What would an Asian-American religion look like?

This thread is a hypothetical alternate religion thread. The point of the thread is to speculate what would an Asian-American religion look like in an alternate timeline.

The Point of Divergence begins when the ban on slavery of Africans and Native Americans cause Iberian along with Dutch colonists to traffic slaves from Asia. The slaves are obtained through many means such as indentured servitude, raiding and purchasing of captives.

The Amarelos, as they are called, are forced to work in fields and mines. They were stripped of their original culture and forbidden from practicing their original religions. However, due to the combination of a creole language used to communicate with each other easily and understand commands, a portion of Amarelos retaining fragments of the culture and religion, and syncretism with Catholicism.

The result is called Ugama Cathay. It is a religion whose ancestral roots are derived from a syncretic mixture of Islam (Malays), Shinto (Japanese), Buddhism, Taoism and Shenism (Chinese), Hinduism (Indians), Animism (Southeast Asians), Korean Shamanism and other Asiatic religions.

What would the alternate religion resemble? What influence would the alternate religion be on the culture and Amarelo people?
 
Islam wasn't too established in the East Indies in the 16th century (and such a heavy slave trade would cause some serious butterflies in the area). But Islam's monotheism and acceptance of Jesus combined with the culture of their masters would lend a Christian veneer to things. Maybe fuse it with bits of Pure Land Buddhism too, from China and Japan. Amida Buddha could be equated to Jesus, and his assistant could be equated to Muhammad (who might instead be Peter or Paul to match the beliefs of their Christian masters, but their beliefs about Peter/Paul would be obviously similar to Muhammad). Meditate on the figure of Jesus, brought to everyone by the message of his greatest prophet St. Paul/St. Peter, and you will be reborn in Paradise, where you will achieve a perfect enlightenment.

But if it's like African-inspired faiths like Candomblé, there's a huge diversity of potential concepts which could gain widespread acceptance, but I think Buddhist elements would be a major part of Asian-American religions, since most slaves would be Chinese, Japanese, or Indonesian, the first two rather Buddhist countries and the latter a Hindu/Buddhist/native religion country slowly transitioning to Islam which gives a nice base for later Christian aspects of the syncretic faith to build on.
 
The Ugama Cahay is not a monolithic, organized religion. It is a umbrella term for a number of related religions developed in the alternate Americas where Asian slavery is the norm. They derive from Asiatic religions brought over to Benoa Sindalu (The Americas) with a major Catholic influence. There are several variations of Ugama Cathay depending on the geographic region and ethnic composition of the Amarelos.
  • Jamaica: Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli and Visayans.
  • Brazil: Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Bangsamoro, Iban, Dayaks and Tamils.
Common characteristics of Ugama Cathay involve belief of a creator deity who does not intercede in human affairs, thus adherents must direct their veneration to Kramat or Dewa depending on the region, ancestor worship, meditation and praying, a secret sacred language based on Malay, magic and sorcery, belief in spirits and a pantheon of divine spirits consisting of syncresized deities.
 
The result is called Ugama Cathay. It is a religion whose ancestral roots are derived from a syncretic mixture of Islam (Malays), Shinto (Japanese), Buddhism, Taoism and Shenism (Chinese), Hinduism (Indians), Animism (Southeast Asians), Korean Shamanism and other Asiatic religions.

What would the alternate religion resemble? What influence would the alternate religion be on the culture and Amarelo people?

There's a Brazilian movie called City of God, and in one scene the guy who's about to become a drug lord goes to a Candomble priest. The scene is a little trippy, feels fevered almost-- and during it the priest gives our boy a new name to symbolize his new path, and gives him an amulet that he must not misuse. I bring this up because I feel like the main appeal of this Ugama, the reason for its formation and survival, will be a similar sort of symbolically-charged ceremony. I'm not saying it can't have a detailed theology and mythos, Haitian Vodun has exactly that and so do the various Yoruba-derived faiths in Brazil, but this kind of faith lives and dies by its ceremonies--fortune-telling, rites of passage, marriage, funerals. So with that said...

