Šahyalte

The Šahyalte are a group considered heretical to the Universal Temple who claim to have returned from or come from the following world. They include Šanšahya, people who intentionally perform a ritual involving a temporary death to access the following world, the Zatyanke, people who may be a reincarnation of an earlier person, and Layastša, people who believe their soul was created on a following world. Šahyalte are small in number, and have been frequently shunned, subjected to forced Etša, and killed. Their current number is believed to be in the 1000 to 2000 range, mostly in Senhyamdil, and to a lesser extend the Dyalno Confederation.

Background: Heresy of Bidirectionality

The Universal Temple holds that there are multiple worlds, that they exist in a linear order, and that travel between them only happens through death. They consider this travel by death to be only in the increasing linear order, and that it is impossible to travel in the reverse direction, or reverse death. People who argue otherwise are considered to be committing the Heresy of Bidirectionality. The Šahyalte, by claiming to have returned from the following world, are considered to be committing this heresy.

Šanšahya

The Šanšahya are believed to be the largest group of Šahyalte. They generally, but do not exclusively, claim to have died temporarily in their journey to the following world. Their journeys involve complex rituals to prepare their minds and bodies for these temporary deaths, followed by a still meditation or journey. These rituals are varied, but generally are themed around death and rebirth. Some examples of ritual items include consuming Foadža leaves, laying blankets across the floor of the room, and placing insects in one's hair. Claims of the contents of the following world are varied, with the general theme that it is very large and varied.

Zatyanke

The Zatyanke are a group of people who believe they are a reincarnation of an earlier person. Most of these people claim to be reincarnations of ordinary people rather than well-known figures. Some people claim to have a full memory of their earlier lives, while others claim to have difficulties remembering their earlier lives. There is not heavy overlap between the Zatyanke and the Šanšahya, however some people consider themselves to be both.

Layastša

The Layastša are a group of people who believe their soul was created on a following world. What this means varies to the Layastša, but generally this is described as a feeling of non-belonging and undeath, with varying levels of memory recall from earlier lives on a following world.