Difference between revisions of "Ji'e'toh"
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| − | ''Author: Nairah Tarak'' | + | ''Author: Melisande Arneil Nairah Tarak'' |
| − | == | + | ==Ji’e’toh== |
| − | + | Ji’e’toh is a complex relationship of honour and obligation. Ji, or honour, is balanced by toh, or obligation. Ji’e’toh replaced the code of passive acceptance once held by the Aiel (TFoH, Ch. 2). To Wetlanders, the ideals of ji’e’toh are confusing, to say the least, and for an Aiel to try to explain how ji’e’toh works to one not born Aiel is also very difficult. The Aiel live ji’e’toh every day of their lives, and it permeates their society to their very core (TSR, Ch. 23). | |
| − | + | Simply put, the Aiel are ji’e’toh. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | ==Ji== | |
| − | + | Ji, or honour, is valued above all else in Aiel society. There are many paths to find honour, and it is up to each Aiel to find his or her way along these paths, to garner the highest amount of ji possible. One of the most difficult ways to gain honour is to touch an armed, living enemy without killing him. Being able to kill an enemy is simple; to leave an enemy alive, but one’s captive, is infinitely harder, and thus increases the honour (TSR, Ch. 23). | |
| − | + | When the Aiel laid siege to the Stone of Tear, they took what was referred to as “the fifth,” meaning a fifth of everything held within the Stone. According to ji’e’toh, this is honourable. To take less would have been foolish, and to take more would actually create a loss of ji (TSR, Ch. 22). | |
| − | |||
| − | + | ==Toh== | |
| − | + | Toh, or obligation, can only be determined by the one who has incurred it. To remind someone that he or she has incurred toh is akin to shaming them, and even more ji is lost. Toh must be met, in full, no matter how small or insignificant the act was in creating the obligation in the first place. | |
| − | + | Aiel never lie. To speak a lie is to create toh toward the one lied to. Egwene created toh toward many of the Aiel in a series of events. First, she told the Wise Ones that she was Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah (TSR, Ch. 11). Then she gave her word to Amys that she would not again enter Tel’aran’rhiod alone, but did so anyway. When Amys catches her in her lie, Egwene is told that she has incurred toh toward Amys. To fulfill her toh, Egwene must braid her hair like a little girl would among the Aiel. Amys also warns her that if Egwene lies to her again, Egwene will have to cut her skirts short and carry a doll (TSR, Ch. 35). When Egwene realizes that she has incurred toh regarding her lie about being Aes Sedai, she finds a belt and asks those to whom she has lied to strike her with it (LoC, Ch. 33). Once her toh is met, however, it is forgotten as if it had never happened. Ji is once again restored. | |
| − | |||
| − | == | + | ==Gai’shain== |
| − | + | Gai’shain, meaning “pledged to peace in battle,” according to the Old Tongue, refers to those taken alive in battle. Gai’shain have toh towards their captors, and must serve them for one year and one day. Gai’shain must complete any task given to them humbly and obediently, without complaint. They must also refrain from any violence, and touch no weapons. They wear white robes, so that they are clearly discernible to those around them. Since being meek is not an Aiel trait, and the idea of serving others is laughed at, having to perform both is the acceptable way for an Aiel to regain his or her honour (TSR, Ch. 23; TFoH, Ch. 46). | |
| − | + | Gai’shain normally do not run away, as this increases the amount of ji lost, and their time as gai’shain must begin anew. It has been said that if this occurs, first-siblings have also been known to offer themselves as gai’shain, to try to restore the amount of ji lost by the sept, sometimes more than one, if the loss of ji is felt great enough. A warrior who has been touched while armed may ask to be made gai’shain so as to reduce his enemy’s honour, and minimize his own loss. Wise Ones, blacksmiths, children under the age of fifteen and mothers who have children under the age of ten are exempt from being made gai’shain (TSR, Ch. 23). | |
