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Birth in Mugroba

Firstly, birth in Mugroba is a celebrated thing. Long has the desert been a harsh climate, and the success of fertility is celebrated as much in the inhabitants as the land. Pregnancy in Mugroba has always been looked on favourably, universally across the races.

Galdori Birth Culture

For galdori, pregnancy announcements are usually dignified affairs. They invite close friends and family and throw a small party, typically centered around the pregnant woman and the foetus. Though the gender is not known, galdori celebrate each as if the child were a girl, signifying the reliance on female fertility. Small gifts are often brought, but these are mostly for the parents and the child-rearing rather than the child.

A galdori who is spiritual will often open this party with a prayer to her patron god, offering something of emotional significance to bless the pregnancy. Those in attendance who wish to partake in the prayer are welcome to do so, but are not required. It is a party, after all.

Wick Birth Culture

Wicks, like galdori, often throw a party to announce and celebrate pregnancy, but theirs are far more open and boisterous. Entire streets have been shut down in the past, and these block parties are a celebration of the life that is to come. Food, drink and pure, cold water are the centerpoints of these parties, with dancing and fertility scenes portrayed throughout the ceremonies. It is not uncommon for these types of parties to devolve into orgies, though that is not always the case.

The wicks are unique in that they retain the Deep Tek naming ceremony for their infants. Upon birth, the child is subjected to a prayer called the Jaffa'we, which roughly translates to "Name of My Own". The Jaffa'we is a deeply personal ceremony, often performed only by the mother and the infant. Fresh water in sprinkled on the brow of the child, and the mother prays to Hulali for a suitable name, one that will carry the child to greatness and beyond. Many mothers report falling into a meditative trance, and emerge only when they have secured the proper name. There are no cases of a Mugrobi wick named in this way ever legally changing their name.

Human Birth Culture

The humans follow the same customs as other kingdoms, but because they are treated more equally in Mugroba than, say, Anaxas, they are often given better health attention and support. Humans are the fastest growing population in Mugroba because of this, and many are grateful to be so.

Imbali Birth Culture

Imbali adopt the customs of their parent race on the mother's side. However, imbali celebrations tend to be the extreme, opposite of their galdori parents, throwing extravagant and lewd feasts.

Death in Mugroba

Death is Mugroba is handled much like birth: with celebration. Death to the Mugrobi isn't a scary thing, and while each race handles death and burial in their own ways, the true universal is that death is often mourned in private but celebrated in public.

Galdori Funerary Rites

For the galdori, funerary rites are often performed in the names of the Circle, often all of them as a whole. Caskets, ornate or otherwise, are commonplace, and burial plots in the outskirts of the city of Thul'ka or in local graveyards are the norm. Many galdori hold a wake for the deceased, but there is a cultural taboo about mourning. Instead, they discuss the accomplishments and the impact the deceased has had on the world and those remaining, and the wake is often ended with a small dinner prepared by the deceased's family.

Wick Burials

The wicks, on the other hand, hold their dead up in a different way. It is not uncommon for a family to commission an artist to create a work of art in the memory of their loved one, which is then displayed prominently in the deceased's home or grave-site. Because many wicks prefer burial in the water, the banks of the rivers have designated "graveyards" where memorial decorations may be placed. When dedicating these sites to their loved ones, the wicks invoke the name of Hulali to spare the graveyard from flooding. There is a superstition that a flooding graveyard is Hulali's way of reclaiming a follower, and the next child birthed is often seen as blessed because of this. The wicks also hold a sort of wake, but it often is song and dance, aided by those skilled in the Almanac to make the show memorable. More than a few wick burial ceremonies have been recorded and turned into stageplays, songs and poems commemorating the dead.

Human Funerary Rites

The humans observe their dead in far more solemnity than the other races. Though they do not openly mourn, their burial services are far more reserved than the others. They bury their dead in stone caskets, often in the desert outside the city, though this is not considered any less prestigious. The humans are the most likely to record factual records of their dead, rather than stylized or dramatized versions. Their biographical prowess is often coveted by the other races, who ask to make literary works from their records. After the burial, there are often no celebrations or parties, though the humans do offer a drink to the dead.

Imbali Death Culture

For Imbali, dying is often a normal occurrence. Though they often follow similar rituals to their galdori parents, the Imbali are notorious for honouring their dead far longer than the others. Many Imbali will make toasts or blessings out of their loved ones' names, and are often heard blessing their meals, drinks or festivities long after. Examples include, "In Zevera's name, may this food nourish us". Many other cultures consider it strange, but their veneration is seen as normal and polite among the Imbali.

A Note on Tyat Wicks

Finally, the tyat observe funerary rites the most strangely in Mugroba. Close friends and family participate in a funeral pyre for their loved one, and each keeps a small vial or container housing some of the ashes. Some tyat wear these on chains around their necks, while others keep them tucked away for safekeeping. Because the tyat see all wicks as one family, this signifies their closeness to the lost one, and a tyat who finds an errant vial will often keep it as their own, as long as nobody claims it. When doing so, the tyat honours the vial as if it were the ashes of someone they lost. A tyat who empties a vial into a river is performing Hala'cha, a metaphor for returning the earth to the water, or giving their loved one to Hulali. This is a highly personal ritual, and usually means the emotional release of mourning for a tyat.

Ghosts, Possession, and Precautionary Measures in Desert & Nomadic Wick Lore

The esatiqa egúk, or “bloody likeness”, is a malicious spirit in Mugrobi desert and nomadic wick folklore that takes the form of a loved one or an esteemed member of a tribe. The replacement (or possession) is usually indicated by a period of fever and seizures which may render the possessed/replaced individual unable to walk or articulate coherently for a period of weeks; after this, there is supposedly a period of grim, quiet moods, and then increasing instability, until the affected individual finally begins committing murders or other heinous acts.

The phrase úvaqiqa ipili is used in the desert and in some nomadic wick communities to describe a state between life and death in which a soul might be “caught”, especially if the individual died of a fever or “during a dream”. The idea is that if one dies in the midst of a bad dream (or a fever dream), especially if parched, the dream continues into death. This feverish dream-state accounts for the egúk’s bizarre and dangerous behavior. The spirit is to be pitied but ultimately feared.

In some folklore, you can tell an egúk by their manner of speech: supposedly, an evil spirit/possessed individual can only speak in dactylic hexameter. In some Mugrobi tribes, it is said that the person cannot or will not drink water from the Turga (or any connected body of water), and sometimes that the egúk cannot even cross or enter a body of water. It is also said that if asked directly to state their name, the egúk must either tell the truth or remain silent; they cannot say the name of the person they are pretending to be.

While most stories about possession suggest that the egúk cannot be driven out without killing the original person, there is one story wherein a woman was “cured” by being brought to Hulali’s Handprints.