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Cultural Details
The intricate mystic rites with which the Hirani surrounded almost every
contact with water are made far more understandable when one considers the
environment which inspired them: the harsh, sand-covered surface of Hira,
possibly the most inhospitable world ever colonized by human beings. Water,
which made life possible, is seen as being the carrier of that life. It is
something to be fought for, conserved, treasured — and in the eyes of the Hirani,
it is holy beyond all other things.
Every ceremony involving water is supervised, if not conducted, by a Sayyadina (Hirani
priestess) initiated in the rites and trained in their practice. In the event
that no Sayyadina is available, it is permitted for the female in the group with
the greatest knowledge of such matters to be temporarily consecrated into the
office.
Birth
Every Hirani's first exposure to water customs took place minutes after he or
she is born. The amniotic fluid surrounding the newborn is saved and distilled
following the child's expulsion from the womb. This water is then fed to the
infant by its godmother (usually one of the mother's best friends) in the
presence of a Sayyadina; this feeding is the baby's first, given before it is
returned to the mother to nurse. As the baby drinks, it is the godmother's duty
to say to the newborn, "Here is the water of thy conception." In this way, the
child is seen as tied to its parents by the bond of water, as well as being
tied, by extension, to the rest of the tribe. This unity is very important to
the Hirani: it is, in fact, the basis for their entire social structure.
How the "water of conception" ritual originated is not precisely known. It is
believed, however, to be one of the most ancient Hirani rituals, dating back to
their original placement on Hira in the eighth millennium. Faced with an
unforgiving environment and the absolute necessity for each tribe to live and
work as a single organism in order to survive, the Hirani undoubtedly seized
upon this rite as a means of stressing unity from the beginning of an
individual's life.
Daily Rituals
In a Hirani sietch (settlement), the first workers who donned their
stillsuits and braved the day are the dew gatherers. As soon as the light of
predawn could be seen, the gatherers hurried outside with their scythe-like dew
reapers, gleaning the available moisture from whatever plants grew near the
sietch. When the collecting is finished and the precious water safely stored in
the reapers' sealed handles, the dew gatherers carry the morning's harvest to
a Sayyadina so that it — and they — can be given her blessing. The water is
then carried to the tribe's communal basin.
Shortly after the dew gatherers are finished, the head of each household in the
sietch comes to collect the family's daily allotment from the general
stores. The allowances are niggardly (less than a liter per day for a household
of ten, for example) but adequate, given the Hirani's ability to recycle their
water in stillsuits and stilltents. The Sayyadina distributing the water also
gives her blessings to its use and to those consuming it, and prayers of thanks
are offered to Malal for providing the means of survival for another day.
A family's last action before retiring for the night is to divide among its
members the water produced by their reclamation chambers (small rooms adjoining
one's quarters where bodily wastes are recycled for their water). It is
considered unlucky to leave free water standing unused unless stored in one of
the sietch's evaporation-proof basins; the best place to keep a household's
water is thought to be within the bodies of that family's members.
As the water is consumed, the head of the family chants: "Now do we consume
that which will one day be returned... for the flesh of a man is his own, but
his water belongs to the tribe."
Like the "water of conception" ritual, this nightly reminder served to emphasize
the image of the individual as a part of the tribal whole.
Water Rings
These metallic counters represented the volume of water released by a body
processed through a deathstill. They are manufactured in denominations ranging
from fifty liters down to one thirty-second of a drachma (a drachma being one
two-hundred-fiftieth of a liter), which serves to give some indication of how
precise the Hirani water-measuring devices are, as well as the importance placed
on even the most minute quantities of the precious substance. The counters for
water released by the bodies of Hirani who have died a natural death, or by
those of strangers found in the bled who are treated as a water-gift from Malal,
are consigned to the care of the sietch's Naib and considered held in common by
all the people. Those tallying the water once held by enemies killed in group
combat are similarly treated.
Only the water rings which represented the water of one killed in a personal
combat are given over to individual members of a tribe: they — and possession of
the water they measured — are the property of the combat's victor. This is the
winner's compensation for the water lost during the fight, since it is required
that combatants face each other blade to blade, without their stillsuits. (The
water is stored in the sietch holding basin, of course, but its owner is
permitted to draw upon it at need, or bestow it upon needier members of the
tribe).
The rings possessed great social significance above and beyond their
representation of water. In Hirani betrothal, the would-be groom presents his
water rings to his fiancée; she would then arrange them on fine wires to be worn
either as earring or (more commonly) as hair ornaments.
Part of the marriage ceremony involves the groom putting the newly fashioned
ornaments on the bride. This use of the water counters helps regulate much of
the interaction between the sexes. A wali, or untried youth — one yet to meet
another male in mortal combat — cannot marry. Thus, the only men in the sietch
who will father children will be those who have already proven
themselves capable of survival. Cowards, weaklings, and other such undesirables
are never given the opportunity to clutter the gene pool; as further insurance,
children born out of wedlock are left in the desert, a sacrifice to Malal.
