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Mesolithan rites

From Galacti-Archive, the free academic source.

For other uses, see Mesolithan rites (disambiguation).

    Several terms redirect here. See also Akiivan final rites, Mesolithan death rituals, religious death rituals, cultural rites, and funerary rites.

Mesolithan rites are a series of rites unique to the Mesolithii culture of the Red Sands region of the planet Akiiva. 

Despite their name, Mesolithan rites are not confined merely to funerary aspects. The Mesolithii culture places great importance on death[1], and thus, funerary rites are planned in advance of their actual usage, oftentimes up to many centuries prior, and at times, from adolescence, depending on how strictly a given Mesolithii group adheres to tradition[2]. The funerary rites are believed by the Mesolithii to play an important aspect in life after death[3], as well as the continued balance and harmony of the world around them[4].

Overview [edit]

Mesolithan rites are believed to have appeared first at the start of the Akiiva’s Alithic Age[1], with the earliest evidence of them appearing between 8669.42 VCD[2] and 8669.22 VCD, and have grown from simple rites to complicated, life-long rituals. They are typically planned by individuals first with their closest family member, and then, as they mature, with the most important individual to them from each of their other four life stages[3]. Typically, Mesolithan rites heavily feature personally significant objects[4], family records[5], and the designing of individually unique patterns applied primarily to the face using semi-permanent paint created using minerals found exclusively in the Red Sands region collected from specific types of rocks and crystal formations[6].

Traditional practices [edit]

Traditionally, Mesolithan rites consist of six distinct stages, five of which are performed by the individual themselves, while the sixth is performed post-mortem by those closest to them, which typically consists of friends, family, and any partners. While in contemporary times, the individuals involved with the post-mortem stage of the rites are identified through legal documentation, traditionally, they were demarcated by a unique tattoo called the Rissrria[1]. 

The six stages of Mesolithan rites are the Aneuvic[1], Casathilic[2], Meydd:ran[3], Menn:ran[4], Satilaa[5], and Yyrestivic[6]. The first five, also known collectively as the Residaa[7], are specific to the five Mesolithan life stages, while the fifth is for the afterlife. The first five are performed with two individuals, the one who the rite is for and the individual closest to them during that stage of life, while the sixth may be performed by any number of individuals, though in traditional practices, the rites are led by a hestî priest[8]. The Residaa are typically performed in silence, while the Yyrestic rite, also known as the Rite of Rising Shadow, is a time of merriment, feasting, and song. 

Of the Mesolithan rites, it is traditionally taboo to discuss the events of the Aneuvic rite and the Satilaa rite, as they are believed to be of deep spiritual significance, and revealing the events is believed to allow those told to gain control over the individual, an event that appears in a number of Msolithii epics, including the Eresithiad[9] and the Epic of Merash the Shadow Blessed[10].

Traditionally, all Mesolithan rites are performed in the same manner regardless of the standing of the individual socially, with the exception of individuals who have been deemed as being Sand Scoured[11], whose previous rites are disregarded, and whose Rite of Rising Shadow is instead replaced with a burial in the Deep Waters[12] rather than being left for the carrion eaters in the Vertebral Desert as is tradition[13].

Regional variations [edit]

While there are not many regional variations to the Mesolithan rites due to their intense cultural importance, there is some variation to be found, with the most severe being among Mesolithii diaspora[1] communities due to their common lack of access to traditional materials.

Among the Mesolithii of the Western Sands[2], it is common for the Aneuvic rite to be performed as soon as an individual is able to walk, whereas other Mesolithii groups tend to wait until the individual is able to speak[3]. Additionally, in Western Sands groups, the Rite of the Rising Shadow is often scheduled to coincide with a solar eclipse, which has religious significance[4].

In Central Mesolithii groups[5], the Rite of the Rising Shadow is often performed while wearing elaborate masks, often adorned with gemstones, ground crystal powder, and feathers from banta-banta raptors[6].

In diaspora groups, the Rising Shadow rite is modified, and the traditional paint is often substituted for paints made of minerals specific to the region in which the group resides. In the case of space-faring diaspora Mesolithii[7], Rising Shadow rites are changed so that bodies are composted for use in fertiliser to grow food for the inhabitants of a given vessel, and the paint is created from the shells of barnacles that are unique to the exterior hulls of Mesolithii space-faring vessels[8]. Paint colours vary between individual Mesolithii in all groups, as colours are chosen based on personal significance and the specific rite being performed.

Religious and cultural significance [edit]

Mesolithan rites have great religious and cultural significance. Religiously, it is believed that properly performed rites are integral to the well-being of the soul, both in life and afterlife, as well as the balance of the world itself. It is postulated by academics that this belief stems from the fact that in antiquity, Mesolithan rites, with the Rite of Rising Shadow in particular, play an important role in the health of the local ecosystem[1].

Culturally, Mesolithan rites are important for the bonds they form between individuals, which have been shown in various studies[2] to improve happiness, health, and longevity, as well as the ability of the community to serve individual and collective needs[3]. Additionally, the rites are important markers of maturation in individuals, with the completion of each one involving the creation of beads to commemorate the occasion, which are then worn by the individuals involved on necklaces made of xwerda-gut[4]. In older individuals with greater social connections, these necklaces may be long enough to loop around the neck multiple times, with most of the beads being created during Rising Shadow rites for deceased friends, family, and partners.

