>What I want to know is what would be the expected punishment for this?
>Would it be
>considered kinslaying and she slain on sight? Would she be branded as a
>traitor of
>some kind and exiled? In the end she gets away, although not unscathed.
>I'm trying to
>figure out what the Orlanthi reaction to this would be.
She's of the same clan? Ouch....
Leaving aside the much vexed and much discussed question of infanticide (YGMV), lets assume the child was old enough to not have the issue clouded by this. The child is assumed to be dead. I assume she declared this to the ring (no Orlanthi wants to be accused of *secret* murder) and then ran very hard.
If this is her birth clan, then its unlikely she will have any allies who would consider supporting her. (The first action in Orlanthi justice is always to work out who's on your side, and what's negotiable). With kinslaying, very little is negotiable. She has killed the child of a powerful bloodline. Her own close kin are unlikely to support her, both because of the politics of the situation and because she has engaged in kinslaying, which is the most heinous crime, taboo and blind spot of the Orlanthi Way.
Kinslaying is very, very rarely negotiable in any form. Her closest kin are already stained by her crime and the shame of it. She will know this ahead of time. She will run. The moot will probably proclaim her an outlaw for life, cutting off her ties of kinship and effectively allowing her to be killed by anyone on sight.
If by chance, she married into the clan, her birth bloodline may attempt some reconciliation. This is unlikely, but in the realms of possibility.
If she thought ahead, she might consider alternative options. Having someone from beyond the clan do the deed will remove the stain of kinslaying and make it *mere* murder. Her complicity will be limited, her outlawry may be reduced to seven years plus geld. If she stays and argues that the child may be alive, she will have to produce the child or risk the charge of *secret* murder - same result really. The uncertainty of not being able to produce the body *may* offer *some* doubt and a negotiating strategy, but it too is fraught with danger and shame.
If driven to break such an awful taboo, or even risk it by abandoning the child, she will know full well what to expect. She will probably run. The clan will proclaim her an outlaw in her absence.
Kinslaying is a very big taboo. I suspect that judicial processes (which are always voluntary and negotiated in Heortling society) will tend to break down unless the offender has **very** powerful allies who are willing to risk staining their own reputation and name. Orlanthi justice cannot deal with kinslaying. The offender runs. The victim's kin risk compounding the abomination by killing the offender, unless that offender is labelled as chaos. This may happen from time to time, but is itself fraught with terrible danger.
The offender will usually exile themselves. The clan may well tear itself with accusations and repercussions for years to come.
The only possibility for an end to exile would be if the child turns up alive. But I'm sure you've got the possibilities here all lined up :)
Cheers
John
John Hughes
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
Hanna Neumann Building 21
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
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