Cautious at best and extremely xenophobic at worst, the
Rihannsu people have a right to paranoia born of their violent history. The
experience with the Orion pirates of Etosha on ancient Vulcan and during the
journey, the Iruhe, burned a lesson into their minds forever: never trust an
alien. In the mind of a Rihanha, only a pure-blooded Rihannsu person is
worthy of respect and civility, all others are discounted and never trusted. It
is their belief that all other races are inferior and wastes of material and
space, unworthy of either respect or mercy.
Even Rihannsu who are not of pure blood are shunned and treated much as aliens, generally shown neither respect nor mercy. This attitude was demonstrated in the Rihannsu's Treaty of Algeron with the Federation, which was negotiated completely via subspace radio, and through the countless confrontations with the Klingons and Federation.
MNHEI'SAHE
At the center of the Rihannsu code of behavior is the importance of "mnhei'sahe." It is an abstract measurement of a Rihannsu's personal honor and is often used as a status symbol in their culture. Mnhei'sahe, which translates loosely to "the ruling passion," centers around a strong respect and appreciation of honor, duty, courtesy and strength. In all interactions between Rihannsu, it is imperative that all parties leave afterward feeling that their honor and "face," is intact. If not, it is paramount to denying mnhei'sahe to the offended party. If the offending party feels he can apologize without himself losing face, he does so. Wars, executions and deaths of entire households can be required to satisfy mnhei'sahe. If mnhei'sahe is always intact within the Empire, the Rihannsu believe that they can never lose.
If the disgraced party is beyond redemption, those present may simply execute him or recommend he commit ritual suicide by sending him swords in order prevent further disgrace and loss of mnhei'sahe. Above all, mnhei'sahe is sensitive to the context of the situation and is a rather interpretive concept. It is not a specific codified set of rules, but an unspoken understanding which guides the actions of all Rihannsu throughout life. Rihannsu honor their word when it is given to another Rihannha. To break with one's word means dishonor and a loss of mnhei'sahe, a fate worse than death. Politeness, respect, and quiet dignity are always required if mnhei'sahe is to be satisfied.
Rihannsu honor power as much as they honor loyalty. The goal of each Rihanha is power. If not for one's self or House, then always for the Empire. Rihannsu are always loyal to the Empire itself, not to any one person. For the Rihannsu, power can not be defined in the standard Terran terms, but is the power of mnhei'sahe, and it defines the structure within Rihannsu society and the daily decisions each Rihannsu makes.
If you show respect for those around you and are polite in your interactions with other Rihannsu, chances are you have shown mnhei'sahe in your actions. Good roleplaying involves knowing how to properly roleplay a Rihanha and knowing just what the typically Rihannsu citizen is.
Becoming a troublemaker or improperly roleplaying your character affects not only yourself, but every other Rihanha with whom you come in contact. It is expected that at all times, you will behave in an honorable way. Inappropriate childish and immature behavior will be dealt with with disciplinary measures. As an eredh, (student) or citizen you should treat your superiors with respect at all times. This doesn't mean that you can't joke around, but when a situation is serious act accordingly. Failure to treat your superiors with respect and acting without mnhei'sahe is a sure way to earn the wrath of the Tal Shiar and a path to a slow and painful execution.
As a citizen or eredh of the Rihannsu Empire, your behavior, manner, and conduct reflect upon our Empire. The one true goal and duty of all Rihannsu is the glory of the Empire. Wherever you are, your behavior reflects upon the training that you have received at the Phi'lasasam and upon the Empire in general. Do not forget that our duty is to the Empire and that the pristine face that is the Empire should never be marred by your actions. You are to serve the Empire to the death if the Empire so requires it, regardless of the reasons. It is not the place of citizens of the Rihannsu Empire to question their orders or the word of their superiors and the Praetorate. As a Rihannsu, your life is service to the Empire.
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From the following former website: http://www.trekmuse.org/romulan/rombehv.html
D'LATTA
To the Rihannsu, an honorable d'latta (death) is the assurance of a
blissful afterlife in Vorta Vor (heaven). There is no greater honor than
to die protecting one's family, one's house, or one's empire. Rihannsu ask
no quarter in battle and expect no quarter in return. Having no facilities
to detain prisoners, Rihannsu neither take prisoners nor allow themselves to be
taken as prisoners. The last duty of a ship about to fall into enemy hands
is self-destruct.
Among the fleet is a saying, "Live fast, fly high, fight hard, die well." From an early age, all Rihannsu know, and are prepared to accept, that honor and duty will likely require them to die to protect family, House or Empire.
