Government of Dathomir

[Satara Hawk]

Dathomir is an oligarchy, meaning few rule. Primary, ancient leadership structure is that of Clan leaders that govern any of the existing clans of Dathomir. With their ancient existence, a Council of Clan leaders has been formed to serve as government on the planet of Dathomir. Each clan leader represents a single vote on the Council. Though a substitute can be sent in the place of a Leader, this must be done solely in dire circumstances.

Among the leaders, there are two head leaders. They are referred to as the Leadership, consisting of one leader of light alignment, and one of dark. Together, these two represent Dathomir as a single entity. Their will is not absolute, nor is it personal, they must communicate with the Council of Clan Leaders if need be.

​

Kytarra Hawk (lightside) ~ TBD (darkside)​

Laws of Dathomir are the highest set of laws on the planet. They are brought by the Council and the leadership, to be enforced by the Leadership on a global scale and Clan leaders on a local clan scale. The purpose of these laws is to ensure the unification of clan stands at all time and forevermore so that the people of Dathomir are never again enslaved by any outsider.

Laws of Clans are ancient laws, standing since time before time. They have been written down long before the unification was agreed upon though ancient laws that fight Laws of Dathomir must take a back seat to the new laws, for the sake of unification and peace.

As Dathomir exists within Mandalorian space, the Leadership and the Council of Clan Leaders support the Mandalorians while all Dathomirian continue to honor the ways of the Witches of Jai. Mandalorian tenets speak of education, defense, family and language, all of which hold true for the Dathomirian people. Together, we can preserve each of our ways against an ever changing galaxy.

The following has been written by Petra Cavataio.

Crime and Punishment
Crimes had many different punishments, but that has changed. For example, when violence is used towards a Dathomirian (regardless of position), they are arrested and held in the clan’s stronghold that criminal was arrested in. Then they are brought to trial in front of the Council. If guilty, the punishment is given by the Clan Leader it happen among. Most of the time, it is a fair and just punishment. The punishment that is handed down can range from enslavement with shock collar to exile from the planet, and even for the severe ones death is ordered for the proper punishment.

Men on Dathomir
This is stated as all Dathomirian know there is a notion by outsiders that witches enslave men, and they are the inferior gender. Over thousand year or so, men being subjugated was the norm, males in the present society are witness to women embracing the ideals of both genders being equal. Yes, some still held to the old ways. However the mass major have made the turn when the clans united, it was made sure that the clans had men on an equal footing, and could lead a clan. While the witches had their training and ways, new order called Jai was created for the men.

Slavery
It has been banned in sense of the old ways. The government does approve indentured servant and willing servants. This is done by supplying room and board, food, clothes, and other means of living. Another rule with the willing is always having the choice for freedom if they decide to leave. As long that is available then the council will not step in. Indentured servant only requires records that their time is applied to the debt owed.

Rancors
Dathomir Rancors are semi-sentient, caring creatures who mourned their family members when they died, and who passed on oral histories of the matriarchal herds into which these rancor organized in to. Their native way of life seems to have been very primitive, using their strength and size to hunt live prey across the planet's savannahs. A symbiosis of rancor sow and female rider seems to have played a major role in dictating the subsequent structure of Dathomiri society. According to the rancors' own traditions, the symbiosis began when a warrior-woman met and healed an injured female; by mounting the rancor's back, her sharper eyesight enabled it to hunt better prey during the day, so that it grew in size and status to become a mighty herd-mother.

Most of Dathomir's rancor population lived in symbiosis with the planet's Witches of Dathomir clans, being used as mounts, and learning to make and use armor and bladed weapons with their help. Rancors of a clan were marked to show clan ownership, but younger ones were not marked and could basically serve as undercover mounts, belonging to no clan. After the years of the New Republic, Tosh the herd leader of the Singing Mountain Clan's rancors, learned to read and write, and began to pass on this skill to other rancors in her group. Then it caught like wild fire to the other rancors herds with present day rancors able to read and write their own language, witches’ language and basic language.

The witches all hold their rancors in high standards and respect but this has not stop some from abusing and manipulate the rancors. Overall, the tone for witches and rancors is the creatures are sentient and spoken to as a person would to another person. They are become family members or best of friends. All tied closely together to better each other. When outsiders sneak in and dare to try to get a rancor for prize, it at times is viewed as an act of war towards the herd and witch clan. Only way of it end is each outsider involved is served as a fest for the herd.

 

[Satara Hawk]

Governmental Rituals​

Below, you will find the rituals supported by the Government of Dathomir. They differ from the rituals of the Force order and do not relate to the advancement or training of Witches and Jai. Each of the following can be taken by personal choice and will hold a sentimental meaning, but because of its governmental sanction, hold weight over all on the planet.

• Wedding/Bonding Ceremony
• Collaring Ceremony
• Naming Ceremony
• Witch's Protection Ceremony
• Funeral Ceremony

 

[Satara Hawk]

Wedding / Bonding Ceremony - Marriage, or the closest thing the Dathomiri get to it, is achieved through the "ritual of bonding". While the idea of a powerful and culturally superior woman attaching herself to one man for years when she could have as many as she wants at any time may see counterintuitive to the ideals the Daughters of Allya support, they are not immune to love. Every once in a while, a Witch finds a single male who seems to turn her into a babbling little girl again. Or, more commonly, she'll find a woman who does the same thing. This isn't to say lesbianism is more common for Dathomiri women - some just have issues seeing men as worthy of deep enough feelings to realize love for a man. Most have no such problems with women.