Grand Schism [edit]

The Grand Schism refers to the split in Mesolithan rite practices that occurred between 230.05 MCD[1] and 415.11 MCD. While the term schism typically indicated a bi-partisan split, the Mesolithan Grand Schism created three separate groups, known as the Orthodox[2], Reconstructionist[3], and Ad Morti[4]. The groups are separated based on their approaches towards funerary rites, with Orthodox Mesolithii groups currently composing the majority of Mesolithii, with the Reconstructionist and Ad Morti groups comprising of 0.09% and 5% of the Mesolithii popultion respectively. Of the three groups, only the Orthodox groups connect religious elements to funerary rites, with the Reconstructionist groups and the Ad Morti groups focussing on simplistic rites as close to antiquitarian practices and Rising Shadow practices exclusively respectively.

The three sects were originally created by three sisters, known collectively as the Shadow Blessed[5], comprised of Nessalii[6], Fhatia[7], and Rejja:ika[8], who are purported to have, in a near-death experience, received a shared vision from the triad of Mesolithii goddesses known as the Three Breaths[9]. The sisters’ differences came from their individual interpretations of the vision they received, and in the months following it, tensions rose high enough that over the next century and a half, a number of skirmishes and battles broke out between their followers, with the Grand Schism culminating in a bloody battle between the three factions in 230.01 MCD known as the Battle of Silent Arrows[10], after which, in 230.05 MCD, the Treaty of Bonds[11] was signed by the leaders of the factions that resulted in a tentative peace.

While initially, the Reconstructionist sect was the largest, in the millenia since the Treaty of Bonds was signed, it has shrunk in size, leaving it the smallest. This is in part due to the fact that Reconstructionist groups do not allow converts[12], unlike the Ad Morti and Orthodox sects, with the only way to be a member being through bloodline inheritance[13].

As of the Census of 11000.00 MCD[14], it has been determined that the Ad Morti sect comprises mainly of space-faring Mesolithii, as well as a small number of Central Sands groups, while the Reconstructionist sect is exclusive to a small group of Mesolithii residing in the mountain range of Meeran-Vos[14] on Akiiva’s third moon, Cyllya[15]. Other Mesolithii belong mainly to the Orthodox sect, while about 9.5% listed themselves as belonging to no sect.

Mesolithan rites in antiquity [edit]

The earliest Mesolithan rites are documented as having occurred in the Eastern Sands region[1]. From the earliest writings on the topic, historians have concluded that the rites were originally created as a way for the early Mesolithii to restore order to the local ecosystem[2], which was in the midst of a catastrophic extinction event known as the Phyycian Extinction[3], which killed off an estimated 79% of all organisms in the southern Akiivan hemisphere[4]. Ecological scientists who have studied the topic believe that without the creation of Mesolithan rites, it is possible that a catastrophic 99.5% of all organisms, including the early Mesolithii groups, would have gone extinct[5].

Early Mesolithan rites are significantly more simplistic than their contemporary counterparts, and only consisted of three separate rites, of which only the final rite, the A:vyd:’ rite[6], has a contemporary counterpart, in the form of the Rite of Rising Shadow. However, while there are enough similarities between them to link them anthropologically, the A:vyd:’ was significantly more simplistic, lacking contemporary merrymaking, and having fewer variations on patterns painted onto the deceased. It is believed that this is due to the lack of abundant food and water sources due to the famine and drought during the period[7].

Depictions in media [edit]

Due in part to their lack of common understanding in non-Mesolithii groups, Mesolithan rites are not often depicted in foreign media[1], though they play an important role in many Mesolithii epic poems[2], as well as many contemporary media, such as theatre, opera, and fiction, in both digital and physical formats[3]. Despite their depiction in Mesolithii media, however, there are certain aspects that are almost never depicted due to their highly personal nature, such as the specifics of Aneuvic and Satilaa rites. Individuals who do depict these rites in detail are often treated with suspicion, sometimes becoming outcasts socially. In the past, there were laws penalising the depictions of these rites[4], with the death penalty applying to those who broke the laws at various points in Mesolithan history. Among Mesolithii, a common joke about outsiders is that they would not know funerary rite paints from paints for dwellings[5].

See also [edit]

●     Rite of Rising Shadow

●     Funerary celebrations

●     List of historically-significant funerals

●     Memorial dolls

●     Mesolithan funerary rites in literature

Further reading [edit]

●     Fourth-found, Arashia. Historic versus Contemporary Mesolithan Funerary Rites. Merdarah, CS, Akiiva: Second-Shadow Press.

●    Soft of Whisper, Xwaddat M. R. (11205.33 MCD). Religious significance of Mesolithii memorial dolls. Association of Anthropological Studies University of Greater Akiiva.

●     Hanno, Stjevvar et al. An Anthology of Mesolithii Funerary Literature. Svalla, BV, Llothulia: United Lirruia Trinary University Federation Press.

External links [edit]

●     Media related to Mesolithan rites at Federated Media Commons

●     Funerary rites at Archive.cdm

●     Archive of funerary records