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From the former Romulan Imperium website.
Introduction
What do Rihannsu belief? The answers are as varied as the people themselves. There is no one Rihannsu religion or philosophy. However, there are a few generalities.
Religion is a highly-personal matter. There are few organized or public religions and there has never been a state-sponsored religion, simply because it would not occur to most Rihannsu. Having the government dictate one's religion would be like having the government sanction one's favorite color. What would be the point?
In contrast to this lack of organized religion, religious practices permeate Rihannsu daily life. Traditional ceremonies and governmental and military events typically involve dedications or vows to some deity, power, or potentiality. Starting at an early age, children learn several different faiths, not in the name of cultural diversity, but simply as something every Rihanha should know.
The Four Elements
Air, Water, Fire and Earth. This is the Quatrad that many Rihannsu identify themselves with. The Identification can be from the physical to the metaphysical. Water can be compared to wine, one of its physical forms, but it can also be compared to qualities of calm reason, of birth, or of death.
Some symbols and meanings of the Elements:
Water: the color blue, Wine, Blood, any drink, flowing water, birth,
death, tears, purity, eternity
Air: the color yellow, Name Flag, any
flying bird, starship, wind, weather, the mind, freedom,
unpredictability
Fire: the color red, Star, nova, plasma fire, light,
lightning, explosion, volcano, singularity, the soul, passion,
strength
Earth: the color green, grass, soil, stone, tree, mountain,
valley, building, the physical body, the family, endurance, renewal
The following is a traditional teaching poem about the Elements, still used in a few provinces of ch'Rihan. The original is written in a Rihannsu form known as cyclic verse, which consists of two or more stanzas, the same length and format, discussing different aspects of the same thing or describing one idea from several viewpoints. The order of stanzas in cyclic verse is arbitrary, since they are all equal. This is only one possible Federation Standard translation, since Rihannsu idioms and words have no exact translation in Federation languages.
|
Four Elements are there. Leaping, dancing flames give warmth, give light Four Elements are there. Capricious winds control the sky, |
Four Elements are there. The river runs cold, clean, and clear, Four Elements are there. Mountains rise to pierce the sky. |
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from the website Institute Of Ra’tleihfi, Department of Xenosociology, previously posted at this URL: www.standford.edu/~auerhahn/rihan.html
VARIATIONS ON THE ELEMENTS:
Some Rihannsu religion is similar to the practice of Wicca or Druidism. They have no particular Gods or Goddesses. Rihannsu religion instead centers around 5 elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Space, and the Archelement, which oversees all. In connection with this, the Rihannsu celebrate festivals to honor these elements. Each element has a festival devoted to it, with one culminating festival to the Archelement. Some of these festivals likely date back to the pre-Reformation era on Vulcan as do a few other Rihannsu practices in the area of religion. Though Rihannsu do not preserve ‘katras’ as the Vulcans do, many religious ceremonies retain a distinctive Vulcan flavor.
Surprisingly, there are priests and priestesses of various sects in large numbers. Each element has, in theory, a single sect devoted to it (although in reality, many sects exist for each, some competing at cross purposes. But such is the way of the Rihannsu). There is no central leader to the sects, only a five person ‘Key’. The Key is a group of High Priests and Priestesses (one from each of the primary sects of each element) who hold the sects together and advise the Praetoriate directly when asked. As already mentioned, there are 5 elements -- Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Space. Strangely, there is no sect for the ArchElement, although all sects join together to worship and celebrate it equally. Each of the sects has three scrolls as its basis.
These scrolls govern the daily life of the Elementals and the populace. S’Task and his followers created these scrolls and each tell of tales or legends for easy understanding without misunderstanding the true meaning. Each scroll stands for Mind, Heart, and Soul. Together they are the key to the understanding of the ArchElement. There are many, many rituals, ceremonies, prayers, songs, poems, stories, tales, legends, and sonnets for respect and empowerment.
ELEMENTALS
Then there are Elementals, people whom have special gifts. While the Rihanha are not generally psychic as a race (despite their Vulcan heritage), these Elementals are able to harness the power of the Universe in one or more (but rare), and even rarely all, elements and are considered psychic. Elementals are usually priests and trained for such to be both Elementals and Priests. However, there are very few people outside the priesthood who are Elementals and are never trained. These few are feared and usually vanish, some presume by (or perhaps even, into) the Tal'Shiar. There is no known list of these Elementals, and one in ten million people have such abilities. One in one hundred million harnesses more than one element. One in one ten billion harnesses all elements.
