

In _Final Fantasy X_ , just as Tidus and Wakka enter Besaid, Wakka pulls Tidus
back and confirms if he knows the prayer. After showing it to him Tidus's
inner monologue says:

> Any Blitzball Player would know that Prayer, that Prayer was the Blitzball
> Sign for Victory

and we can confirm this at the beginning when Tidus promises a group of kids
to teach them how to Blitz and they give him the prayer.

However, later we learn the Zanarkand Tidus came from was actually a dream
world created by the Faith on Mt. Gagazet, it also seem that the Faith in the
temples can also go to this world as we see the Bahamut Faith appear at the
beginning and also in Tidus's flashbacks

> and also when the truth about Yu Yevon is revealed, visiting the other Faith
> has them confirm they too are dreaming the Dream Zanarkand

But I am wondering, was the Yevon Prayer created from the Blitzball Sign for
Victory after Zanarkand was destroyed or is the Blitzball Sign for Victory
just the Yevon Prayer that was added to Dream Zanarkand by Bevelle/Yevon
centric Faith?


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final-fantasy
Which came first, The Blitzball Sign for Victory or the Yevon Prayer?


<http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dream_Zanarkand>

As far as I know, this is left somewhat ambiguous. Dream Zanarkand is based
upon the memories of people that lived there, yet it is clearly also different
from the actual Zanarkand.

But we can also consider that Yu Yevon was supposed to be contemporary with
the true Zanarkand. He does not seem to be known in the idealized dream
Zanarkand. And yet the Fayth, who were also contemporary with true Zanarkand,
must know of the sign, in order to have dreamed it. But furthermore, at that
time, Yu Yevon was not really a religious figure I don't think, though he may
have been the object of a cult of personality. Therefore, I think it's safe to
guess that the Yevon Prayer did not begin as a prayer exactly. Perhaps it was
a sign for Blitzball victory, or I think more likely, some sort of general
salute that people would have done in support of Yu Yevon, and perhaps also
for victory in blitzball.


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As @Kai has mentioned, it is ambiguous and you'll have to make your own
judgement call. I've written down a good chunk of information that may
convince you either way.

**Disclaimer** : I believe it is blitzball which came first, but I have tried
to make this balanced

Timeline:

  * **1000 Years Ago:** Machina War, Destroyal of Old Zanarkand
  * **End of Machina War** : Creation of Dream Zanarkand, Sin
  * **In-game Present Day:** Tidus leaves his home, Dream Zanarkand

When the Machina war neared the end, it was clear that it was being dominated
by Bevelle thanks to the help of their machina
[Vegnagun](http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Vegnagun). Yu Yevon was on the
side of Zanarkand (Anti-Machina) who were slowly being destroyed.

In order to preserve the city, Yu Yevon turned the remaining citizens of old
Zanarkand into the Fayth. The Fayth then created Dream Zanarkand, based off of
memories of their life in the old city. To protect this place of peace, Yu
Yevon created Sin to defend Dream Zanarkand and rid the world of traces of
machina. Yu Yevon may not have been a symbol of religion at this stage, but he
had a large following. It would not be strange for a community of a united
cause to have a symbol of respect and unity while he lived.

The dream Zanarkand is composed merely of the Fayths memories of the old city
and their lives. It also resides in a space distinct from the rest of the
world. These two facts combined give us evidence that the Fayth must have
known of the symbol before Dream Zanarkand was constructed.

The point of Dream Zanarkand was to restore Old Zanarkand to it's pre-war
state and to preserve it for eternity. Since Dream Zanarkand was pre-war -
there would have been no large following of Yu Yevon as the powerful summoner
defence against the machina. Even if this symbol _was_ in use, it is much less
likely that an already established sport would take on the idealisms and
symbolisms of one man's following, than it is to believe that Yu Yevon adopted
the symbols as they were already representative of victory and strength.

In the first moments of Final Fantasy X, we follow Tidus in Dream Zanarkand,
many traditions have been forgotten as years have gone by. Souls no longer
need to be sent, there is no evidence of the existance of aeons, and the Hymn
of the Fayth no longer holds any meaning. This is the main point of contention
- Does the fact that the Hymn exists mean that the Hymn originate from the
fayths' subconsciousnesses as they reside in the world (Not related to Yevon)?
or was the dream city created to represent the city whilst Yu Yevons still had
its following (Originates from Yevon, Possibility the symbol does also)?

The [Hymn of the Faith](http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Hymn_of_the_Fayth)
roughly translates to (after some puzzle solving seen in the link):

> Pray to Yu Yevon
>
> Dream, Fayth
>
> Forever and ever
>
> Grant us prosperity

The lyrics indicate the acknowledgement of the Fayth's creation by Yu Yevon
and how they are to reside there forever and ever in a dreamlike peace. This
makes the song even more important in assessing the timeline of the symbol.

The wikia and other sites claim that blitzball came first, but none cite any
solid articles or go into more detail than passing mentions. Therefore, you
must decide yourself which possiblity you believe is more plausible.


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