| − | |||
| − | + | ==Da’tsang== | |
| − | + | Da’tsang means “despised one” in the Old Tongue. Those who have demonstrated that they have no honour are made da’tsang. They wear only black robes, and are given useless tasks to do, such as searching through a pile of sand to find a certain coloured grain, or digging holes and refilling them. This sort of meaningless work is meant to shame the da’tsang into regaining their honour. It takes three Wise Ones to pronounce an Aiel da’tsang, by saying “You are da’tsang” (ACoS, Ch. 40). | |
| − | |||
| − | + | ==Quotes== | |
| − | |||
| − | + | “And the other thing? Taking prisoners. Gai’shain.”<br> | |
| + | Rhuarc and Dhearic exchanged looks, and Dhearic’s mouth tightened. Clearly they had heard, and it made them uncomfortable. It took a great deal to make an Aiel uncomfortable.<br> | ||
| + | “It cannot be so,” Rhuarc said at last. “If it is…Gai’shain is a thing of ji’e’toh. No one can be made gai’shain who does not follow ji’e’toh, else they are only human animals, such as the Sharans keep.” (TFoH, Ch.20) | ||
| + | |||
| + | This situation was simple, or as simple as anything ever was in ji’e’toh. If he had not been so caught up in himself, he would have realized from the first. You could remind even a roofmistress who she was every day she wore gai’shain white – it was deeply shaming, but permitted, even encouraged sometimes – yet for the members of nine of the thirteen societies, that reminder was a deep dishonour except under a handful of circumstances he could not recall. Far Dareis Mai was most definitely one of the nine. It was one of the few ways to incur toh toward a gai’shain, but that was considered the hardest obligation of all to meet. Seemingly Sulin had chosen to meet it by accepting a greater shame, in Aiel eyes, than she had given. It was her toh, so her choice how to meet it, her choice how long she continued to do what she despised. Who knew the worth of her honour or the depth of her obligation better than herself? Still, she had only done what she did in the first place because he had not allowed her enough time. “It is my fault,” he said.<br> | ||
| + | That was the wrong thing to say. Jalani gave him a startled stare. Aviendha flushed with embarrassment; she continually drove home that there were no excuses under ji’e’toh. If saving your child brought an obligation to a blood enemy, you paid the price without quibble. (LoC, Ch. 28) | ||
| + | |||
[[Category:Geography and Cultures]] | [[Category:Geography and Cultures]] | ||
[[Category:Aiel]] | [[Category:Aiel]] | ||
Revision as of 23:03, 1 July 2007
Author: Melisande Arneil Nairah Tarak
Contents
Ji’e’toh
Ji’e’toh is a complex relationship of honour and obligation. Ji, or honour, is balanced by toh, or obligation. Ji’e’toh replaced the code of passive acceptance once held by the Aiel (TFoH, Ch. 2). To Wetlanders, the ideals of ji’e’toh are confusing, to say the least, and for an Aiel to try to explain how ji’e’toh works to one not born Aiel is also very difficult. The Aiel live ji’e’toh every day of their lives, and it permeates their society to their very core (TSR, Ch. 23).
Simply put, the Aiel are ji’e’toh.
Ji
Ji, or honour, is valued above all else in Aiel society. There are many paths to find honour, and it is up to each Aiel to find his or her way along these paths, to garner the highest amount of ji possible. One of the most difficult ways to gain honour is to touch an armed, living enemy without killing him. Being able to kill an enemy is simple; to leave an enemy alive, but one’s captive, is infinitely harder, and thus increases the honour (TSR, Ch. 23).
When the Aiel laid siege to the Stone of Tear, they took what was referred to as “the fifth,” meaning a fifth of everything held within the Stone. According to ji’e’toh, this is honourable. To take less would have been foolish, and to take more would actually create a loss of ji (TSR, Ch. 22).
Toh
Toh, or obligation, can only be determined by the one who has incurred it. To remind someone that he or she has incurred toh is akin to shaming them, and even more ji is lost. Toh must be met, in full, no matter how small or insignificant the act was in creating the obligation in the first place.
