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FamilyTo Zuberi, a family is precious and irreplaceable. Even in the afterlife, a family remains intact, proving its strength as well as its importance. Material wealth is transient, but the bonds of blood are eternal. Each person exists within the circle of his or her immediate family which spans all surviving generations. That family in turn, lies within a larger circle of cousins and uncles and aunts. Beyond that lies a third circle of relatives, one step removed, and then a fourth, like the rings which form around a pebble tossed into a pool. These circles create a person's identity. Man or woman, boy or girl, an individual is nothing without the group. The rights of the family therefore, must supersede the rights of any single person within it. Zuberi families are typically lead by men. A father is in charge of his unwed daughters, his sons, and the families of his sons. In the villages, a son often lives with his father in the paternal home until he is well past 30 years of age. If he marries, his wife joins the crowded household and becomes part of her husband's circles. Although the new bride's position has officially changed, her brothers often continue to watch over her. If she divorces, she will return to her immediate family, taking up residence with her parents or siblings. Blood ties can never be broken. Zuberi value large families, and they welcome the birth of each child. Eventually, of course, a paternal home can hold no more people. When space becomes scarce and a family can afford to build a new dwelling, a son will leave his paternal home and start anew. Rarely will he leave his ancestral village or city however. In the desert, tents replace houses, but the customs are similar. A nomadic patriarch typically has the largest tent among members of his immediate circle. He resides with his wife (or on occasion, his wives) and his unmarried children. His married sons live in smaller tents, which are nearly always pitched nearby. Because blood ties are so important, loyalty to one's family is tantamount to Zuberi law. First and foremost, a man's loyalty is to his immediate family. As noted before, his actions, for better or worse, will help define the honor of that family. A woman follows the same code. Loyalty next goes to the larger circle if, for example, a man is wronged and asks for help, his cousins are honor-bound to assist him, provided their actions would in no way dishonor their immediate families. Honor and kinship are two golden threads in the fabric of Zuberi life. Without either, the fabric unravels. The continuance of a nameWhere a man dies leaving his wife childless, it is the duty of the kinsman-redeemer to marry the dead man's wife so that his name does not die out. The first child of the union of the widow and the kinsman-redeemer would be treated as the son of the dead man, and his name would be preserved. It is possible that the kinsman-redeemer will refuse to marry the widow, feeling that his own inheritance would be threatened. If he refuses, it is a mark of shame upon him and his descendants, and the widow will publicly remind him of this when they meet. The sale of landWhere a family member becomes impoverished to the point that he has to sell his patrimony, in part or in full, the kinsman-redeemer should purchase the land to prevent it from leaving the family. This may be a contested issue, as several members of the family may wish to increase their own holdings, and the strict order of redemption must be followed. only if a closer relative waives his right to redeem may a more distant relative step in. It is possible that this right of redemption may come with a string attached. If the reason for the sale is the death of the landholder, the one who purchases it may have to take his widow as well, to continue the family name. This may sour the attraction in the eyes of some relatives. Shajaratu-n-Nasab (Tree of Inheritance)In the Zuberi world, genealogy had already become important well before the
time of the Priest Kings: nobility, a man's proudest attribute, was a function
of his tribal affiliation. The avenging of bloodWhere a family member is killed, it is the duty of the kinsman to avenge this wrong, and seek the blood of the killer. The kinsman-avenger (or Avenger of Blood) will pursue the killer until he is dead at the hands of the avenger. The avenger will not necessarily make any distinction between an act of murder and that of manslaughter, or accidental death. To him, blood must be answered by blood. However in the case of an accidental killing, the killer may flee for safety to the monastery, hoping of course no other family members of the slain are in service there. If it is your place to act as kinsman-redeemer or avenger, remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and if the family does not stand together, its honor will surely fall. |
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