Rites of Passage

A Moravskan passes 7 public stages in a life. Each stage has a ceremony, a gift, and a change of rank at the table.

The seven stages [edit]

See Funerary Practices for the last stage.

Birth [edit]

The birth happens at home with a midwife from the lane. A hospital birth is common in the ports after 1960.

The family puts three objects under the pillow of the baby.

1. A copper coin. For a long line and a good hand.
2. A pinch of salt. For the guest bond and a hard head.
3. A piece of bread. For a full table.

The objects stay for 40 days. The mother keeps the coin in a box after that.

The naming [edit]

The family names the child on the 8th day. The name comes from the line, not from fashion.

The rule of names has three parts.

• The first son takes the name of the father's father.
• The first daughter takes the name of the mother's mother.
• A second child takes a name of a living kinsman, and the two share a name day.

A name repeats across 4 generations. A stranger can place a person in a line by the name alone.

The first step [edit]

The family puts a copper spoon and a coin on the floor. A baby who takes the spoon will work with the hands. A baby who takes the coin will work with money.

The test is a game. The family repeats the result for 40 years.

The Pioneer [edit]

At 7 the child takes the red scarf. The ceremony is at school and the parents watch.

The child reads 4 promises. See Education and Pioneers.

The academy entry [edit]

At 10 the child enters an academy. The mother gives a blessing with bread and salt at the gate.

The blessing has 3 lines.

1. "Keep your hands clean."
2. "Keep your name clean."
3. "Come home."

A port mother adds a fourth line for a son who will sail. "Do not whistle on the boat."

The first wage [edit]

At 16 the young worker takes a wage. The rite is called malkata masa ("the little table").

The young worker buys 3 things.

1. A gift for the mother. A scarf, a jar of coffee, or a copper pot.
2. A drink for the father and the men of the line.
3. A round for the work group.

The cost is 1 or 2 weeks of the wage. A young worker who skips the table loses the adult place for a year.

The first voyage [edit]

A young sailor passes a rough rite on the first trip. The crew calls it katran i sol ("tar and salt").

The rite has 3 steps.

1. The crew paints a stripe of tar on the forearm of the newcomer.
2. The cook gives a spoon of salt and a cup of wine.
3. The newcomer puts a coin under the mast step and says one sentence about the sea.

The coin stays under the mast for the life of the ship. A ship that is broken up gives the coins to the crew.

Rites of the house [edit]

Two smaller rites mark the house, not the person.

• The new door. The family puts a coin and a pinch of salt under the threshold.
• The new boat. The owner paints an eye on the bow. The owner writes the name with Ꙟ, if the name holds the sound. See Script and Typography.

The state rites [edit]

The party adds 3 public ceremonies.

A party rite does not replace a family rite. It stands beside it. A family attends both and gives the family rite the better table.

Weak points [edit]

• A family with no son gives the first-voyage rite to a daughter. The crew accepts the change slowly.
• A town family loses the naming rule and the line loses the record.
• The little table costs more each year.
• A party candidate who fails the trial loses face at work and not at home.

Other notes [edit]

• Child-Rearing and Academies
• Courtship and Marriage
• Festivals and Calendar