(trigger warning for natural disasters, child death, death in general, death practices, and particularly the practices of an unwell sister trying to cope with sibling loss)
some Varang/Mangkwan [Kexska au] lore: Yki'at, the eruption, and death traditions.
she carries around a little charm/doll of her brother, Yki'at, since his death. something like this
she refers to it as him. as Yki'at. she sees this as an extension of him. partly in a faith like way, like a figurine that represents them here amongst the living. but partly in a way that is more driven by mental illness and grief, that blurs the lines between faith, reality, and delusion. not so severely that it's indictive of a massive rift in her sanity. but think of it as one of the very many little cracks in her psyche.
he is made from the bone of Yki'at's femur, for the head. cloth from his loincloth. the beads, apart from the beads that make the long cord, are from his jewelry, while the cord is from his songcord, his final chorus (the rest was lost in the eruption).
she made it within a few years of his passing. she carried a bundle of these items... practically everywhere. she was holding onto what remained of the little brother she was told to protect.
the worst eruptions of Kexskawnitik occured when Varang was 7 years old. at the time, she was the middle child. she had an older sister, Sära, well into her teens, perhaps 17 or so, and a younger brother, Yki'at, who was only 1. with her parents and sister being Chief, Tsahik, and Tsakarem, they had a duty to try and protect their people. Sära was trying to help her mother with the wounded, her father was trying to shelter his people and aid in their fleeing.
at this time, she was left with her little brother,she was technically being watched by other clans members, but she will forever feel like she was meant to protect her brother, to shelter within Hometree and it's surrounding structures, which seemed to be holding at the time. until it wasn't. the weight of volcanic ash breaking through the trees inner structures. until eventually the chamber she was hiding in broke into chaos as it filled with ash.
she lost her grip on her little brother. no matter how hard she tried to push past her fleeing clansmen. or rip from the hands of those who lifted her up and carried her own of the flooding cavern. she was evacuated. and her little brother was not. he was so tiny. he was already swallowed by the ashes before anyone could react or begin to flee.
she does eventually, when the chamber settles, fight her way back in. Yki'at was her baby brother. her responsibility. she was his big sister. she was scared, so he had to be even more scared. it was her job to find him and make sure he wasn't scared. she'd been doing it for hours now. holding him close. humming to him. letting him play with her hair and her jewelry, which she normally didn't allow. and now he was missing.
she does find him. not alone. there are many to be recovered and the adults have, after numerous attempts that seem to do more harm to the girl then good, she is amongst them in clearing the ashes. she finds him. she doesn't let him go again until her parents remove him from her arms. she holds him for many many hours, humming, and placing her necklace into his hand. memorizing his tiny face.
the eruption didn't end with the plume of ash. it would continue in its chaos for hours and days. spitting lava and rock and smoke until it destroyed everything that once was. shrouding them in suffering. destroying everything, over and over again.
in the end. there are hardly any bodies remaining. every attempt to house and protect them falls through. and many are lost or damaged. and there is no way to bury them for a long time, as the ash is too thick many are cremated, in the end, as their only means of trying to clear the bodies before they brought sickness. and that's where her bundle comes in. in the end. all that she can hold of Yki'at is a bundle of bones, some remains of his loincloth and jewelry, and the unburnt end of his songcord.
it's held with her parents and sister, amongst the few of his things that survived the eruption, when they are able to sift through the remains of Hometree. but eventually, as he mind twists and separates from her family. as her guilt eats her alive. as she begins to hate them (or what she believes is hate. what her mind twists as hate). as she longs for a connection that she lost when Eywa abandoned her and did not take her brother into Her arms. she steals the bundle back, and creates the small doll. she carved the last face she even saw her brother make onto it. so she will always remember he was afraid. she failed. and it was just big enough to hold in her palms. something she can hold. something she can protect.
in her adult years, he mostly remains in a small, cradle-like box near her sleeping mat. like a baby laid to rest. she talks to him. brushes her hand along the box, murmuring hellos and sweet names and little affections to her little brother.
sometimes she carries him with her. worn at her neck. hung from her waist band where she used to hang her own songcord. held in her hand. he is just with her. she is showing him things he can no longer see without her.
before Kexska, in a way, this was her baby. she held onto her grief for years and years. even when her mind turned against the rest of her family. he was still her little one. she misses him.
when she takes in Kexska, she is protective of the doll, children do not understand the value of things or how to be gentle sometimes. that's not their fault. but she does tell Kexska all about him. even if she has only one faded year of memories. she still talks about him. and shares the few items she has of him with her son. and while she tells Kexska he was her brother, the way she "raises them together", and includes Yki'at in Kexska's life, is brotherly in its own way. Kexska sees him as a brother watching out from him from within The Mountain. and when he gets to see the doll, he is very doting, like mama.
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the practice of these dolls actually becomes slightly common amongst the Mangkwan. though it is part of a broader practice of keeping loved ones remains after cremation (onto burning away the flesh and keeping the bones as intscr as possible. the mode the Mangkwan use to process their dead and return them to their center of faith, The Fire. it is a ritual like all other funeral rites amongst the clans. and this fire is one that is known for calling all Figures forward. and where the worship of Soot is most common. as both the ashes of the cremation are sacred and kept in pots ofr use by the family. but so is the soot, which is worn by the grieving), their vines and belongings being used for many things:
to be added to the large totems you can see around the village (these are mad who of both clansmen and enemies bones, as they are meant to be a threat. "we took your warriors, and ours remain in death"). mainly for warriors. "impersonal" and burns associated with combat, like limb bones, are added to totems and village defenses so the warrior can continue protecting the people and scaring off ill spirits and luck.
other items are smaller hanging ones that go in the home or around the village (depends on the person) and can be made up of items of importance to them (a healer may have her ribs formed into a frame to hang herbs. a hunter may have their bones arranged with their arrow heads. a gatherer may have his hand bones used to decorate a basket or pouch to bring good luck).
turned into weapons. similar to the former, by "personal bones" such a parts of the skull, ribs, and spine are more commonly used here. and the weapons are inherited by loved ones.
the extremely faithful may ask before their deaths to be given over to The Mountain, but small totem pieces, like teeth, small bones, or the skull, will be kept by family. skulls are often painted and decorated and kept in the home as is. (unlike the cups or "toys" we see in the visual dictionary. any defiling that comes to a skull is done to an enemies skull)
those without families may have their bones laid to rest at the base of totems. not requesting duty of them, but keeping them amongst the village. or they will be buried in graves.
children are always buried, aside from keepsakes (though the body remains mostly whole. it's normally very small bones that are taken, instead of larger ones like skulls. to preserve the childs innocence and wholeness. like Yki'at was held in a shroud for months until they could clear the ground enough to truly bury him. but Varang took a piece of his already broken femur. it was the only piece of him that went unburied)
parents may allocate their bones to become protective totems or barriers around their childrens graves.
graves tend to depend on the person, their role in the clan, things of that nature. but common sites are either at the base of The Mountain. around the husk of Hometree. or desired sites. (Yki'at was buried by the burnt remains of their spirit tree and Varang is still angry about that)
and as said, the dolls are not super uncommon. but many are cautious in copying the Tsahik so bluntly. but this is something Varang would more or less allow. she is not the only one who wants to hold her lost one forever. it's most common amongst parents.
the clan, in a sense, honors death and has become so used to having to reuse everything, that his death and bone is just part of their day to day life. it is not morbid to them. they are all bones. one day there flesh will return to the fire. their bones will remain. there is nothing wrong with that. so they should be honored and utilized.