You see the rarity of these Elementals not only in the Priesthood. They naturally have the power and go on to contribute to the race. Elementals carry and create spell books. Also, only Elementals use a form of Runes and glyphs for their second language which mysteriously none learn but all know. Elementals who are not in the priesthood are notorious for their sexual appetites and skill.
There is no black or white in the Priesthood itself, but the rare Elementals are known to be diverse and operate in three ranges: Black, White, or Grey. By using spells, ritual, prayer, runes, crystals and so forth, they harness the power given to them for any purpose they wish.
Some Elementals of Fire are known to be able to withstand and throw bolts of plasma and even control fire and temperature.
Water Elementals are excellent swimmers and manage long periods of time and incredible depths under water. They can also control the temperature of water in any and all forms.
Air is managed by Air Elementals and can control climate and weather, also can throw bolts of electricity at times they also make excellent pilots.
Elementals of Earth are excellent farmers and sometimes predict or control tectonic movements. Also they can create or find gemstones and other interesting abilities with their actions.
There is no known Elemental of Space, but if one existed, it would have been S’Task.
A SENTIENT UNIVERSE
Many Rihannsu consider the Universe itself to have borderline sentience, much as a favored pet. It craves attention, and responds to such (or the lack of it) with affection (or annoyance). They further believe that the existence of a ‘thing’ gives it the right of nobility -- to be honored and appreciated; to be named, and hence to be able to respond to that name.
The Rihannsu language is therefore rich with phrases which acknowledge the sentience of the Universe such as: "Oh Elements, avert it!", "What in the Element's name?", "Elements be thanked!", "Oh Fire & Air & Earth!", "Powers and Elements!", "Elements granting" and so forth.
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Information derived from the following former website: http://home.earthlink.net/~yahxanan/rse/index.htm
Why do so many Rihannsu follow, in one form or another, the faith of the Elements? Even under the most repressive of governments, Element-worship (or any other belief) has never been mandated, or even officially encouraged as such . Freedom of religion is not thought of as a right -- it is a fundamental assumption which is rarely, if ever, questioned. Yet, though plenty of other sects have their share of followers, the majority of Rihannsu still worship the Quatrad. On Earth, under far more restrictive conditions, hundreds of religions have flourished. Why are the planets of the Empire, and especially the Homeworlds, so different?
Part of the answer lies in Rihannsu attitudes towards duty and responsibility, which are rooted in mnhei'sahe. Though one is free, in theory, to believe whatever one wishes, a religion which conflicts with the law or with one's duty is difficult to follow. If mnhei'sahe compels you to abandon your duty for the tenets of your belief, it also compels you to accept the consequences of shame, punishment, or ostracism. Most Rihannsu thus follow some form of Element-worship, because its tenets generally match those of the law -- though there have been notable exceptions, particularly in the past century or so.(1)
Belief systems which conflict with law, science or other seemingly objective truths are another matter. Such religions are much rarer among Rihannsu than on Earth, where they were long dominant. The reasons for this are rooted in history, though differences in human and Vulcanoid psychologies are also a factor.
When the Travelers (the future Rihannsu) left Vulcan (2), they were determined to make a fresh start. They knew that if they took all their culture with them, their new world would simply be a second Vulcan, their ending no better than their beginning. So they chose carefully what knowledge, beliefs, and ideas to keep, and swore to forget the rest, letting their children grow up free of Vulcan's self-destructive taint. Among the things left behind were nearly of all the planet's six hundred religions. They were not, of course, forgotten completely, and the influence of many Vulcan beliefs can still be found in present-day Rihannsu. But by and large, this symbolic book-burning succeeded. Old habits were not easy to break, but few Travelers consciously followed any Vulcan religion.
Belief in the Elements developed gradually during the Journey. It was the first purely Rihannsu religion -- though there had been Vulcan religions which worshipped the names of the Elements, in substance and detail they were utterly unlike the new belief. It would have made very little sense for a people entirely dependent upon technology -- whose lives daily rested on intimate knowledge of their ships' workings and of the hazards of space -- to develop a religion which contradicted or questioned scientific fact. Children who had known nothing but space all their lives, students daily learning the intricacies of astrophysics, would not have accepted myths of turtles supporting the universe or worlds created with a thought. And they had little need (or so they thought) for supernatural explanations of the Universe. What was created, then, was less a religion in the Terran sense than a philosophy or a worldview. It was not so much about explaining what is as about discussing what should be, and what could be done to help things be more as they should. By the end of the Journey, this basic philosophy was accepted by nearly all the Travelers.
