Dam (Pastism)

The dam, or daman (Tanumanic: dəmāna, 'house, abode'), is a religious organization in Pastism. A dam is typically characterized as being led by Experts, the most common clerics of Pastism, being distinguished from the lay community and other temporal authorities, and being dedicated to the pursuit and preservation of Pastic learning in some form or another. Beyond these features, the social forms and positions dams take on vary greatly, ranging from organizers of communal liturgy, to secluded monastic communities, to local adjudicators of religious law, and more often than not many of these definitions at once. The dam is considered one of the most important parts of societies following Pastism, and as an institution with a pronounced political presence, has also stood out as a major force of history in these regions too.