly and gradually, he sought out Thaerist teachers, culminating in his conversion in 998 CE. He proclaimed himself the chosen Prophet of the Creator and spiritual successor to Prophet Matilda in the West Pacific Islands and began the military conquest of the West Pacific Islands. In 1000 CE, he formally declared the establishment of the Oan Isles (despite the work of unification remaining unfinished). He passed away in 1023 and was succeeded by Ahua II.
== Mythology and legend ==
Mauist beliefs about Ahua the Great are numerous and diverse and a well spring of has emerged about him.
One myth is the War of the Mermaids. Myth holds that mermaids, mysterious sentient marine beings, were attacking fishing vessels in the Deep ocean. Ahua and his men stayed in one of the boats waiting for the mermaids to attack. They trapped one of the mermaids and tried to interrogate it, but it suffocated and died. From their observations, they felt that the mermaids were becoming overpopulated and running out of food, driving them to the surface and closer to the islands of the West Pacific.
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