Expert

The Expert is the most common and important official in Pastism. Recognition as an Expert is conferred by the dam onto individuals with sufficiently cultivated daênâ to know Arta and distinguish between good and evil, to act principally as enforcers of divine law in the community (anjuman). In practice, besides serving as magistrates to the anjuman, the Expert is also the primary conduit of Pastic teachings and doctrines, although this is not always carried out in reference to a textual or even intellectual tradition, and in less developed areas Experts serve roles indistinguishable from traditional storytellers and sorcerers. They also officiate various rituals, and as their learning often makes them the only intelligentsia of sorts in their respective societies, they often take on other professions, such as medicine or engineering, which may have varying degrees of formal relation to their religious work.