Welcoming Ceremony
From MeiLinWiki
The welcoming ceremony is a religious and social ritual in the serial An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom.
The welcoming ceremony is the ritual for celebrating the arrival of a new child into the family in Sairland and therefore presumably in Tremont as well. In the case of the Sairish royal family, the ceremony is a public occasion attended by the nobility, court officials, and the high priests and priestesses of the gods. The priests present the baby with gifts symbolizing the blessings of their deity.
Welcoming Gifts
- From the Little Father, for Pagg: a copy of the Father's Testament, a religious and legal document akin to receiving a Bible in a Christian rite-of-passage ceremony.
- From the Little Mother, for Amma: a loom for girls, a shepherd's crook and sickle for boys, representing her authority in domestic areas particularly weaving and domesticated animals.
- From the Magister, for Eddin: a telescope, quadrant, and pocket watch, representing his dominion over time and technology in general.
- From the Eldest Sister, for Venna: an oil lamp, a broom, and a spindle for girls and the same lamp and a tinderbox for boys, representing her role as the Hearth Goddess, and the spinner of life's thread.
- From the Eldest Brother, for Farr: a shield and a knife, representing the protection provided by the Brothers and protecting oneself.
- From the High Priestess of Harla: no gifts are given because the Bloody One's gifts come after a person dies, so giving a symbol of them to the living would be like wishing death on them!
- From the High Lover and Beloved, for Nerr and Neya: flowers and sweets, representing the fleeting pleasures of life.
