Young females that were entering womanhood walked in a ceremony that had blades or a blade for defense held across their head, that functioned as a headdress, and hair was dressed in braids and other elaborate hairstyles; most of the girls didn’t like the ceremony as they felt it was too outdated. Tradition had to be observed, they were told, that a blade had to be used for defense when there was chaos centuries ago in a time when cities, villages, and towns had been destroyed in large wars and minor conflicts; it was also a time when authority declined, and people of all ages had to learn to protect themselves. The girls in the present time knew how to use the blades, but the period of chaos had almost passed, and the girls believed the edges were no longer of use, but the elders argued that there was still a danger. This danger was still present from scavengers, machines left over centuries ago that would attack people, and hostile artificial beings, but that was hopefully becoming rare. Another argument was the ceremony brought the girls into dreams because as the ceremony progressed, they were brought into a trance that transported them into a dream where many worlds were given to them; they journey to places that never could be imagined, strange and wild locations come to the thoughts of these girls. Some can be lost in dreams. The girls march in a line, then a man with a beard directs them, circles of many lights hover over their heads, then they receive an object differently formed for each girl; once the ceremony is concluded, a golden light comes; this is not something natural.
Perhaps one of the main reasons the elders tried to maintain the ceremony was that they could make political and business connections; there was a lot of food, merchants sold things, and there were so many beautiful contraptions resembling multi-colored balloons sent skyward. It was a way of families perpetuating themselves by finding a life mate for their children when they came to marry. This was sometimes frowned upon by some of the girls because there was coaxing from parents for young men they didn’t like.
Things are changing in the mythical world; people wish that things were to become straightforward. Nothing is simple about this particular fictional world.
To the elders and highly educated leaders, certain traditions were important; they believed this ceremony was necessary if culture and civilization broke down and the girls had to protect themselves.
This seemed ludicrous to the girls; their world was in no way in any twilight and not only to the girls but to the people in general. The high elders were stupid. Many of the girls believed there was a way of keeping them in place; this was also a way of choosing the next chief. A female was always the chief of a village or city. The reasoning had to do with the reproduction of the flowering vagina that gave life.
Learning people from great learning centers were mistrusted; natural intelligence was more regarded, and non-material teachers trained genuine scholars.
Robert J. Matsunaga
