Semari

Aysu's 7th saying

One does not distrust their own talons. One does not question their wings when they catch the wind. Then why would I have reason to suspect a tree to poison its forest, or a hill to betray its valley? Grant to each of these its proper trust, and the land will keep you.

History’s whiteout of the Krest culture halts at the border of the Western Wastes where the Semari people flourish in highly flexible tribal structures. They are the final worshipers of the Balacan, and their belief forms strange eddies in the landscapes as the natural change of forests, plains, swamps and hills ebbs and flows in its rate and extremity. It is for this reason so many find the Western Wastes “unmappable”, but as the Semari slowly fall to the ways of the civilized world this attribute so too recedes.

Religious Practice

Many believe the Semari worship many gods. This is an unfortunate mischaracterization of their simultaneously rigid and flexible religious practice. Though the Balacan can be construed as the many tiny gods representing each tree, creek, stone and hill the belief of the Semari is better described as a wholistic worship of the biome a tribe exists in at any given time. The Balacan’s worshiped are more akin to appendages and digits of the greater Fikcan of the land. Fikcan is like the mind and soul to the land’s body, and cannot be worshiped directly as effectively as its aspects and components may be. Additionally each Semari individual is considered to be or have a Balacan, and death rejoins it with the land’s Fikcan.

Villages

Walking through a Semari village is surreal in its foreignness, the only structure that exists on the ground level is an abundance of simple statues. Each given a unique likeness and carved from a variety of mediums. Squat stone figures in front of boulders, thin willowy wooden forms set amongst the roots of great trees. Above in treetops or on long stilts simple homes are built anywhere from 15 to 60 feet above the ground and are reached one at a time gliding from a level below the next. Animal husbandry and cultivation of crops is nowhere to be seen, and thanks to the unique biology of the Semari little evidence of their presence finds itself within the first six feet above the soil except for the occasional feather.

Culture

Semari believe strongly in respecting the surrounding environment tying its health directly to their tribe’s success in hunting and gathering. A piece of each successful find is returned to the land at the feet of many statues dedicated to different Balacan, and the rest is distributed among the members of the tribe.

Structure

The hierarchy within the Semari tribes is fluid and lacks complexity, sometimes to a confusing degree. To the outsider it would appear that Semari groups do not have leaders, and they would be correct when comparing to more traditional tribal structures like the Yewdi of Strana Gigantov or the Girav gel of the Giravian Archipelago.

Gücmuri

The Semari base any given day’s hierarchy off of the chosen adornments and garments of each individual in the tribe. In a smoothly functioning tribe there will only ever be one Semari wearing the Gücmuri, a crimson red headband, marking them as the current head of the unit. Only those who have come of age may wear the Gücmuri as is displayed by feathers that have been stained bright green from the Yazil flower that grows abundantly in the southern portions of the Western Wastes. According to the Semari people the headband makes its way to each new Semari thanks to the machinations of the Balacan. In the case that a Semari were to wear the headband improperly they would be banished from the tribe until they returned with an adequate image of the Balacan which they took the Gücmuri from so as to apologize for dismissing the will of the Fikcan.

Müjdeci

Around the neck of some Semari sits a necklace where hangs the carved image of a small feather painted golden orange. It is called the Müjdeci and may be voluntarily worn by any Semari who wishes to be seen for the purpose of retelling the many stories of Aysu or his sayings. If one wears the feather and cannot recite at least ten sayings of Aysu they are to be marked as Yalanci for their lies and may not remove the black paint from their feathers that so marks them until they can recite twenty of the sayings from memory.

Art

Though a simplistic society Semari’s long standing traditions of providing the Balacan with imagery has granted them with generations of artistic skill that is passed down from generation to generation. They are expert wood carvers, utilizing simple stone tools to create remarkably intricate works, and some even delve into hewing softer stones with the harder. But amidst these carvings are what nine to every ten Semari treasure most: Susiqab. Hundreds of vessels of varying sizes surround every Balacan’s image with their host of offerings. Made from a special clay found only in the Western Wastes they can be made to react with different naturally occurring substances and reveal vibrant colors. It is the proudest Semari who makes a Susiqab with no trace of mistake.

Izaden

If and only if the Gücmuri permits it or finds it necessary a chosen Semari who has come of age may conduct the Izaden ritual. It involves surrounding oneself with many images of the Balacan, it is the only time these statues are allowed to be moved, and reciting a long poem beseeching the Fikcan for aid in the path that the Semari should take. While the Semari recites, gifts are brought in Susiqab and presented around the ring of Balacan for the duration of the ritual.

The end of the Izaden Rite

In roaming world of changing fleece
Our people find a place
We carve a space from out your flesh
You keep us close at your side
Naught but this we ask of you
For many days and nights
But now we come with Soul open to receive

Oh keeper of Aysu’s grandest form
Though see him not, we know him
His wisdom guides our plighted tale
We know it all
We share it all
Feel our wholeness meet your own
We come with wings open to your winds

Grandest of all is your thousand minds
They see what we cannot
They live and breath a world more complete
Take these gifts
Take this realness of our world
Grant us your explination
We come with minds open to the Fikcan

World Builder Notes

səma insanları Means sky people in Azerbaijani
Balacan is a conjunction of Balaca can (little soul) in Azerbaijani
Fikir translates to mind in Azerbaijani, Fikcan is a conjunction of mind and soul
güc kəməri translates to power sash in Azerbaijani gücmuri is a conjunction of the two
Müjdəçi means proclaimer
Yalançı means liar
Susiqab comes from xüsusi qab meaning special bowl in Azerbaijani
Izah edin means Explain so Izaden means explain in Semari