Day of Ivory and Ink
The second day of celebrations during the Week of Days in Bedlam. This day honors the cultural legacy inherited by descendants from the orcish Groshkata tribe of the Sandsage Nomads.
Execution
Unlike the Day of Shaking Ground, this day of celebration has little formal structure. Demonstrations, trade goods, and competitions are available all day throughout the city while most of Bedlam's general populace celebrates with contemporary food and drink. Imbibing alcoholic substances or drugs of any kind are frowned upon by the tribal Groshkata culture, but nonetheless are common forms of festival throughout Yvard; Groshkata descendants in Bedlam make a priority of sobriety on this day regardless of their typical substance habits during the rest of the year.
The highlights used to show Groshkata traditions and values include displays of scrimshaw, tattooing, and contests.
The highlights used to show Groshkata traditions and values include displays of scrimshaw, tattooing, and contests.
Components and tools
Scrimshaw
Though very few Groshkata descendants in Bedlam continue the tribal tradition of having carvings or etchings applied to their tusks, the skill transferred smoothly into producing other works in ivory and bone. Raw ivory and bone are available for purchase by vendors and merchants throughout the city, some of which travel great distances to sell their goods on this one day. These items can be bought for personal crafting, or given to a skilled scrimshander for commissioning custom work.
Non-commissioned works of ivory and bone are also widely available to purchase from Groshkata descendants, mostly done in traditional tribal styles. Forelian scrimshanders, despite being world-renowned for their craft, have been denied permission to sell anything but raw base materials during this celebration in order to highlight the tribal styles and traditions of the craft.
Ink & Tattoos
Tattoos play a large part in the tribal Groshkata culture; the Einborn Tattoo Marking System was heavily influenced by the tribe's symbology and concepts. The tribe refused to abandon this proud tradition despite the Marking System's bastardization of its practice, and that pride has endured even to the settled descendants of that people.
Tattoo stations are set up all throughout Bedlam to administer ink to anybody who wants it. Temporary ink pigments are also available for those who would rather not make so permanent a modification to their body. All of the tattooists prepare the inks themselves for the festival and, and their stations are the only tribe-specific tradition available in Bedlam during the entire Week of Days.
The experience and craft of tattooing, rather than the style or symbols of the tribe, are the reasons this pastime is featured so prominently. Very few traditional Groshkata tattoos are actually applied during the festival; the tribal symbols all have meaning and are considered sacred merits that must be earned. Applying one to a tourist simply to make money is considered very distasteful by the wider descendant community of Bedlam, so these are only given to those who have truly earned them according to tribal standards.
Food, Water, and Sand
A foundational concept of the tribe's values is built upon the concept of accepting and facing challenges (for more on this, read about the proper Groshkata tribe). So challenging peers directly during this celebration is a common practice that takes myriad forms. These proposals are generally done in good nature for the sake of fun and end in contests of eating, drinking (consuming water as if it were liquor, for those who honor the tribal tradition of sobriety), and wrestling. There are several contest areas set up in Bedlam's plazas to facilitate impromptu contests as public spectacle; these areas usually feature a stage and a sand pit, both of which are ample places for resolving most commonly-administered challenges during the festival. However, they do nothing for those people who are challenged to remain on the streets during the Day of Rolling Thunder, a serious proposition not made lightly between friends.
Occasionally, the darker side of Groshkata contest traditions are invoked. Despite vigilant attempts by local law enforcement to prevent them, challenges of of combat to the death are still made and accepted almost every year. There's an unwritten rule that if you kill someone in a fatal strength challenge in Bedlam, you leave the loser where they fall with a note that says they were killed as part of a contest. Those who can't write leave a clean, uncarved bone in the deceased's hand to convey the same message.
Though very few Groshkata descendants in Bedlam continue the tribal tradition of having carvings or etchings applied to their tusks, the skill transferred smoothly into producing other works in ivory and bone. Raw ivory and bone are available for purchase by vendors and merchants throughout the city, some of which travel great distances to sell their goods on this one day. These items can be bought for personal crafting, or given to a skilled scrimshander for commissioning custom work.
Non-commissioned works of ivory and bone are also widely available to purchase from Groshkata descendants, mostly done in traditional tribal styles. Forelian scrimshanders, despite being world-renowned for their craft, have been denied permission to sell anything but raw base materials during this celebration in order to highlight the tribal styles and traditions of the craft.
Ink & Tattoos
Tattoos play a large part in the tribal Groshkata culture; the Einborn Tattoo Marking System was heavily influenced by the tribe's symbology and concepts. The tribe refused to abandon this proud tradition despite the Marking System's bastardization of its practice, and that pride has endured even to the settled descendants of that people.
Tattoo stations are set up all throughout Bedlam to administer ink to anybody who wants it. Temporary ink pigments are also available for those who would rather not make so permanent a modification to their body. All of the tattooists prepare the inks themselves for the festival and, and their stations are the only tribe-specific tradition available in Bedlam during the entire Week of Days.
The experience and craft of tattooing, rather than the style or symbols of the tribe, are the reasons this pastime is featured so prominently. Very few traditional Groshkata tattoos are actually applied during the festival; the tribal symbols all have meaning and are considered sacred merits that must be earned. Applying one to a tourist simply to make money is considered very distasteful by the wider descendant community of Bedlam, so these are only given to those who have truly earned them according to tribal standards.
Food, Water, and Sand
A foundational concept of the tribe's values is built upon the concept of accepting and facing challenges (for more on this, read about the proper Groshkata tribe). So challenging peers directly during this celebration is a common practice that takes myriad forms. These proposals are generally done in good nature for the sake of fun and end in contests of eating, drinking (consuming water as if it were liquor, for those who honor the tribal tradition of sobriety), and wrestling. There are several contest areas set up in Bedlam's plazas to facilitate impromptu contests as public spectacle; these areas usually feature a stage and a sand pit, both of which are ample places for resolving most commonly-administered challenges during the festival. However, they do nothing for those people who are challenged to remain on the streets during the Day of Rolling Thunder, a serious proposition not made lightly between friends.
Occasionally, the darker side of Groshkata contest traditions are invoked. Despite vigilant attempts by local law enforcement to prevent them, challenges of of combat to the death are still made and accepted almost every year. There's an unwritten rule that if you kill someone in a fatal strength challenge in Bedlam, you leave the loser where they fall with a note that says they were killed as part of a contest. Those who can't write leave a clean, uncarved bone in the deceased's hand to convey the same message.
Participants
Descendants of the Groshkata tribe are featured throughout the city in various capacities, and any contest areas or performances are supervised by these tribal representatives. Scrimshanders, tattooists, and greeters to tourists are all required to be of Groshkata descent.
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