A roleplaying guild on Scarshield Legion (EU)
Troll life is full of rituals, big and small. Worship of loa permeates all aspects of life and there are few endeavours that cannot be aided by a small offering to the keep the right loa happy or to keep malicious spirits away. Below follows an in no way comprehensive list of rituals and traditions within troll culture.
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Offerings to the loa
This is one of the most mundane and regularly occurring rituals. Gifts of food, drink, or coin are the most common. It can either be a routine thing to keep one's own loa in a good mood, or a thing done for a special reason such as before a trip across the sea to ensure a safe journey. The bigger the request the bigger the sacrifice needs to be, and it is not unheard of to sacrifice live animals or even people. Not all tribes sacrifice people however, nor do all loas accept such an offering. It is a rare thing, but it does happen. It is not uncommon for there to be a small altar in a troll's home dedicated to their loa, where small daily gifts are left.
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Choosing a loa
While all loa are important, most trolls have a single one that they pledge allegiance to and turn to when they need help. Some times the loa is chosen based on the occupation of the troll, but it is not that easy for everyone. In those cases, there is a ritual that can be done. The person seeking their loa chooses a mentor, someone well versed in communing with spirits and loa. Together they perform a cleansing ritual for the seeker's body and mind. Once the cleansing is complete, the seeker goes into the wilderness. They are to carry no tools, weapons, or food. They are to wander alone in absolute silence and spend their time meditating. Eventually they will receive a vision of the loa that has chosen them. This can take as little as a handful of hours, or as much as several days. Once chosen by a loa, a person rarely has the chance to pledge allegiance to another.
Death and ancestors
Death is not the end for a troll. They believe that their spirit will live on afterwards, resting in the realm of Bwonsamdi. Because of this, what happens to a dead body is of big importance. The body needs to be protected so that the spirit can be safely sent off to meet Bwonsamdi. If this doesn't happen, the spirit might become trapped and doomed to wander lost between worlds.
But a spirit might return again, either by summon or simply because it wants to visit and watch over its descendants. Because of this it is important to care for the remains correctly, as they serve as an anchor to help the spirit find its way back. Traditionally, bodies have been preserved in different manners. Either as cleaned bones or as mummies. The skull in particular i important, some times only the skull is kept and cared for. It is not unheard of to keep the bones of ancestors in one's home or on one's person in order to care for them and in the hope of receiving their wisdom and guidance. On Zandalar it has become common to burn bodies and keep the ashes instead, but this practise has yet to spread to the other tribes.
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Cannibalism
What few outsiders grasp is that while cannibalism is definitely a thing that has happened in many troll tribes, it is hardly a matter of seeing other people as a viable food source. To consume parts of another person is a spiritual matter. In doing so, you are believed to gain some of the strengths of the person being consumed. It is a way to honour both a beloved tribesman as well as a fallen enemy, recognising their strength and wishing for it to live on in you. Only small pieces of consumed, often the heart or the brain. Within the Darkspear tribe this custom is falling out of fashion as it is heavily frowned upon within the Horde.