Ancestor worship is going to the backbone of this faith. If I remember correctly, the idea in Confucianism is that only by revering one's ancestors throughout the year and especially at Qingming can one ensure them a good afterlife--and given that their ancestors were once free and then enslaved, giving them a good afterlife after a worldly life of injustice and toil (and instructing your kids to do the same for you!) would take on a whole new importance. However, with individual ancestors likely to be forgotten with the passage of time, I can see ancestor-worship fusing to some degree with the Indian concept of the kuladeva, or clan god. You end up with some compromise deal where the kuladeva is acceptable as a proxy for the individual ancestors, and serves as both a personal protector and an embodiment of your values, of the virtues your initial community held dear. Over time these kuladeva could evolve into a set of Haitian-style Loa (a set of lesser gods who intercede readily in human affairs, as opposed to the more reserved Creator Deity). And in order to preserve a fable or a historical story with a good moral, you can tie it to a kuladeva, such that the story is remembered alongside it (at the cost of having to potentially write the kuladeva in). I'm thinking that the alt-Qingming still involves sweeping, but in the absence of a physical tomb you likely just clean your personal quarters and the space which you've set aside for the kuladeva. Syncretism with Christianity is also possible, with the kuladeva being interpreted as saints-- though this may be difficult, as given the precarious situation of the Amarelos I can see some kuladeva embodying the principle that trickery or outright evil can be an acceptable way of survival. Examples of trickster stories could include the Japanese story of Okuninushi passing Susanoo's suite of very difficult ordeals, and then paying him back by eloping with his daughter.

The Buddha in his many forms may either become an aspect of the disinterested Creator Deity (which opens the door for some Hindu-style pantheism, where every god of every religion may be interpreted as an aspect of Brahman or Ishvara), or maybe become a Messianic deliverer whose arrival is foretold and keenly expected. I can see the Creator Deity being viewed differently by each ancestral subset of the Amarelos (as the Yellow Emperor, as the Tao itself), and as those groups start to mix the Creator takes on aspects and virtues of all of these.

When you're designing this religion, I'd place a big emphasis not on importing full theologies, priesthoods or other hallmarks of "high religion," but on specific aspects of folk religion that would be serve to calm a slave's troubled heart, remind him that he has a place in this hostile world, and give him the courage to move forward.
 
When I read the title, I thought you meant "American" as in "United States".

On topic, though, how would this religion square Abrahamic ideas about an interventionist creator deity with "Eastern" ideas about a more non-interventionist one?
 
In Ugama Cathay, there is a belief of the titular three afterworlds. Cathay is the uppermost afterworld, Meidou is the middle afterworld and Neraku is the lowermost afterworld.

Cathay is described as an afterworld where the good souls arrive after death and where deities and divine spirits reside. Cathay's description is similar to nebulous, mythologized depictions of Amarelo ancestral homelands in Asia with its mountainous valleys and misty rainforests.

Meidou is an afterworld where neutral or mixed souls arrive after death. In Meidou, the soul must suffer and endure the ordeals and trials in a long journey within the dark, windy world where the soul is judged by several judges and deities before they are reincarnated into other forms based on judgement.

Neraku is the afterworld of punishment. In Neraku, the evil souls are repeatedly punished with several torturous punishments to purify the souls before they are reincarnated as other forms.

----
Now for the deities and divine spirits of Ugama Cathay. These deities and divine spirits are referred to as Semangat, Kramat, Kudewa or Shenkami. They are described as spirits or deities that are venerated by the Amarelos and euphemistically referred as 'the Invisibles'. Their main role is to be intermediaries between the Amarelos and the unknowable Tuhan. Most of the Semangats are deities or spirits derived from Asian religions or cultures. They are syncrentized with Catholic saints to avoid suspicion of slavemasters and non-Amarelos.

