Other Ideas--The Sisterhood
Many strange communities exist in the vast stretches of wilderness still unexplored by the Citadel. The Sisterhood is one of them. The Sisterhood is not a country per se. Rather it is a loose confederacy of independent estates. Each estate is ruled by a woman who is served by all the men on her estate. They are hers to do with as she wishes. They are her servants, her warriors, her lovers. They live and die at her command.
Girls are preferred to boys. If a Sister gives birth to a girl, immediately the child is hailed as an heir and is raised like a princess. If a Sister births a boy, however, he is tolerated. Once he is weaned, he is sent to the male quarters to be raised as a man.
The men are not effeminate weaklings, though. Though they are slaves of the women, they still maintain their male identity. One way in which this shows is in their secret rituals, such as the Rite of Passage. In this Rite, a boy seeking to become a man must run the gauntlet by passing between two lines of men, each flailing at him with sticks. If he passes through to the other side, he is hailed as a man. If not, he is still a boy. These rituals are often bloody and violent, and the women are not permitted to attend.
The Sisterhood is a stable community…for now. What if one of the men became too rebellious and left the Sisterhood? What if a man tried to lead an uprising against the women? What if the Ark found the Sisterhood? What if a patrol of Sisterhood men came into contact with a column of Citadel soldiers?
Girls are preferred to boys. If a Sister gives birth to a girl, immediately the child is hailed as an heir and is raised like a princess. If a Sister births a boy, however, he is tolerated. Once he is weaned, he is sent to the male quarters to be raised as a man.
The men are not effeminate weaklings, though. Though they are slaves of the women, they still maintain their male identity. One way in which this shows is in their secret rituals, such as the Rite of Passage. In this Rite, a boy seeking to become a man must run the gauntlet by passing between two lines of men, each flailing at him with sticks. If he passes through to the other side, he is hailed as a man. If not, he is still a boy. These rituals are often bloody and violent, and the women are not permitted to attend.
The Sisterhood is a stable community…for now. What if one of the men became too rebellious and left the Sisterhood? What if a man tried to lead an uprising against the women? What if the Ark found the Sisterhood? What if a patrol of Sisterhood men came into contact with a column of Citadel soldiers?
posted by Seth Ben-Ezra at 1/01/1990 01:18:00 AM
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