T'yahli-kai :
Although rarely observed in Endrykas, the T’yahli-kai (literally, “The making of brothers/sisters/siblings”) is an important pinnacle of Drykas life. The vast majority of horseclan families spend their lives roaming the Sea of Grass, aside from the occasional rendezvous with Endrykas, and it is entirely possible for a pavilion to spend days and even seasons entirely by themselves. As a result, the interaction of different pavilions on the open plains are essential to the culture and wellfare of the transient race.
A T’yahli-kai is a celebration that occurs when two or more pavilions cross paths on the Sea of Grass; while two average-sized pavilions will usually observe a six- or seven-day T’yahli-hai, especially large and prosperous families can sustain longer ones. If two pavilions are within a day or so’s journey of one another, they each will detour and meet in the middle; to refuse a T’yahli-kai is a very grave offense, and is considered the equivalent of one pavilion refusing to acknowledge the other’s existence. This is very rare, however, and usually only done when families already have a deep feud with one another and want to avoid bloodshed. If two pavilions pass each other by simply because they didn’t know the other was close, then it is considered to be something of a tragedy, as a T’yahli-kai is a celebration meant to bring joy, prosperity and strength to all who take part in it.
It is the ankals that will usually begin things by sensing one another’s presence in the Web. Once location is determined, both pavilions will send scouts to meet halfway and find a suitable area for the two pavilions to settle for the next few days. Because the length of the celebration can vary depending on size, it is essential that the meetup site have access to water and food. Once a location is decided upon, the scouts will return to their respective pavilions and the two families will move towards the halfway point.
Day 1
The two pavilions will usually meet at midday or sometime after, and there is little to no deep interaction the first day; what light they have left will be spent setting up and preparing for what is to come. The two scouts who chose the location will usually meet once more to discuss wild animals in the area and touch base before returning to advise their own pavilions about the area. Each pavilion eats separately.
Day 2
On the second day, the hunters and warriors of each pavilion will wake before dawn and meet each other in between the two tents, usually with the scouts in attendance. This joint party is responsible for hunting an animal that can feed both families, and they will usually be gone by sunrise. It is common for hunters of different pavilions to be quite competitive during this hunt, and good-natured teasing is expected, although it must never progress to a point that it endangers the success of the group as a whole. It is unusual for the party to fail, and considered bad luck, but the gathering will still continue regardless.
Meanwhile, the rest of the pavilion members will mix and mingle into different task groups; many will go out to forage for wild plants and roots, while others will stay with the tents and begin heating water and building cookfires. Cooperation is in the air, and it is considered bad form to not work with someone of the foreign pavilion.
The night ends with a feast prepared by the joined hands of both families; the hunting party will regale the others with tales of the hunt, paying special attention to the deeds of their new friends; to talk about one’s own deeds is seen as self-centered, but to talk about the deeds of members of the other pavilion is considered graceful and polite. This feast takes place in the space between the two pavilions and can last well into the night.
Day 3
The third day of a T’yahli-kai is spent appraising the other pavilion’s wealth and resources. The ankals will spend most of the day showing off their horses and zibri, informing one another of various strengths, weaknesses and important bloodlines. They will ask each other questions and examine animals for specific traits that they would like to see in their own herd, although there is no talk of exchange just yet; today is merely for assessment. It is common for ankals to be accompanied by firstborn sons during this day, or another heir to the pavilion; when an ankal asks to be accompanied by a specific individual, it is essentially a declaration of that individual’s claim to leadership.
In the meantime, the first wife of each ankal will spend the day as the guest of the other pavilion, undertaking something cheekily referred to as a “head-hunt,” during which she will meet and converse with as many members of the strange pavilion as possible with the intention of finding potential marriages for her children. The second or third wife might or might not come along to help.
That night, dinner is again shared by both families, although it is much more relaxed and informal. The leftovers from the night before are the mainstays of the meal, and there tends to by more music and joking this time around. The ankal and his wives, however, will not partake; they will retire and the first wife will advise her husband on what she has learned from her head-hunt.
Day 4
Negotiations begin. The two ankals will look over breeding rights, material trade goods and unmarried individuals; male animals are evaluated for stud worth, female animals for fertility, sons for strength and daughters for skills. All actions are expected to be repaid with something of equal value, and these negotiations will usually take the entire day. Larger pavilions can sometimes spend several days in this stage.