Sample list of Ugama Cathay divinities, roles and their origin):
  • Kali (Hinduism): The protector of mothers and women from slavers and masters.
  • Gozu Tennoh (Japanese): A fearsome protector of the Amarelos and a divinity of justice and truth.
  • Nyi Roro Kidul (Indonesian): A deity of the sea and protector of Amarelos being transported or arrived to Benoa Sindalu.
  • Nek Tembakau (Amarelo): A tuletary spirit of tobacco.
  • Tuk Tebu (Amarelo): A tuletary spirit of sugarcane.
What deities or spirits from Asian religion and culture would be added into the Ugama Cathay pantheon? What Catholic saints would be syncretisized with the Ugama Cathay deities?
 
In the Amarelo folklore and Ugama Cathay, Antu are generally regarded as malevolent spirits that come out at night and haunt people or places. Antu are often blamed for illnesses, curses, black magic, natural disasters and other calamities on the Kaom Amarelo people. There are many different types of Antu based on their roles, supernatural symptoms and their abilities. Most Antu are derived from a mixture of Asian folklore, especially drawing from Malay, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Western European lore.
 
Slave trade of East Asians in the early 19th century is ASB.

Actually, it isn't ASB. The main Point of Divergence is in the 15th century, the alternate New Laws causes a ban on enslavement of Native Americans and Africans in Iberian (Spain and Portugal along with Holland) colonies, causing the colonists to procure slaves from Asia through many means necessary.
 
Actually, it isn't ASB. The main Point of Divergence is in the 15th century, the alternate New Laws causes a ban on enslavement of Native Americans and Africans in Iberian (Spain and Portugal along with Holland) colonies, causing the colonists to procure slaves from Asia through many means necessary.
Great so you have Japan and possibly China going to war with Portugal and Spain, at time where the logistics train to support a war on the other side of the world did not exist for either of them. The general census of Japan by the Sengoku period was that slavery was seen as backwards and barbaric. You'd have to somehow not only get the Japanese ruling class to be ok with slavery, but ok with enslavement of their own people at that.
 
Great so you have Japan and possibly China going to war with Portugal and Spain, at time where the logistics train to support a war on the other side of the world did not exist for either of them. The general census of Japan by the Sengoku period was that slavery was seen as backwards and barbaric. You'd have to somehow not only get the Japanese ruling class to be ok with slavery, but ok with enslavement of their own people at that.

OTL there were already Japanese slaves in Portugal (including Lisbon itself), as well as Chinese and Koreans. There's a letter from Hideyoshi to a Jesuit dated to July of 1587 where he demands that the Portuguese stop enslaving Japanese in Kyushu. This was ironic as he later sold a large number of Korean slaves to Portuguese traders following the Imjin War. Portugal also passed an explicit ban against enslaving Japanese in 1595, again implying that it was something that was happening on a pretty noticeable scale. There's also some firsthand accounts of travelers in Lisbon noticing Chinese slaves among the slave community. However most slaves being traded by Portugal were black, and it never reached the same epic proportions as African slavery, most likely due to the increased cost and because it's simply impractical to do so when Africa offered a closer source.

But the OTL Japanese slave trade appeared to suggest that there wasn't much opposition against selling slaves to foreigners, even if the practice was viewed as anachronistic in Japan itself. If the Portuguese for some irrational reason continue and amp up the slave trade and the Japanese government somehow cracks down on sale of domestic slaves (which they couldn't OTL), you'd probably just see regular wokou raids on China and Korea as alternate supplies.
 
OTL there were already Japanese slaves in Portugal (including Lisbon itself), as well as Chinese and Koreans. There's a letter from Hideyoshi to a Jesuit dated to July of 1587 where he demands that the Portuguese stop enslaving Japanese in Kyushu. This was ironic as he later sold a large number of Korean slaves to Portuguese traders following the Imjin War. Portugal also passed an explicit ban against enslaving Japanese in 1595, again implying that it was something that was happening on a pretty noticeable scale. There's also some firsthand accounts of travelers in Lisbon noticing Chinese slaves among the slave community. However most slaves being traded by Portugal were black, and it never reached the same epic proportions as African slavery, most likely due to the increased cost and because it's simply impractical to do so when Africa offered a closer source.
Hideyoshi never sold Korean slaves to Portugal, especially after he made the practice illegal shortly before the Imjin war. Mind you as well, by the 1590's Portugals relationship with Japan was already deteriorating to the point of antagonism.

