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Sacred Documents
of the Amazon Nation
Amazon Rights
Right to Challenge (RtC): The
Right to Challenge is afforded to every Amazon in the Nation. The
RtC means that any Amazon may challenge another Amazon to a fight
in order to settle a dispute. (Please note below the Royal Rule to
Rite to Challenge) Once a challenge is made, it must be carried
out to the end. Both the challenged and the challenger may choose
their weapon or their champion to fight in their place; but she
may not choose both champion and weapon. Traditionally, the RtC
was to the death; however Amazon law shall now only bestow that
decision to the Amazon Queen of the tribe. If she is unable to
decide within one day of the challenge, then this decision may be
passed to her Regent.
The rule: only Royal Amazons may challenge Royal Amazons. This
is known as the "Royal Challenge." Only when someone of
royal Amazon blood makes the Royal Challenge, must it be honored.
The victor of the RtC takes her opponent’s title(s),
position(s), and in legal cases where a challenge has been
invoked, the victor is considered right in the eyes of Amazon law.
Right to Contest (RtC): The Right
to Contest may only come from an Amazon of the same house as one
of the challenging parties. If she disagrees with the outcome of a
challenge, she may choose to contest it- thereby declaring her
intent to challenge the ruling. If this happens, both the Queen
and Council of Amazon Elders must be in agreement before any
action is taken. The following are legal and possible measures:
- Allow the contesting party to fight her opponent. The victor
will be the final word.
- Deny the contest, thereby upholding the final end of the
challenge.
- Conduct a closed meeting, whereby both sides present their
cases and the Queen’s judgment is final.
Right to Sanctuary: This Rite is
protected and intended to provide Amazons the power to aid and
protect another outside the Amazon Nation. If the Amazon deems the
need is dire, she may appeal to the Council of Amazon Elders for
her tribe’s sanctuary. The Amazon invoking her Rite to Sanctuary
must make her plea before the Council of Amazon Elders and the
Queen, herself. The deciding parties shall each retain one vote
when petitioned for the right to sanctuary. This vote will be made
with the utmost integrity and immediacy, as needed. A yea vote
will be known when the Amazon rises from her seat. A nay vote,
therefore, when she does not. The decision of the Council and
Queen will be final. The Right to Sanctuary does not currently
include males above the age of seventeen.
Right to Religion (RtR): The Right
to Religion guarantees that any Amazon in the Nation may choose a
religious faith to follow without fear of prosecution or
persecution. However, whichever organized religion an Amazon
chooses to practice, she may never follow any edict or provision
which endangers Amazons or breaks Amazon law. If she acts or
speaks harmfully against the Sisterhood, she forfeits her station
within the Nation and may be expelled or executed. Any religion
that suppresses rights protected by the Amazon Nation is null and
void, and subject to the full wrath of Amazon might.
Pro-Choice Right: This Right
guarantees that every girl and woman in the Amazon Nation may
choose to have a child or an abortion. Furthermore, this rite is
irrevocable and provides that every impregnated Amazon will be
educated fully regarding her options, and her life will be
protected until or beyond the time of birth.
- Full Pregnancy Disclosure: An Amazon unexpectedly
impregnated must provide full disclosure of her pregnancy.
Right to Nok’tana: A nok’tana
is a personal journey or quest an Amazon undertakes, traditionally
by her own choice. Before leaving her tribe, an Amazon must
declare her intentions to leave on this journey and ensure that
her station is securely filled in her absence. While gone, the
Amazon should use the journey to answer questions about herself,
and she may return home to her tribe when she is ready.
- A Latra may not invoke her right to nok’tana during times
of war or any time during which her leadership cannot be
turned over to an adequate successor.
- Any Amazon that leaves on nok’tana without explicitly
informing either her tribe or her Latra forfeits her right to
return to the tribe, unless otherwise decided upon the
unanimous voice of the Council.
Rituals
Combative. Combative rituals are
those that involve Amazon-to-Amazon combat. Used in training and
in challenges, they are dangerous and regarded as…
"The Fire Stakes" Logs
are placed over a deep pit (usually six to eight feet deep). A
fire is lit in the pit and opponents must face each other with
their weapons, using only the logs to stand on. The first to fall
into the pit loses. For training purposes, the pit will not be lit
afire, and the first opponent to lose her balance and fall in will
lose. This ritual is extremely dangerous and should not hastily be
decreed in a challenge. Once decreed, no challenge may be revoked
without the Queen’s sole authority.
"The Ring" In a circular
ring, the two opponents must face off without weapons. A ring of
Amazons lines the outside of the ring itself, staffs held
horizontal. The fighter left standing is the victor. This
challenge is not fought to the death. If one opponent kills the
other, her life is forfeit and may only be spared by the consent
of her entire tribe.
"Stinging Staffs" As the
name denotes, this ritual entails the use of staffs. Though
variations of this exercise (or challenge), exist, the most common
is to place two or more opponents on a "field." The
field may be any shape, length, width, or height. Thusly, the
ground may differ in areas. However, the participants must know
all the boundaries of the field. Any opponent to step out of the
field, whether by accident or incident, is disqualified. The only
weapons that may be used are staffs. If the staff breaks, the
fighter is disqualified. The objective is to strike a total of
three non-fatal blows to your opponent, without being struck
thrice first- and without any part of your body leaving the field.
