Chauntea (pronounced: /tʃɔːnˈtiɑː/ chawn-TEE-ah) was the Faerunian goddess of life and bounty, who viewed herself as the embodiment of all things agrarian. The Earthmother was seen as the tamer parallel of Silvanus, the Forest Father of druidry and wilderness, as she was the deity of agriculture and plant cultivation.
The Earthmother is everything, and her health is our health. She feeds us, clothes us, waters us, and shelters us. No god is greater than her, though many are noisier. No god is more forgiving, more nurturing, or more essential. Truly, Chauntea is All. — The creed of the Church of Chauntea
Description
Chauntea, when in her home realms, manifested with the appearance of a giant beautiful human woman. The Earthmother had long shiny white hair, gathered in a long braid she wrapped around her head. The length of her braid suggested the woman's great age. She had pleasant features and brown skin. Chauntea's body was lean but toned, muscled similarly to a farmer's body, shaped by hard work. She carried herself with strength and femininity. If one was to forget that they observed a deity, they could assume the beautiful woman in front of them was in her middle-age. Some described her appearance as "a rose in full bloom."
Chauntea was dressed in an unbleached linen tunic and carried a green seed pouch, slung over one shoulder. Even though she was working her divine realm's fields barefoot, with face stained with dirt, her beauty was accentuated by wildflowers and ivy weaved into the goddess' long hair. She also wore a girdle embroidered with images of various fruits.
Personality
Chauntea was a wise and quiet goddess given to neither pomp nor paegentry. Over the millenia she had learned the virtue of patience,[19] being both slow to anger and not prone to hasty action, although she sometimes took this to the point of being ponderous.
This was not to be mistaken for passivity however, for the Earthmother was a vibrant and caring goddess who loved the inhabitants of Toril and enjoyed nothing more than showing them how her world might enrich their lives. The most recent centuries had seen Chauntea become completely enamored with them, especially humans, to the point she focused all her attention on helping them live off the land.
This relationship was not one-way however, for Chauntea also preached reverence towards nature. She urged the people of civilized lands to repair that which they damage, calling her followers to perform small acts of devotion. Furthermore, while she would prefer diplomacy to open conflict, to bring blight to the natural world would surely evoke the fury of the Earthmother.
Worshipers
Chauntea was seen by Faerûnians as a critical aspect of the assumed cycle of life. Private land owners and destitute farmers (perhaps as a consequence of an unproductive harvest) visited the clerics of Chauntea for any divine suggestions for aiding the harvest. If at any time plague or drought struck the crops, farmers looked to Chauntea, since they hoped she would save the harvest, due to her love of nature. Though she had a diverse collection of followers, Chauntea was fanatically worshiped by peasants, servants, druids, gardeners, and any others who earned pay from working on farmland. Her clergy were known for ministering in rural communities, and for their willingness to work in the community's fields next to the local farmers.
Chauntea was one of the main deities worshiped in Rashemen, where she was known as Bhalla. In the Uthgardt tribes, Chauntea was exclusively worshiped by women, and served by female shamans. They believed the "Grandmother" gave birth to numerous daughters from Uthgar after his ascension, which became the wives of their beast gods.
Chauntea was also worshiped in worlds other than Toril, although under a different name.