But the OTL Japanese slave trade appeared to suggest that there wasn't much opposition against selling slaves to foreigners, even if the practice was viewed as anachronistic in Japan itself. If the Portuguese for some irrational reason continue and amp up the slave trade and the Japanese government somehow cracks down on sale of domestic slaves (which they couldn't OTL), you'd probably just see regular wokou raids on China and Korea as alternate supplies.
You'd have to bufferfly away the further centralization that occured under the Tokugawa Shogunate and possibly even the end of the warring states period, and somehow keep Japan in a state of perpetual civil war and unrest. Once the warring states period winds down and centralization occurs whoever is in charge of Japan WILL crack down and do something about the slave trade, just like OTL.

edit* Despite Portugals effort to subvert Japan via Christianity, they failed otl. What makes you think they'd successfully have a large scale slave trade in Japan if they couldn't even turn the place Christian?
 
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I'll explain you how the Asian Slave Trade works in the 17th century. Every year, thousands of slaves leaves the regions of Asia through the Magelhaens Passage, which is an island hopping trip along the coasts of the Milislhas (Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia) for a four month journey across the Pacific.

The slaves or Kaom Amarelo originate from the following regions in Asia:
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • Malay Peninsula
  • East Asia
  • Japanese Archipelago
  • The Philippines
  • Borneo
  • Indochina
  • Sunda Islands & the Moluccas
The slaves are obtained through many means, which include:
  • Indentured servitude: Many people, especially from areas like China or Malaya, often tricked into signing contracts where the passage is taken at risk with the promise of land but with a bigger labor pool and less chance what actually happens at the Americas. Often, the Asian servants are forced to stay in America for the rest of their lives.
  • Slave raiding: A common practice by slave traders in Asia. For example, Muslim raiders from the Sumatra would enter the interior to capture large numbers of non-Muslim people or indigenous Sumatrans such as the Batak tribes.
  • Purchasing prisoners of war: A way used by the Iberian colonists to obtain slaves. For example, in parts of India, Muslim or Hindu princedoms would sell prisoners of war of the opposite religion to Iberian merchants in exchange for flintlock rifles, sugar and textiles.
  • Penal deportation: In areas where the Trans-Pacific Slave trade are profitable, laws were rewritten so that they are punishable by deportation to Benoa Sindalu (The Americas).
Okay, I wouldn't derail the whole conversation on how the Trans-Pacific Slave trade work. The main point of the thread is how would a syncretic religion of Asian slaves (Amarelos) develop from many ancestral roots and history.
 
I'll take in-depth look of the rituals of the Ugama Cathay.

In a ritual called Jumun Kramat, a Kramat or Kuldewa are called upon by a Pendeta (Priest), Mikoh (Priestess) or Dukun (Shamaness). They become willing mediums for the Kramat/Kuladewa they have conjured from Cathay by allowing them to be possessed. This ritual often takes place in an altar room or a room reserved for the Kramat/Kuladewa.

Each Kramat/Kuladewa display distinctive behavior and traits which can be recognized, specific phrases and actions. As soon as the Kramat/Kuladewa is identified, they will be given appropriate offerings and symbols. For example, Gyanes, the elephant-headed spirit of wisdom and knowledge is offered bowls of raw sugar and flowers. Gozu-Tennou is offered blood of slaughtered chicken and rum.

Once the Kramat/Kuladewa is appeased, it can be used to ask questions, request help or other things. The session usually ends when an assistant to the medium cracks a whip and chants a prayer to allow the spirit to leave.
 
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