Childbirth is, for the most part, a similar experience across all social strata. Home birth is common, and while the wealthy upper class can often afford extra, skilled hands or rarer sourced pain relief, the mid to lower class (often made up of organics mages) are often tended to by experienced family, neighbors, or friends if they can not afford the services of a dedicated midwife or doctor, and rely on tried and true medicine passed down through previous generations. Siphons & Organic Magic Testing
If a siphon is not already present for the birth (many of whom are midwives or doctors by trade, but not always), a siphon is brought to the newborn to test for organic magic, regardless of class. For if they are confirmed to have such, it is a time of great despair within the family, and the newborn will have to start on the compulsory magic suppression regimen at the onset of their powers. See Treatment & Legal Status.
Funerary Rites
While healing magic and thaumaturgical advancements are largely available to those who seek them, death is not an unfamiliar concept to those within the boundary, especially amongst organic mages.
When a person dies, regardless of social class, they are typically taken to the temple nearest to where they lived, or in the case of that being unknown, the nearest temple to where they are found; there, they are prepared for—most commonly—cremation, as there is simply not enough land within the scope of the boundary to facilitate tradtional burials. Mourning, Cremation & Thread of the Soul
The temple freely organizes the preparation of the deceased's body for creamtion as well as the sourcing and building of a funeral pyre, typically made of corpse coal—a process which usually takes a week to prepare.
In that week, rope or braided garlands with six tassels are hung above the thresholds of immediate family or partners of the deceased, identifying them in their community as a household in mourning. The rich may splurge for fanciful and dyed fabric, while those with less to spend may simply make it out of straw and smooth pebbles or shells.
For the week the garland is hung, members of the surrounding community are expected to take turns to help support their grieving neighbors in acts of service like domestic chores or the running of shops. This community support network is especially prevalent in the farmlands or other communities with a high organic mage population, as households often lose a provider in the prime of life—all with the mindset that such help will come full circle in the end. Even in the more affluent households of Central Embrathis, it is considered taboo not to at least attempt to volunteer your time personally, even if it is for nothing more than companionship.
On the final day of the week, mourners then gather at the temple and the funeral pyre. Among the powdered ashes, once entangled amongst the nerves of the spinal cord, lay a piece of Thread of the Soul. This approximately 6-inch golden thread is then cut or given whole to those of the deceased’s kin who wish to bear the threads of their loved one, often predetermined in wills or letters of inheritance.
This piece of “soul thread" is often worn as a secondary symbol of grief for the months or years that follow. Some twist in extra pieces of other cloth or fabric and wear them as an armband, others might plait it into their hair; there is no ‘right’ way to do so or any proper length of time to keep such visible. Some families eventually weave them into a family tapestry along with thread imbued with the ashes of their loved ones as a final form of acceptance that they are gone but not forgotten.
Traditions
TRADITIONS HERE.
Etiquette
ETIQUETTE / SOCIAL NORMS HERE. Or delete if not needed.