ERK - E - N - K
Erk or the ability to use erke as the locals like to say, is defined as the power to fulfill one's desires by the very same locals. Interestingly the words "erkenk" meaning "man" and "erken" meaning "early" shares the same root. Below the belt jokes about erken erkenk local population aside there are interesting social aspects hidden between the wording.
Although erk is the word for authority in the local language, it also has a more general meaning, power. This more general meaning makes one curious about the cultural reasons behind the choice of words.
Although all the population outside of the Tamag are external source, erke, dependent authority holders only men are called erkenk, meaning powerful.
Curiously, outside of Tamag, where erke is the greatest equalizer and makes men and women equally powerful, the accepted social system is patriarchal whereas inside of Tamag, where erke is negligible making men physically more powerful than women, the accepted social system is more egalitarian, sometimes even matriarchial.
Cultural implications aside, despite being as powerful and skillful as their men counterparts in erk, women outside of Tamag is even more disadvantaged than women in Tamag except for a few selected groups.
First of all, women in Acun aren't allowed to work but are allowed to learn and teach erk arts. However, they also expected to pay more than men to learn, but earn less than men to teach. Tamag is the only exception to this rule because you simply can't learn or teach erk arts in Tamag. Just another weakness to abuse the archaic laws for me.
Sexual favors are a common and expected payment method albeit despised on the surface but encouraged behind closed doors. Moreover, despite being expected or sometimes even forced to pay sexual favors to learn erke arts, women are also expected to protect their chastity for marriage, whereas men are encouraged for debauchery which makes only women of rich and powerful backgrounds to be able to marry legally in practice.
Women of Acun are also not allowed to choose the men they are going to marry but are allowed to refuse a candidate which provides a false sense of freedom because only fathers for unaffiliated women and elders for okul affiliated women can choose the candidate. This also includes women of modest backgrounds making most okuls of ill reputation effectively just breeding grounds for powerful and skillful men despite the lack of evidence on the heredity of erk.
Last, but not least, despite being expected to carry all the burden of childbirth and childrearing alone, all women but especially women of modest backgrounds of Acun are also expected to pay dowry to their husbands due to not being allowed to work and thus automatically considered freeloaders in their husband's house.
Not being able to pay dowry is considered an offense to the house both legally and religiously, directly lowering the standing of the said woman to a slave-like status, kul, inferior to even the concubine who can pay the dowry but is still of modest background or skill, usually both.
However, the cruelest tradition considering women of Acun is, without doubt, the treatment of the children of kul. Not being able to pay the dowry makes the woman of kul status unable to claim custody legally, effectively leaving their children to the mercy of the husband of the house and his wife.
Kul, not being allowed to raise their own children unless working in the household like a slave to pay their dowry debt aside, children of kul are also considered illegitimate until either they or their mother pay their dowry debt and childrearing cost with interest, and even then only considered legitimate if both the husband and wife of the house are willing.
This tradition creates a disproportionate amount of illegitimate children, mostly young girls again, due to the husband and wife of the house being not willing to pay dowry unless the girl is extremely lucky, talented, or powerful, usually all of them.
This is also the main reason for the disproportionate amount of women pilgrims traveling through Tamag in the hope of salvation. Poor girls searching for something that would make them important in the eyes of their fathers, teachers, or future husbands.
Even women in Tamag are far better treated than these pilgrims in my opinion but those poor souls are still willing to throw themselves into the fire pit just to find something that would allow them to leave Tamag with some dignity only to start the cycle again.
Pitiful girls with daddy issues...
Essays
Agāh H. Ates
571 AR + 003 AC
