The Festival of the Siege of the Hand Eaters is a commemoration of the first battle of the First Tribe. It is more often called the Festival of the Siege, or even Siege. It celebrates the victory that transformed fleeing scavenger folk into the First Tribe. It serves a dual purpose for the Freepath folk. It acts like a Passover celebration with some Valentine’s Day thrown in.
Before the festival, people seek to make amends and repair damaged relationships. Those who make amends during the festival exchange homemade beaded bracelets. This marks that they have resolved differences and have buried the hatchet. This acknowledges that the First Tribe set aside differences and worked together to fend off the Hand Eaters.
Before the Festival young warriors will dress as Hand Eaters. They will sneak around the perimeter of the village, allowing children to see them. When the children warn the elders, the elders will make a show of investigating. The Elders will then announce that the Siege of the Hand Eaters is upon the Tribe.
Tribes mark the festival with a ceremonial reenactment of the Siege. They follow this with a humble feast. They serve wild greens, mushrooms and fish broth soup at the feast to remember the lean times of the early tribe. The tribe does not serve meat beyond the fish in the broth until the festival is over. The tribe also serves no grains (even the otherwise allowed corn). The tribe serves hard cider and mead at the feast, but no corn beer or corn spirits.
On the day, but before the battle, people are to leave a single flower at the doorway of those with whom they wish to start a relationship. Red flowers represent carnal interest. Pink flowers represent romantic interest. Yellow flowers represent platonic interest. Black or purple flowers represent a fraternal warrior interest. Yes, warriors leave flowers by those with whom they wish to quest.) Those depositing the flower may tie a tag or note to the stem. The tag may bear a hint about who has left the flower. The tribe considers it bad form to include their name. Tradition dictates that a person pass out at least one of each colored flower. Recipients hang the flower to dry. And then they display the flowers around the doorway for some time afterward.
After the feast, people attempt to guess who sent them flowers. People guess in private. Nobody wants to embarrass anyone. Those who guess correctly will make a show of walking across the battlefield . They walk with the person who gave them a flower. This can occur many times for individuals. Nobody watching can be sure which bond the two walking are demonstrating. This gives plausible deniability to the participants. Performing the walk is not considered the start of a relationship. Instead it marks an acknowledgement of the feelings of the giver. Some people will purposefully guess wrong if they suspect the flower comes from one they do not like. But in this way, not rejections are public. Only acknowledgements are public, and even then, the acknowledgements are vague.
The symbolism of the combining of the siege and the matchmaking is intentional. Participants are acknowledging that, following the siege, the tribe unified. And they set about forging relationships with their new tribe mates and starting families. The festival has the added benefit of generating a baby boom in late autumn. This means most babies arrive when the harvest comes in and before the Dark Moons arrive.
Professor Harbinger's School for Villains 