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Life to DeathHeaven: When a Zuberi dies they come before Upt Amentiu where you will be weighed. If you have attained enlightenment you will go onto a place of Nirvana. However MOST are reincarnated and returned to the mortal plane. Hell: The Zuberi hell is a limbo where the wicked and vile reside known as Aataku. Ghosts: There are few true ghosts in Zuben, most of the ghosts are summoned by necromancers from Aataku where they are forced to do the bidding of the necromancer. Doing so begins to repay their debt, which may in time allow the soul a second chance on the wheel. Reincarnation: Zuberi believe fully in reincarnation. “That which you do in this life echos into the next.” If you are bad and unworthy you may come back as a rock, or a pig. If you are good you will come back as a free man. BirthAll life is considered sacred by the Zuberi. The birth of a child is marked with a celebration by the family. Close friends will visit and bring small gifts of food or drink. In the Shaula camps, a multicolored flag is placed at the tent entrance, often a stripe for each child in the family, with a strip of cloth for the newly born attached thereto. This will later be sewn onto the family's flag and kept by the mother. Often, Shaula women will wear this as a shawl to impress other Shaula women they meet in their travels. A couple with a newborn child is not expected to participate in work, battle or labor for six weeks following the birth of the child. This insures the babe is well cared for and the family protected by the father during the babe's most vulnerable time. Many communities have old birthing women who will visit the new mother administering massages of herb scented oils to ease the recovery from birth. Zuberi women come of age at 13 years, and are well acquainted with the process of birthing and labor by the time they, themselves, become mothers. There is a very low infant mortality rate among the Zuberi. Nomad children are commonly suckled for eighteen months, much longer than other areas do. The children are secure within their families. They are generally sturdy, outspoken and self-reliant. The adults will always listen to a child. Small children are frequently bathed though the adults though may go months without washing. Children do not even wear clothes until they are five or six years old. They won't leave the shade of the tents during the day but at night they will go out and play. Their mothers teach them written language, drawing the characters in the sand. Coming of AgeA young man or woman's coming of age is marked by family and close friends with a celebration. Even in the monetary and outlying Shaula camps when a child reaches their thirteenth year, he or she is considered to have reached that stage in life where they are an adult and able to participate in decisions involving the community and/or camp. This celebration, called Ah'Maya for a girl, also marks the time when a young woman may legally be given as a bride. Some women in the Zuberi use items that would be more likely found on slaves elsewhere. Free girls, of the age ready for joining, may signal their availability by belling their left ankles with a "virgin bell". The bright and clear note of the virgin bell is easily distinguished from the sensuous sounds of slave bells. A beautifully measured gait is considered attractive for women in the Zuberi. Slaves often use light walking chains that tether the ankles. The chains are adjustable from two to twenty inches. Free women also measure their stride, sometimes with silk thongs or even a walking chain. In ancient times, a young man's Ah'Baha was marked by his slaying of a ritual beast, which served as the food for his Ah'Baha feast. In more recent history, this has been discontinued for the most part. However, the young man or woman is expected to slay the animal (usually a sheep or goat) from which the feast meat is prepared. At the monastery of Meissa, the young monk's head is shaved and he is presented with his robe of al'Aqrab to mark his passing into adulthood and full service to the Scorpion King. MarriageMatchmakingOne of the important people of the culture, primarily the nomads, was the matchmaker. Most are widows who serve as part social director, part genealogist and part wedding-planner. Successful matchmakers can look forward to a comfortable life because she receives fees for both introductions and successful negotiations as well as gifts from prospective husbands in exchange for introductions, gifts from eager mothers, and additional dowries from relieved fathers whose daughter was perhaps not quite as attractive as her sisters. In addition, the matchmaker is invited to the wedding as a guest of honor. Matchmakers also keep records of family genealogies and are often called upon when the time comes to name a child. Naturally there are fees for such consultations as well. Matchmakers often have close relationships with the midwives. WeddingMarriage in the Zuberi was always a formal affair, lasting many days. Wedding gifts were typically sent