[Culture] Ingesøn - The Five Ablutions

[Holyland 3651]

  

Spoiler

 

 

“A disciplined mind brings happiness.”

 

 

 

The Five Ablutions are an integral part of the Ingesøn’s way of life, for they, within themselves, are multifaceted, with their greater purpose being the total and absolute purification of every man who participates within them. They are typically seen during times of war, wherein each man and woman must prepare himself to fight, or in preparation for the rise of a new Rei, through means of combat or the handing down of the Arian. They may also be done in times of mourning, when a kinsman is lost from the Tribe, either by means of death, seen as an honour, or, worse, by means of Gandevna, the total banishment of that member from their blood and their tribe.

 

However, the Five Ablutions, otherwise known as the Khuti Abdva in the traditional, Aeldinic tongue of the Ingesøn, may be called upon at any time by the current Rei, at which point all members of the Tribe are required to gather in order to complete them, side by side. 

 

A step that is typically practised ahead of the Five Ablutions is that of the shaving of one’s head, in the case of men, or the removal of the ends of one’s hair, in the case of women, being both practical and traditional in concept. Bloodbrothers of Ingesøn typically keep their hair on the shorter side, so that it may regrow quickly thereafter. 

 

 

 

The First Ablution, Tskhvari, may be translated as “Sacrifice.” 

 

A singular member of the tribe, traditionally the youngest member, is tasked with the retrieval of a young lamb, which may then be prepared for utilisation in the cultural ritual. It is cleaned in the brine of the northern seas, and then humanely slain by way of a ceremonial blade, used only for the purpose of the Tskhvari and that alone. The carcass is then separated, and much of the blood removed for later usage in the Second Ablution, Evkarist’ia.

 

What follows, whilst altogether grotesque and unsanitary, is a representation of the very tribal and burdening nature of the ways of the Ingesøn. The raw carcass is divided into parts, before each member of the tribe is provided with a piece of flesh, which they must then proceed to eat entirely. The lining of the organs is removed and spared for the Third Ablution, T’reningi. This ordeal represents the innocence of the lamb itself, and how this irreproachability may be channelled within the stomachs of every member, granting them the fearlessness of children within what is to come.

 

 

 

The Second Ablution, Evkarist’ia, may be translated as “Liturgy.” 

 

The still-warm blood of the young lamb is purposed toward the filling of the familial artefact of the same name, so that all members of Ingesøn may sup upon the blood within this chalice, one by one. Whilst purposed toward the same cleansing purposes as the remainder of the Ablutions, the Evkarist’ia is one of the most important. 

 

This ritual is said to bring forth divine inspiration from within the spirits of those of the tribe. Many are said to have felt a litany of whispers in their ears and their very mind, a deathly melody of their ancestors themselves, a choir found deeply within their own blood, inciting actions driving beyond those of the Five Ablutions, encompassing the purging of internal vice and the strive toward total purity. The rumbling chants and songs of their internal choirs are said to aid in coming battles, bringing forth fury and judgement from within every man unto his enemy. 

 

In special cases, the Evkarist’ia may be altered so that the blood of the Rei is utilised instead of the blood of the young lamb. Little has been spoken to of what has occurred when this special form of The Five Ablutions has been called, though it is said to be fated to occur when a time of great change is required within the depths of the tribe itself.

 

 

The Third Ablution, T’reningi, may be translated as “Trial.” 

 

Each and every member of the trial will choose an opponent to fight in combative training, and may elect to fight by means of any weapon, or armour, though these means are typically avoided, with the purest and most honourable form of combat being the barest, martial form, where each member possesses neither weapon nor is clad in armour. 

 

The goal of this combat is not death, but, instead, to train and incite combative inspiration within the other, as this is said to bring peace of mind and body to each member of the Ingesøn, a necessary aid during their process of purification.

 

The most necessary step in the Third Ablution is the utilisation of the organs and remaining blood of the sacrificed lamb, wherein each member is painted and coated in these things before they engage in the ritual itself, so as to both emphasise the purity of the lamb and inspire strength within each fighter, due to the strange and profound tribulations they must find themselves overcoming throughout the ritual itself. 

 

They must sacrifice and throw away their pride and dignity so that they may only fight - neither man nor woman holds any shred of these egotisms, and these things must be seen to be burned away in their entirety.

 

Silence is mandatory throughout this ritual. T’reningi is only performed with the cacophonous beat of drums wrought of the stretched and cured skins of the sheeps of past Ablutions, played throughout, and is typically performed within the grounds of nature, amongst the soil, shit and soot.

 

 

The Fourth Ablution, Saretskhi, may be translated as “Washing.” 

 

One may only be dirty before they can become clean. Saretskhi, the Fourth Ablution, encompassess this concept in its entirety - for whilst many believe that the cleansing of water might cause one to be clean, the definition of “clean” is turned upon its head within this very ritual, for only the Fifth Ablution may truly clean and purify the members of Ingesøn.

 

The most ideal environment for the Fourth Ablution to occur in is by the northern sea, the original home of those of Ingesøn, replicating the conditions of the Fjordem Island of Aeldin, the home of their ancestors. However, if this cannot be feasibly achieved, a large barrel containing brine and the clay of the northern rivers will accomplish the same effect, as now, the combined blood and entrails of the lamb, alongside the sweat, tears and blood of each and every member, will be cleansed from them in the freezing waters of the sea itself, the salt desiccating their skin and preparing them for their fifth and final Ablution - Tskheba, The Anointment.

 

 

The Fifth and final Ablution, Tskheba, may be translated as “Anointment.” 

 

The amalgamation of every trial and tribulation that those who have endured the Ablutions arrives at this singular, final point - wherein the anointment of blood will bring about the total purification of every man’s mind, body and spirit, internally and externally. The Tskheba is less of a ritual and more of an event and an achievement within itself, and is typically performed publicly, for all to see, after the Fourth Ablution has been completed. It is both customary and mandatory for all members of the tribe to perform a part in their ancestral chants as the anointment is performed, chanting and calling out against the very world itself, and The Absolute in the skies above, the grounds below. 

 

For this Ablution to be performed, the blood of an enemy of the Tribe must first be drained from their corpse, collected and laid within a stone mound so that it might steadily be diluted by way of rainfall, and thus, the ritual requires a storm. This blood may then be gathered in bowls and utilised by the Elders of the tribe in order to anoint all members between their eyebrows with a thumb-mark dipped in the blood. Once the Elders have completed this task, they may then stand at the front, and simultaneously anoint and be anointed by the Rei. 

 

Members of the tribe are required to maintain this anointed mark upon them as long as they possibly can, though this mark is known to last a long period of time, as even rainfall does not wash it away. In times of war, the anointment, known by the same name, is worn with pride and exposed to the world, especially during times of combat. 

 

[OOC NOTES]:

 

Spoiler

Having now written the first post about the Ingesøn tribe, I wanted to extrapolate upon it and make a secondary culture post, especially pertaining to the coming times of war with Vikela, and the presence of the Tribe in the fight. Whilst the contents of the Ablutions themselves may seem excessively grim and gory, they take their inspiration from the Sardaukar of Dune and the Dothraki of the ASOIAF series of books, and provide a clear contrast to the typically more tame nature of some cultures on Lord of the Craft. 

 

It’s once again necessary to state that none of this information is publicly available, and the information regarding this tribe is only known to either members of the Tribe, or any who has been granted this document in roleplay from a member of the Tribe, or has directly witnessed the Ablutions for themselves.

 

 

[satin 7600]

Spoiler

I need it