In addition, the requirement that a man's possess water rings before a marriage
could take place helped to control the polygamy permitted Hirani males. It is
not permitted, for example, for men to divide their counters between two or more
women, so multiple marriages did not take place. If a man wished to take another
wife, he has to wait until he accumulated more rings; and any Hirani
suspected of inviting challenge solely for that purpose is considered ridiculous
and made the laughingstock of his tribe.
It should be noted, also, that Hirani women who killed an enemy (an outside
enemy, invariably, since women could participate in the formal challenge ritual
only via a champion) are not awarded the combat water or its rings. These are
turned over, instead, to the tribe's Reverend Mother and are believed to confer
Malal's "special blessing" on their donor.
Following the death of their owner, water rings are returned to the tribal
store, or, if worn by a woman, remained with her until her death.
Funeral Rites
No memorials are held for out-freyn killed by the Hirani; their water is
simply reclaimed and the dry remains discarded. For their own, however, the
Hirani believe it necessary to conduct a formal memorial service in order that
the shade of the departed one would leave in peace and visit no harm on the
tribe. The ceremony always took place at the rising of the moon on the evening
of the death, after the body has been run through the deathstill under the
supervision of a Sayyadina.
All the members of the sietch gather around a mound made up of the dead man's
or woman's belongings and the water bag containing the fluid released by the
deathstill. The naib speaks first, reminding the others that the moon rose for
their lost comrade and will summon the spirit away that night. He then
declares himself a friend of the deceased, describes a time when he had
personally been helped or taught by the dead person (in such a small, tightly
bound community, such occasions are common) and take one item from the pile.
This will be followed by the Naib's claiming certain items for the deceased's
family and by his claim of the crysknife, which will be left with the remains in
the desert. The other members of the tribe will then come forward, declare their
friendship and its reason, take an item, and return to their places. When
nothing remained of the mound except the water bag, a Sayyadina came forward to
verify its measurement and to turn the water rings over to the appropriate
person.
The tribe then chants a prayer committing the spirit of their comrade to Malal
and recommitting their own destinies to that god as well. The sietch
water-masters took charge of the bag following the prayer and, with the entire
tribe serving as witnesses, poured the now-liberated water into the communal
basin, ending the ritual.
Water Bonds
Among the Hirani, water is also seen as the ultimate bond between individuals
whether or not they belonged to the same tribe. For instance, a person from one
sietch who saved the life of a member of another is owed a water debt, not only
from the person saved, but from his or her tribe as well. Such a debt to another
is considered a heavy burden, and is paid and cancelled-as quickly as possible.
The water of one group's dead, if shared with another, also created a bond, this
one indissoluble. Once such a sharing have taken place, the two groups are no
longer seen as distinct; they are melded into one larger organization, since
water, once mixed, is impossible to divide.
A living person's water — provided it is in the form of blood, and not just
water carried in a literjon or stillsuit catchpocket — created an unbreakable
bond as well. If a stranger, or even an enemy, could force or convince a member
of a Hirani tribe to drink of his blood, he is a Wadquiya (adopted member) of the
tribe: joined to them as one of their own, and safe from having this water taken
unless he offended the tribe. (It is for this reason, incidentally, that no Hirani will ever attempt to wound an enemy in a fight by biting him, even if
doing so meant certain victory).
Pledges of loyalty to a single person, such as that of each member of a tribe to
its naib, are also made in the name of water — in this case, to the water of the
individual. A tribe's pledge to its leader did not end, nor its acceptance of
the new leader's rights begin, until the funeral service for the dead naib is
completed and his water free.
Other Customs
As more information concerning the Hirani is made available, it becomes clear
that many customs other than those described above are in use.
One in particular, however, is a striking example of priority determination, and
deserves mention here. It has long been accepted by Imperial scholars that the
Hirani hold water to be of supreme importance, and its procurement and
conservation the highest priority of the individual or of the tribe. No
drinkable water, it is thought, is ever wasted; even the water of those given to
Malal is seen as being used in the service of the Hirani by placating their god.
However, a religious document recovered after the Jieshi Is'Malal raid on Tyrus
III describes an exception to that rule:
the water of one possessed by demons shall not be touched, not by
man nor beast...
no one shall say that it once belonged to a friend, or offer prayers for
the release of its spirit; for a demon has dwelt within and it is
forever tainted…
Let it be taken into the desert in the heat of the day and poured out
into a basin to steam away....
Let a guard be posted so that no creature drinks of it.
This exception seems odd at first blush, but makes sense when one considers
the Malalist hatred of other Chaos cults. It is also worth noting that Malali
'daemons' are called Djinni and are not considered to be demons but the servants
of Malal. | |
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