The rest of the families, meanwhile, will usually make small one-on-one transactions of their own, usually amounting to tools or services. Warriors will likely be trading skills, cooks will be trading family recipes, and craftsmen will be trading their wares. At the same time, there is collaboration; although there are no great hunts at this time, everyone except the ankals will pitch in to help find food. Hunters and gatherers will usually pair off with someone of the other pavilion to help accomplish this.
At the end of the negotiation period, there is another feast held during which the ankals announce the exchanges that they have agreed upon.
Day 5
Breeding and livestock exchanges begin. This usually takes a single, full day, but occasionally takes more if there are many resources being exchanged. Soon-to-be-married individuals, if there are any, are isolated to their own pavilion so that they can be prepared for the wedding. Their family will usually have their own traditions that take place during this time. Warriors will usually spar, craftspeople will usually collaborate; now that material trade is more or less completed, this is a time devoted to cooperation and group projects. Scouts will also go out and get a location on nearby animal herds. If this stage takes more than a day, then dinner will be another informal affair. If this is not the case, there will be another formal dinner in which the ankals will thank each other for all the joy and happiness that will come of this trading, and usually express excitement at the upcoming wedding, if there is to be one.
Day 6
Once again, pavilion hunters will rise early and embark on another big hunt. This is more formal, and somewhat bittersweet; friendships have been made, and if a marriage is taking place, there are new brothers- and sisters-in-law to be had, and this is the last large hunt that will be staged. Back home, the situation is the same; craftspeople and gatherers are spending as much time with their new friends as possible, preparing for the closing feast.
If there are individuals about to be married, they will remain secluded in their own pavilion with their immediate blood relatives, deep in preparation for the wedding. Because the woman shall soon move in with her husband’s pavilion, the bride-to-be will be especially fussed over and tended to, as it is entirely possible she will not see her birth pavilion for seasons or even years.
The hunters will return and a great feast will be prepared. Marriages will take place just before sunset, followed by a large celebration and procession of gifts. This can last very late into the night.
Day 7
The day of departure. If there are any leftovers from the night before, they are divided equally between the pavilions. The campsite is cleared and the tents packed up. After a few final, last-second goodbyes, the two pavilions part ways and return to their own paths.
A T’yahli-kai is a celebration that occurs when two or more pavilions cross paths on the Sea of Grass; while two average-sized pavilions will usually observe a six- or seven-day T’yahli-hai, especially large and prosperous families can sustain longer ones. If two pavilions are within a day or so’s journey of one another, they each will detour and meet in the middle; to refuse a T’yahli-kai is a very grave offense, and is considered the equivalent of one pavilion refusing to acknowledge the other’s existence. This is very rare, however, and usually only done when families already have a deep feud with one another and want to avoid bloodshed. If two pavilions pass each other by simply because they didn’t know the other was close, then it is considered to be something of a tragedy, as a T’yahli-kai is a celebration meant to bring joy, prosperity and strength to all who take part in it.
It is the ankals that will usually begin things by sensing one another’s presence in the Web. Once location is determined, both pavilions will send scouts to meet halfway and find a suitable area for the two pavilions to settle for the next few days. Because the length of the celebration can vary depending on size, it is essential that the meetup site have access to water and food. Once a location is decided upon, the scouts will return to their respective pavilions and the two families will move towards the halfway point.
Day 1
The two pavilions will usually meet at midday or sometime after, and there is little to no deep interaction the first day; what light they have left will be spent setting up and preparing for what is to come. The two scouts who chose the location will usually meet once more to discuss wild animals in the area and touch base before returning to advise their own pavilions about the area. Each pavilion eats separately.
Day 2
On the second day, the hunters and warriors of each pavilion will wake before dawn and meet each other in between the two tents, usually with the scouts in attendance. This joint party is responsible for hunting an animal that can feed both families, and they will usually be gone by sunrise. It is common for hunters of different pavilions to be quite competitive during this hunt, and good-natured teasing is expected, although it must never progress to a point that it endangers the success of the group as a whole. It is unusual for the party to fail, and considered bad luck, but the gathering will still continue regardless.
