> Yeah, I wasn't being very clear, was I?
> I'm aware of the Greeting Ritual, but it's hard to imagine that every
>time two Heortlings who don't know each other meet, they go through the
>whole thing. That ritual seems like a ceremony reserved from special
>occasions, such as when two important leaders or warriors or priests meet,
>or when a meeting occurs during a formal public occasion, such as a warrior
>arriving during a feast. It's hard to picture two carls running into each
>other on the road and stopping to go through the Greeting Ritual in a
>situation when, in the real world, a simple "How's it going?" would suffice.
> So, to rephrase the question, how do two average Heortling, carls or
>cottars, for example, greet each other when they meet for the first time at
>a bar, or on the road, or in the marketplace. Is there a short, formal
>greeting, such as the Vulcan "Peace, Live Long, and Prosper" that might be
>used such more casual circumstances? Is there a simple goodbye, maybe
>something like "Strong Breath" or "May your winds blow well"?
It may be hard to imagine from a modern perspective where we casually pass people we don't know every day but in the rural areas of Sartar meeting a stranger is an unusual event. Furthermore there aren't many neutral places like public roads to meet on - the road that enters the clan tula belongs to the clan and just as when a stranger walks up your drive you want to know who they are and why they're there. That's what the Greeting Ritual establishes in a formal way so that both parties are clear about what's meant.
Having said that I think there are some other elements, firstly each individual isn't challenged separately and a group will be known if the leader is known. So a man who brings his children with him to the tribal market will be recognised and the children introduced as kin - they're not strangers. Secondly there are the cities where you do have neutral places and I think the Greeting Ritual can be modified and abbreviated. Whether it is or not will depend on the relationships between the city rulers and their neighbours. Whatever form is used it will be done at the city entrance by some form of gate guard. People within the city will be assumed to be guests. Basically the Heortling social structure doesn't really work for cities and there are all sorts of variations to cope with this.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/ --__--__--
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