Aiel never lie. To speak a lie is to create toh toward the one lied to. Egwene created toh toward many of the Aiel in a series of events. First, she told the Wise Ones that she was Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah (TSR, Ch. 11). Then she gave her word to Amys that she would not again enter Tel’aran’rhiod alone, but did so anyway. When Amys catches her in her lie, Egwene is told that she has incurred toh toward Amys. To fulfill her toh, Egwene must braid her hair like a little girl would among the Aiel. Amys also warns her that if Egwene lies to her again, Egwene will have to cut her skirts short and carry a doll (TSR, Ch. 35). When Egwene realizes that she has incurred toh regarding her lie about being Aes Sedai, she finds a belt and asks those to whom she has lied to strike her with it (LoC, Ch. 33). Once her toh is met, however, it is forgotten as if it had never happened. Ji is once again restored.
Gai’shain
Gai’shain, meaning “pledged to peace in battle,” according to the Old Tongue, refers to those taken alive in battle. Gai’shain have toh towards their captors, and must serve them for one year and one day. Gai’shain must complete any task given to them humbly and obediently, without complaint. They must also refrain from any violence, and touch no weapons. They wear white robes, so that they are clearly discernible to those around them. Since being meek is not an Aiel trait, and the idea of serving others is laughed at, having to perform both is the acceptable way for an Aiel to regain his or her honour (TSR, Ch. 23; TFoH, Ch. 46).
Gai’shain normally do not run away, as this increases the amount of ji lost, and their time as gai’shain must begin anew. It has been said that if this occurs, first-siblings have also been known to offer themselves as gai’shain, to try to restore the amount of ji lost by the sept, sometimes more than one, if the loss of ji is felt great enough. A warrior who has been touched while armed may ask to be made gai’shain so as to reduce his enemy’s honour, and minimize his own loss. Wise Ones, blacksmiths, children under the age of fifteen and mothers who have children under the age of ten are exempt from being made gai’shain (TSR, Ch. 23).
Da’tsang
Da’tsang means “despised one” in the Old Tongue. Those who have demonstrated that they have no honour are made da’tsang. They wear only black robes, and are given useless tasks to do, such as searching through a pile of sand to find a certain coloured grain, or digging holes and refilling them. This sort of meaningless work is meant to shame the da’tsang into regaining their honour. It takes three Wise Ones to pronounce an Aiel da’tsang, by saying “You are da’tsang” (ACoS, Ch. 40).
Quotes
“And the other thing? Taking prisoners. Gai’shain.”
Rhuarc and Dhearic exchanged looks, and Dhearic’s mouth tightened. Clearly they had heard, and it made them uncomfortable. It took a great deal to make an Aiel uncomfortable.
“It cannot be so,” Rhuarc said at last. “If it is…Gai’shain is a thing of ji’e’toh. No one can be made gai’shain who does not follow ji’e’toh, else they are only human animals, such as the Sharans keep.” (TFoH, Ch.20)
This situation was simple, or as simple as anything ever was in ji’e’toh. If he had not been so caught up in himself, he would have realized from the first. You could remind even a roofmistress who she was every day she wore gai’shain white – it was deeply shaming, but permitted, even encouraged sometimes – yet for the members of nine of the thirteen societies, that reminder was a deep dishonour except under a handful of circumstances he could not recall. Far Dareis Mai was most definitely one of the nine. It was one of the few ways to incur toh toward a gai’shain, but that was considered the hardest obligation of all to meet. Seemingly Sulin had chosen to meet it by accepting a greater shame, in Aiel eyes, than she had given. It was her toh, so her choice how to meet it, her choice how long she continued to do what she despised. Who knew the worth of her honour or the depth of her obligation better than herself? Still, she had only done what she did in the first place because he had not allowed her enough time. “It is my fault,” he said.
That was the wrong thing to say. Jalani gave him a startled stare. Aviendha flushed with embarrassment; she continually drove home that there were no excuses under ji’e’toh. If saving your child brought an obligation to a blood enemy, you paid the price without quibble. (LoC, Ch. 28)