Meanwhile, the rest of the pavilion members will mix and mingle into different task groups; many will go out to forage for wild plants and roots, while others will stay with the tents and begin heating water and building cookfires. Cooperation is in the air, and it is considered bad form to not work with someone of the foreign pavilion.
The night ends with a feast prepared by the joined hands of both families; the hunting party will regale the others with tales of the hunt, paying special attention to the deeds of their new friends; to talk about one’s own deeds is seen as self-centered, but to talk about the deeds of members of the other pavilion is considered graceful and polite. This feast takes place in the space between the two pavilions and can last well into the night.
Day 3
The third day of a T’yahli-kai is spent appraising the other pavilion’s wealth and resources. The ankals will spend most of the day showing off their horses and zibri, informing one another of various strengths, weaknesses and important bloodlines. They will ask each other questions and examine animals for specific traits that they would like to see in their own herd, although there is no talk of exchange just yet; today is merely for assessment. It is common for ankals to be accompanied by firstborn sons during this day, or another heir to the pavilion; when an ankal asks to be accompanied by a specific individual, it is essentially a declaration of that individual’s claim to leadership.
In the meantime, the first wife of each ankal will spend the day as the guest of the other pavilion, undertaking something cheekily referred to as a “head-hunt,” during which she will meet and converse with as many members of the strange pavilion as possible with the intention of finding potential marriages for her children. The second or third wife might or might not come along to help.
That night, dinner is again shared by both families, although it is much more relaxed and informal. The leftovers from the night before are the mainstays of the meal, and there tends to by more music and joking this time around. The ankal and his wives, however, will not partake; they will retire and the first wife will advise her husband on what she has learned from her head-hunt.
Day 4
Negotiations begin. The two ankals will look over breeding rights, material trade goods and unmarried individuals; male animals are evaluated for stud worth, female animals for fertility, sons for strength and daughters for skills. All actions are expected to be repaid with something of equal value, and these negotiations will usually take the entire day. Larger pavilions can sometimes spend several days in this stage.
The rest of the families, meanwhile, will usually make small one-on-one transactions of their own, usually amounting to tools or services. Warriors will likely be trading skills, cooks will be trading family recipes, and craftsmen will be trading their wares. At the same time, there is collaboration; although there are no great hunts at this time, everyone except the ankals will pitch in to help find food. Hunters and gatherers will usually pair off with someone of the other pavilion to help accomplish this.
At the end of the negotiation period, there is another feast held during which the ankals announce the exchanges that they have agreed upon.
Day 5
Breeding and livestock exchanges begin. This usually takes a single, full day, but occasionally takes more if there are many resources being exchanged. Soon-to-be-married individuals, if there are any, are isolated to their own pavilion so that they can be prepared for the wedding. Their family will usually have their own traditions that take place during this time. Warriors will usually spar, craftspeople will usually collaborate; now that material trade is more or less completed, this is a time devoted to cooperation and group projects. Scouts will also go out and get a location on nearby animal herds. If this stage takes more than a day, then dinner will be another informal affair. If this is not the case, there will be another formal dinner in which the ankals will thank each other for all the joy and happiness that will come of this trading, and usually express excitement at the upcoming wedding, if there is to be one.
Day 6
Once again, pavilion hunters will rise early and embark on another big hunt. This is more formal, and somewhat bittersweet; friendships have been made, and if a marriage is taking place, there are new brothers- and sisters-in-law to be had, and this is the last large hunt that will be staged. Back home, the situation is the same; craftspeople and gatherers are spending as much time with their new friends as possible, preparing for the closing feast.
If there are individuals about to be married, they will remain secluded in their own pavilion with their immediate blood relatives, deep in preparation for the wedding. Because the woman shall soon move in with her husband’s pavilion, the bride-to-be will be especially fussed over and tended to, as it is entirely possible she will not see her birth pavilion for seasons or even years.
The hunters will return and a great feast will be prepared. Marriages will take place just before sunset, followed by a large celebration and procession of gifts. This can last very late into the night.
Day 7
The day of departure. If there are any leftovers from the night before, they are divided equally between the pavilions. The campsite is cleared and the tents packed up. After a few final, last-second goodbyes, the two pavilions part ways and return to their own paths.
