Lore:Cult of the Ancestor Moth

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995

The Cyro-Nords had for long exported ancestor-silks, simple but exotic shawls woven with the silks of the gyspy moth and inscribed with the genealogy of the buyer. Under the cult the ancestor and moth became identical. The singing and hymnal spirits of one's forebears are caught in the special silk-gathering ritual. The swishing of the silk material during movement reproduces the wonderful ancestral chorus contained in the silk. It became a sacred custom among the Nibenese which persists to this day. The higher order Monks of the cult are able to forego the magical ritual needed to enchant the silk and instead merely wear the moths themselves. They are able to attract the ancestor-moths through the application of ground bark from the moth's favorite tree, and through chanting inaudible mantras which they must constantly maintain to keep the moths in contact with them.