The ritual of bonding has few of the limits the galaxy at large puts on the idea of "marriage". Partners of any gender can be bonded to each other in a formal, intimate sense. There is not an expectation of a single bond, though those who find themselves the target of too much "true love" draw a bit of suspicion. Several, however, keep multiple bonded servants and one or two very intimate friends close to them.

Unlike many aspects of Dathomiri culture, the ritual itself differentiates little with gender variation style of ceremony. Still all ceremonies are generally presided over by the Clan Leader, and each Clan has their own traditions for what is said at these uniquely important occasions. The only uniform aspect is the end of the rite, during which each party gives the other something to represent their bond. This is generally a small article of clothing to be worn at all times. Servants normally hand-craft a bracelet, anklet, or charm necklace for their owner and lover. Witches and Jai afford much higher-quality gifts, which tend to be magnificent jewelry for other free people or expensive collars for servants.

Since the entire ritual is conducted in Paecean as a rule, translating it to Basic generally involves the words "husband" and "wife". These are not titles inherent to the culture, but their "best guess" analogues in a different language.

-- Petra Cavataio​

 

[Satara Hawk]

Collaring Ceremony – On Dathomir, slavery has changed to willing servants; however it is still very common that the word "slave" is used and roughly as precise as the word "starship". That is to say, not terribly. Servants run the gamut from basic working drones to breeding stock to personal assistants to skilled labor. Since they're such an intricate part of the Dathomiri lifestyle, servants have a kind of culture of their own, though not even a fraction as well-developed as the rest of the world. Much of this culture centers around the collar.

The average servant does not receive a collar immediately. They have to prove their worth in labor, discipline, and conduct. Failure is punished harshly, and continued excellence is rewarded with the status of being collared. While collared, a servant enjoys the benefit of respect from fellow servants, and is generally looked at with more consideration from “free” Dathomirian. Of course, this collar can be taken away, and expressly is as a more radical punishment.

With the amount of importance servants put on their collars (and the amount of attention their owners give them) it's not surprising that there are specific rituals dedicated expressly to the presentation of a servant's collar. The normal ritual is barely a handwave, perhaps a few words spoken by the owner presenting their servant with the collar and some words of dedication, hollow or not, from the servant who's earned it. With more esteemed or important servants, however, and those in softer, more people-oriented positions, rituals can get very elaborate.

-- Petra Cavataio​

 

[Satara Hawk]

Naming Ceremony – A naming ceremony of some type is common to most societies. It is a ceremony where a new born is introduced to his/her community as well as to the Force. It is an important ceremony for the family and friends that are involved even if it does not mean much to the infant at this point in time. It makes the newborn a real and concrete member of the community. It is very important socially, not to mention that it brings the infant to the attention of the powers that be, whatever he/she will call them later, during one of the most vulnerable times of their life.

Naming ceremonies are normally done no sooner than one week after birth (to allow for recovery of both baby and mother from the birth) and normally no longer than a couple of months after the birth (if more time passes the infant is already a part of the community and has probably already been called to the attention of the Force in some way so it becomes a rather moot point). The ceremony is best done at sunrise or at least in the morning and is best if done during a full or waxing moon.

New parents should invite family and friends that they feel will be close during the child’s life. A naming ceremony can be simple and non-Dathomir enough that those of other views of the Force should feel comfortable attending.

Notes:

• This ritual was originally performed in plaza (Clans town square, whatever you want to call it), or any sacred space with clear quadrants will do.
• The Clan Leader over sees and perform the ceremony.
• The ritual can be adapted for a male child, a single parent, or parents of the same gender.
• Elements (earth, wind, water and fire) are used to bless the child while using the cardinal directions (north, east, south and west) for each stage.

-- Petra Cavataio​

 

[Satara Hawk]

Witch's Protection Ceremony - A basic, recently added ceremony on Dathomir primarily used on foreigners arriving to Dathomir. When a male, specifically, arrived on the planet, with a purpose that is without malice, he is greeted by representatives of a clan on whose territory he has arrived to. He must state his purpose and identify himself. If his purpose is decided as one that will not harm any residents of the planet (including people and animals), a member of the clan may provide him with protection so he would not be enslaved or claimed by a Witch of their or any other clan.

Simple, understandable to foreigners, the ceremony is performed before witnesses (often members of one's clan though there can be others).

The Witch providing protection will simply say something along the lines of: "I, Satara Hawk, of the Singing Mountain Clan, provide protection for (name of male), for the duration of their stay. No Witch may claim or enslave this male unless that is their wish." These words hold meaning and the male, in case of wandering off, must invoke the name of the Witch who has put him under her protection and the protection must be upheld.

If at any time, the male choose to be claimed by another Witch despite having protection, this information must be brought to the Witch protector prior to claiming. Only after the Witch protector has given her blessing may the union occur.

 

[Satara Hawk]

Funerals – Clans pretty much do what fits in their ideals. The Nightsisters like to mummify their dead and place them in cocoons that bath them in herbs and oils to slow their decay rate. Even in death, a nightsister still serves the clan as a zombie warrior. They are the only clan that uses their dead in that manner. Morte Clan has a massive mausoleum that houses a large crystal that been used to pull dead force users from their bodies and hold them. They are used like ghosts in a black mist. Mist is summoned to wash over a battle ground so there are ghost-like warriors.

Rest of the clans does not preserve the body of the dead. The clans on the river or close to large bodies of water will place the dead in boats and burn them as they float away. Some might place armor and a few passions on to the boat. The Sarlacci clan feed the sarlacci creature near the stronghold their dead. The land lock clans burn their dead like the Singing Mountain Clan and Great Canyon Clan. One thing all clans have is the entire clan witness and be in the procession when the ceremony happens.

-- Petra Cavataio​