Karavan Zorai wearing masks - query

[desdi]

the antekami are still wearing mask but no horns as they cut them as far as i remember.

[certago]

If Karavans would have 3 Arms... and one would turn to become Kami... would you want him to cut that third arm off?

[sehracii]

If Karavans would have 3 Arms... and one would turn to become Kami... would you want him to cut that third arm off?

Probably not... but I'd sure resent them for altering my body before I was old enough to decide for myself if that was the path I wanted to follow.....

[grimjim]

Probably not... but I'd sure resent them for altering my body before I was old enough to decide for myself if that was the path I wanted to follow.....

More of a cultural Zorai thing than a Kami thing per se I think, or the other Kami cultures might do it. Think of it like circumcision.

[tylarth]

circumcision is not a rite of adulthood tho. The Article regarding the ceremony makes it very kami, as it is the kami who put on the mask.

"The Kamis teleport themselves with the children into the Eternal Tree. It is a wonderful place where an everlasting spring reigns, animals live in peace; I still remember the raguses that played with us. It's a pity Atys was corrupted by the Goo and the Karavan.

What about the children, what do they do?

They take part in the adoption ritual. It is composed of four ceremonies.

The first one is collection. The Kamis ask each child to collect certain items, and then the children scour the Eternal Tree for them. When each child has filled his Hai-Phon, a bag weaved by his/her family, the second ceremony can begin.

This is the one of separation. The Kamis invite the children to make the collected items into a figure. The making up must bring the child to distinguish between truth and illusions. This ceremony is very long, every one of them taking their own path. Some achieve it in a few months, others in a few cycles.

The third ceremony is that of purification. The children meditate, focused on their making up in order to free themselves from illusions and lies. There again, this ceremony takes months, even cycles.

The last ceremony is that of adoption. The young homins then go down to the chambers of dreams, hidden deep into the roots of the Eternal Tree. They stay there for a few days, deep in a trance that enables them to initiate harmony with Ma-Duk. During this trance, the Kamis give each child their kinship mask. When the child wakes up, s/he is back in the jungle, not far from Zora and will wear his/her kinship mask forever. From now on, s/he is no longer a child but an adult."

(and a bit later)

I would like to come back to the masks, are they alive, as some say?

Yes, they are alive and delicate, as much as the face of each homin. They are made of bone, of cartilage, of flesh and of sap. Kinship masks are obviously irremovable, who would want to mutilate oneself like that? Such an act would be suicide by the way, a Zoraï cannot survive without his/her kinship mask. Our masks are the reflection of our souls, our passions, our feelings, our fears and our hopes. They are certainly the most intimate part of our selves."

[desdi]

Found my source:

"Not at all!" replied the Matis. "The Zoraï mask is fixed to their soul by Kami magic. To remove it is to lose their vital essence. Just taking off little bits, even that's complete madness. The Antikami don't have any horns on their masks. What's left are the bits they couldn't take off. Hurry up, we're running late."

Part six of stoy of a young fyros.

[tavenni]

circumcision is not a rite of adulthood tho. The Article regarding the ceremony makes it very kami, as it is the kami who put on the mask.

-snip-

I love that quote. Thank you very much for it.

[sprite]

Found my source:

"Not at all!" replied the Matis. "The Zoraï mask is fixed to their soul by Kami magic. To remove it is to lose their vital essence. Just taking off little bits, even that's complete madness. The Antikami don't have any horns on their masks. What's left are the bits they couldn't take off. Hurry up, we're running late."

Part six of stoy of a young fyros.

(bold by me to highlight what I'm looking at)
So the mask is presumably some kami manipulation of the nanoseed then? As far as I can see, all of the zorai lore states that the mask is a "gift" thats is "attached" to the face by a kami; the first mention of nanoseed is in a Q&A (ah, those were the days) saying that the masks are "related to" it.

Whether or not it grows from the nanoseed (which jyudas assumes) or is somehow just attached to the seed by the kami (which I would have assumed) is something I'd like to know.... If the seed is somehow stimulated by the kami to grow out onto the face, thus creating the mask, then presumably the Kami would be able to cause a similar effect in a homin of any race if they so wished. (How's that for a uberhighlvl kami rite reward? )

*imagines Jackoo with a kami mask* O_o

[desdi]

you shall also note that on this guide:

http://www.ryzom.com/documentation/Manu ... e.pdf/view

We can see a zorai without a mask. strange isn't it?

[khyle]

you shall also note that on this guide:

http://www.ryzom.com/documentation/Manuals/ruins_of_silan_starter_guide.pdf/view

We can see a zorai without a mask. strange isn't it?

Not so strange actually. There were Zoraï without masks in the game at one time; or rather not in the game, as this image is from a date even pre-beta...