Shawath
A word of High Shadevan Cultural origin referring to one chosen to be given to the Elamahti of the High Jaggudorn Plateau, a shawath is chosen even today as part of a now elaborate ceremony but not actually given to the Elamahti who are no longer believed to inhabit the Jaggudorns.
The practice of Sheshwathunnah reaches back to the creation according to the legends that the Thracians received from the High Shadevan Tribes who preceded them. Each village or tribal center chose a youth from their number to be given to the Elamahti on a high peak who would claim the youth and bring him among their own, usually never to return to live among mortals. The ancient shamans believed they could then access the immense power and knowledge of the Elamahti by speaking with the soul of the Shawath who dwelt in the immortal register of the Elamahti. Traditionally, the shaman knew the candidate who became the Shawath and some families would intentionally keep their children away from the shaman in the hopes that they would remain untouched. In other cases, powerful families would actually volunteer one of their offspring, believing that he or she would bring more favor to their family. The Shawath by custom needed to have entered into puberty and was typically as young as 13 and as old as 18. It was considered essential that the Shawath be of sound mind and fully capable of speech. A spiritual insight was not considered essential and it was believed the Shawath would dwell in a spiritual realm and therefore not need an additional gift. Other qualifications varied according to the tribe or village. A Shawath could be male or female.
The tribes believed that the Shawath continued to live among the Elamahti, learning of Elamahti ways and eventually becoming fully Elamahti. Before the transformation was complete, the Shawath continued to have an interest in his own people and could be called upon to aid, warn, or inform his family or tribe directly or indirectly through the shaman. After the Shawath's spiritual energy fully became Elamahti, he no longer was interested in his tribe and so a new candidate needed to be chosen. In some beliefs, the Shawath continued his interest in his birth tribe and adding more Shawath increased the power and knowledge of the shaman and her tribe.
Sheshwathunnah was practiced in the high foothills of the Jaggudorns in western Thrace, Gantvia, and Jamenth. With the advent and displacement of the indigenous High Shadevan Tribes by the Gwenyan tribes, Sheshwathunnah continues in a modern form to the present-day, although the youth is no longer taken and the entire practice is ceremonial.
It was considered a great shame for a family or tribe should a Shawath candidate be rejected, that is, not taken by the Elamahti, and usually meant the expulsion of the Shaman or oracle that selected the candidate. Traditional poems record that very few candidates were rejected. Poetic legend also records that even fewer Shawath returned from their dwelling among the Elamahti. The Death of Tavikre Shawath is well known among such poems, retelling the return of one Tavikre a century later to his village where he lived the rest of his life until death.
Various histories place the last true sheshwathunnah in the 1300's which corresponds roughly to the period of time that the Elamahti presence in the Jaggudorns is believed to have vanished for good. The ceremonial aspect of Sheshwathunnah persisted as a celebration for the whole village or tribe even after the Elamahti were thought to have left the Jaggudorns and no longer accepted Shawath candidates. In the present practice, the family or tribe is not shamed to find the Shawath on the mountain, but receives him or her as a token of future prosperity. Various legends explain why this is now the preferred outcome.
See Also
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