ahead of time to the woman's family home. They would then be carefully unwrapped and displayed at the reception with the name of the giver. In this way the wealth and status of the couple would be established. Love matches were rare. The Zuberi believe that love comes after marriage, and marriage contracts were based on wealth, position and the careful alignment of the couples Zodiac. The day of the wedding was also carefully determined based on the alignment of the stars so as to create the most auspicious day. Depending on the wealth of the families, the wedding day would be herald by many days, or in some cases weeks of festivities and events sponsored by the two families. The actual ceremony was many hours long and highly formalized. The number of invited guests could easily exceed more then 1000 and in some of the villages more then 5000 attendees has been reported. The reception lasted many days, with all manners of entertainment and banquets. Henna TraditionThe Henna Night is a ceremony in itself. It is probably one of the most important ceremonies in which henna is used. The application usually takes place anywhere from one to three days prior to the wedding. It is customary for the groom’s family to bring the henna to be used by the bride and her family. Tradition states that after the marriage, the bride is not expected to do any housework for as long as her henna designs last. If she's lucky and used a high quality source of henna, her pattern could last a couple of months. It has been said that the grooms family would often purposely offer the bride weak henna so she would not have a long vacation from chores. Before the elaborate artwork begins, a small amount of henna is dabbed on the bride and the groom’s palms for good luck. The tradition involves the female members of the bride’s family and often a sister or cousin to the groom who is there to insure the bride is anatomically acceptable. The henna is applied to the bride by up to five women at a time. Sometimes the party opts for a full covering of art but to be partially covered is acceptable. Any amount will do as long as the group can agree that the bride will be more intricately decorated then any other women who will attend the wedding. After the bride is decorated, the other women often do their own henna, making sure to let the bride see that their designs are not nearly as beautiful as hers. Henna is highly regarded as a blessing empowering the wearer to happiness and wealth. Show of FaithIn Zuberi culture, before a bride’s family will consent to a marriage, the groom and his family must perform a ritual called a “Show of Faith” which is done to secure the bride’s father in knowing she will be well protected and cared for. The most common way of performing the show of faith is for the groom and his family to gather outside the bride’s home and present the father with a gift of faith. The gifts are varied but most commonly it is a lock of hair from either the grooms mother or sister. This symbolizes the groom’s intent to care for the bride, as he would expect the bride’s father to care for his own sister or mother. The groom then submits to the bride father’s blade if her father feels this step is necessary. The bride’s father may hold the blade to the groom’s chest and speak of what he expects in the way of suitable treatment for his daughter. The father then offers the blade to the groom and submits to the same in a show of faith. The men have now come to an agreement and it is customary for the two to hug or shake hands. The women of the two families will also hug after the show is finished. DowryTraditionally, the family of the bride will gather a dowry to present to the groom before the wedding. The dowry consisting of gold, precious stones, silks, animals or anything else the family might think would impress the groom and his family. The size and worth of a dowry is a matter of honor and pride. The more the father thinks his daughter is worth to a prominent man, the larger the dowry. In some cases it is reversed if the father is having a hard time marrying off a less attractive or less sought after daughter and he will put forth a very large dowry to attract suitors. The groom’s family can decline the dowry if they do not believe it is worth the burden of taking another under their roof. In the case of the less wealthy or poor, gifts would be exchanged equally so as not to impoverish one or the other. DivorceDivorce among the Jabbah is rare, and a divorced woman often looses some significant social standing. In the cases where the husband was not "fit" to be a husband, he would be more likely to meet with an untimely end at the hands of the woman's brothers or husbands. In those cases where the couple can not get along, and no amount of counseling will resolve it, the woman might move back to her parents home, yet the children would stay with the father. Divorce among the Shaula however was quite different. In the Shaula , it is the woman who owns the property and the men who must provide for them. If a man is not adequately seeing to the needs of his