Rites and
Ceremonies
Initiation. Only female
children of the Sisterhood may be initiated into the Tribe. Seven
days after the infant’s release from the hospital, she must be
taken to the Shamaness who will initiate her into the Tribe. At
this time, the infant’s name will be finalized and the Shamaness
shall present a token of the Tribe – embossed with the symbol of
the Tribe – to her mother.
Naturalization. When a woman
who has already had her first wave or is older than twelve wishes
to join the Tribe, she must appeal to the Tribal Council for
admittance. When it has been determined that the applicant is
worthy of induction, she will be naturalized into the Tribe. The
Ti’Sa will determine an appropriate date for her Naturalization
within a month of her acceptance by the Tribal Council. In this
waiting period, the applicant is allowed to participate in charity
works with her potential Sisters, but is strictly forbidden from
participating in any rites and cannot see the sacred symbols or
the secret documents of the Amazon Nation. When her date of
Naturalization has been determined, the new-Athelfi will be
initiated into the Tribe by the Ti’Sa and presented a token of
the Amazon Tribe according to the stipulations presented above in
the Initiation ceremony.
First Blood.
When it has been determined that a young Amazon has had her first
wave, there shall be a ceremony to celebrate her ascension into
womanhood. This ceremony can be as large or as small as the girl
requests. The Shamaness must be present to confirm the occasion.
During the ceremony, the Athelfi shall be officially inducted into
the Sisterhood and the Shamaness will present her with a necklace
that symbolizes her Tribe.
Last Blood. When an Athelfi
has moved beyond childbearing age, she must receive a rite of Last
Blood. Just as First Blood, it is a celebration of a new era in
the Athelfi’s life. She can have as many or as few Sisters with
her, but the Shamaness must be present to confirm the occasion. No
token of this ceremony needs to be presented, unless the Athelfi
requests such a symbol.
Royal Rite of Caste Ceremony. Queens
may bestow their belongings and title on an Amazon they deem
worthy, should they have no heirs of their own. The formal
ceremony must take place during a full moon. The Latra will
convene the Tribe to ensure that witnesses are present. The
ceremony takes place around the central fire with speeches,
singing and dancing. The main participants are blood-bonded by the
Shamaness and considered closer than blood sisters from that night
on. At the end of the rite, the Latra shall present the Laca with
a symbol of her new status, which is to be worn at all times. This
piece must be small. It may be a hair braid that can be adjusted
as the hair grows, or a ring with the Laca birthstone.
Rite of Caste Ceremony. All
Amazons can bestow their earthly belongings on any other Amazon
they deem worthy. This ceremony is the same as above with the
following differences. In the event that the first Amazon dies,
the other shall inherit all belongings and positions within the
Tribe that the first held. If the inheritor cannot fulfill the
requirements of the position, the inheritor may pass on that
position to another she deems worthy.
Rite of Caste. In extreme
occasions, an Amazon may bestow their rite of caste on another
Amazon without ceremony. This is usually performed only when an
Amazon knows herself to be dying. If this Amazon does die, the
caste is respected as her last request and will be carried out as
if the full ceremony had taken place.
Handfasting Ceremony. When two
Athelfi have made a lifetime commitment to each other, they must
petition the Ti’Sa for a date for the handfasting ceremony.
After consulting her calendars using the dates of the two Athelfi
as a guide, the ceremony shall be conducted. The Ti’Sa, two
witnesses (one from each Athelfi), and the two Athelfi must be
present for the union to be blessed. The Athelfi can write short
vows that will be read at the ceremony. Once the ceremony is
completed – when a cloth embossed with the Tribe’s symbol is
wrapped around both hands –, it is binding and the Athelfi
cannot seek union with others. Such action will result in violator’s
expulsion from the Tribe.
- When two Athelfi of different Tribes wish to commit
to each other, one must seek release from her original Tribe
to be initiated into the other before the ceremony can take
place. She may, however, have her Athelfi from the other tribe
present at the Handfasting Ceremony.
- When an Amazon wishes to be handfasted to a male, the Amazon
must leave the tribe, although she and any daughters she may
bear from the union may return.
- Amazon Law prohibits uniting any two Amazons sharing the
same bloodlines (i.e. true blood sisters, cousins, aunt,
mother and daughter, etc).
Rite of Totems. The Kuk’Tai
performs the Rite of Totems, a sacred and private rite between the
Amazon and the Shamaness. Once performed, the Amazon will discover
her totem, which she will have for the rest of her life. There may
be more than one totem per Amazon, discovered through other means
than the Rite. It is up to the Amazon if they wish to disclose the
totem that protects them.
Rite of Passage. When an
Athelfi dies, she will receive the Rite of Passage that ensures
her safe journey to her afterlife. This ceremony will be conducted
to instructions set forth in her Final Will and Declaration. If
there is not one available, she shall be cremated according to
current state or local regulations and her ashes kept in a sacred
urn. A representation of her body (made of cloth) shall be created
and wrapped in furs, blankets, or other suited cloth before she is
placed on a wood or stone pyre constructed in her honor. A dirge
shall be sung as her body in effigy is committed to flames. The Ti’Sa
will say a final prayer in her name. The Latra, Lyna, or
representative of the Tribal Council must be present.
Mourning Period. The time
during which Athelfi are in mourning shall be no less than one
full day and no more than one full day and night, unless amended
by the Tribal Council. This period shall be a time for repentance
for sins against the fallen Sister and celebration of her life.
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