wife or behaving in a way that is shameful, she can divorce him as easily as setting his shoes out side of her tent. PolygamyThe Zuberi practice polygamy, yet the rumors of vast harem's told by the other kingdoms is for the most part false. Wives are expensive, and "many wives can spoil a man's dinner faster then a few". Most Zuberi have only one wife, only the most wealthy will take two or more. In some cases a concubine will be added to the house hold, yet she does not hold the coveted position of wife. In most instances it is the first wife who selects her husbands second wives or concubines. Among the Jabbah, a man may only take a second wife if he is capable of providing her with her own home; the home that then becomes hers at the time of the marriage. Jabbah women do not share homes with other wives unless they are sisters, cousins, childhood friends, or concubines. DeathIt is said, "Death levels all, whether he dies as the Priest King on the throne or as a poor man without a bed on the ground." Death is the beginning of a journey. The soul of the deceased begins its journey to Acrab as the breath leaves the body, where that soul will be judged by Acrab and returned to be born again. The acts and life of the dead are reviewed and it is Acrab's will alone which determines the station in which one finds themselves. It is believed that by living well the life Acrab bestows, whether beggar or Priest King, then one can be born upon their next life into a better station. The ultimate goal of all Zuberi is to live well enough to be reborn as a prophet or the Priest King, and die that death to stand behind Acrab forever and be removed from the cycle of birth and death. A corpse is only touched by al'Aqrab or close kin of the deceased. It is stripped nude and stretched upon a clean white sheet, and covered, including the face, with another clean white sheet. Thus, the dead leave the world as they enter it. It is forbidden for any but al'Aqrab or close kin to view the naked corpse, to do so curses the living and brings great shame upon the family. If al'Aqrab are present, their duty is to pray, to guide the spirit on the journey to Acrab and to offer food (white or milk-based dishes and meat), burn incense and do other things to protect the remaining family from misfortune and disease which an unpure spirit or other evil spirits could inflict upon the family. Some family members lay stones upon the bed of the deceased for three days to prevent evil spirits from inhabiting the bed of the departed. In the days before "casting out" the dead body, the bereaved family burns incense and butter lamps and watches over the corpse. In the event the deceased has died from disease or plague, the entire corpse is burned to prevent spreading of the illness. Incense is often tossed upon the pyre to speed the loved one's journey. When it is time, usually one day or when the family has assembled, the corpse is placed upon a cart (tärgä) pulled by horse or cow. Then the bereaved family follow the cart to the clan's or family's burial place, which is an uninhabited area separate from the areas used by the Zuberi. These charnel grounds are sacred and only visited for funeral-related events. Some stones are placed next to the head in order to recognize the burial site later. Then a small fire is made to sacrifice the select pieces of (lamb) meat and white dishes (cagaan idää). If the widow wishes to perform Sati at the death of her husband, the fire is made large, and she sacrifices herself for the good of her clan or family. When the marriage was a true love match, the wife will often commit Sati in the belief that by leaving this world together their chance of returning at the same station and having a chance of being reunited is higher. If the deceased is the Priest King himself, he is entombed by the monks of Meissa. The Priest King is not sacrificed in open burial, as their entire life has been lived a sacrifice to Acrab. Piles of rock called Sacred Stones can be found various places throughout the land marking spots where a Priest King performed some significant task. These Sacred Stones, as well as the tombs of the Priest King, are often visited by Zuberi who lay offerings or burn incense. Depositing the corpse in the charnel grounds is meant to sacrifice it to predatory animals. According to ancient Zuberi belief, this is the last virtuous act a person can carry out. When animals like vultures and wild dogs eat the body, they don't eat other animals, which are able to live a little longer. When the corpse is consumed very quickly, the soul is innocent and pure and has reached Acrab quickly from where it could be reborn. When the spirit quickly locates a new body, the World of Comraich remains pure and clean. The mourners return to their camp or homes passing between two purifying camp fires at the entrance to their camp. Fire purifies and wards off any evil which might follow them from the charnel grounds. The charnel grounds can be revisited in three, seven and 14 days to mark check the corpse. |
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