Other religions developed (3), but they generally shared the essential characteristics of the first. Until contact with aliens, supernatural mythology was almost nonexistent. After contact, the expansionist phase of Rihannsu history began, and with it came some reversions to the old ways. Isolated colony worlds with low levels of technology developed their own beliefs. Some Rihannsu adopted alien religions, and even Element-worship was profoundly influenced by contact.
But the fundamental philosophy developed on the Journey is still held by the vast majority of the Rihannsu. The only major recent disagreement over religion deals with the adoption of Vulcan practices (i.e. Reunification) (4), and the objection there is made is not to their content, but out of fear that the Vulcans are attempting to sublimate Romulan culture into their own. The Rihannsu fight over many things, but religion is not one of them. The Homeworlds have never seen a religious war.
Ever since the Earth-Romulan wars, Rihannsu government has been becoming more and more autocratic, turning away from many of the ideals held by the first Declared. As a result, an increasing number of Rihannsu have felt their beliefs to be incompatible with current imperial policy and have acted, secretly or openly, against the government on ch'Rihan. One of the most well-known instances of this is the "defection" of the Bloodwing under Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu and the ship's subsequent return to the Homeworld, where t'Rllaillieu and her crew aided in the escape of the Starfleet officer McCoy, on trial for war crimes.
More recently, the traditional ruling body, the seiHehllirh (Tricameron, or Three Houses) has lost much of its authority to a single Praetor, and the role of the Tal'Shiar has gone from searching out intelligence on our enemies to spying upon our own people. Several high-ranking Rihannsu have defected because of the current political climate on the Homeworlds, and many more spread whispers of dissent among the shadows. However, none have yet openly challenged the government, because they fear the appearance of weakness this would present to the other worlds. The Dominion crisis only deepened these fears.
Thousands of years ago, the Rihannsu and the Vulcan were one people. Shortly after they had developed intrasystem space travel, a Vulcan named Surak began to teach a philosophy of emotional mastery and nonviolence. The Vulcan S'Task became Surak's foremost student and disciple. Slowly, Surak's philosophy began to spread, until a plurality of all Vulcans on the planet followed his teachings.
Then, Etoshan pirates (the forerunners of the Orions) attacked Vulcan, intent on conquering the planet and reducing its inhabitants to slaves. This was where the split between Surak and S'Task occurred. S'Task argued that the only way for Vulcan to survive in this dangerous Universe was to fight back against its attackers; Surak continued to advocate peace at any price. Disobeying his mentor, S'Task led the revolt against the Etoshans which destroyed their invasion fleet.
Although their valor had saved Vulcan, Surak continued to condemn the actions of those who had fought the Etoshans. S'Task's following was considerable, though nowhere near the size of Surak's; but both saw that this division would inevitably lead to another civil war. S'Task did not want his people destroyed by fighting amongst themselves, nor did he desire to attack his old teacher, whom he still loved and respected. So he proposed a new solution: leave Vulcan. Building on the technology the Etoshans had brought with them, S'Task and his followers constructed a fleet of ships capable of near-lightspeed travel. Eighty thousand Vulcans left the planet to seek a new one, becoming, in the new language they had created, Rihannsu, "the Declared". They are also known as Havrannsu, "the Travelers," and their centuries of travel are called "the Journey." After 200 years of ship's time, they finally found a new home, twin planets circling 128 Trianguli. They named them ch'Rihan and ch'Havran (Romulus and Remus).
Other Rihannsu religious sects include the S'lleas, or Mother's Weavers, and the worshippers of the D'ravsam or Big Brothers.
I am working on sections describing these beliefs. If you know anything about these or other Rihan religions that you would like to share, please contact me!
The terms "Reunification" and "reunificationists" have been used to describe several different movements among the Rihannsu. One of these simply favors more open communication with our Vulcan cousins, so that we might learn from them and they might learn from us. Both our peoples have, accidentally or deliberately, forgotten much of our heritage; for example, the Rihannsu retain little skill in the mind-arts, and the Vulcan do not remember much of our race's shared history. This group poses no threat to the Empire, though the extreme xenophobia possessed by many Rihannsu causes them to view it with some suspicion.
However, there is a second, much smaller group, which advocates "returning to our Vulcan roots." These dissidents believe that Vulcan ways are superior to those of the Travelers, and wish to become more like Vulcans, 'logical' and unemotional. Some also believe that the Empire should join the Federation and place itself and all its citizens under Vulcan's direction, trusting their "superior wisdom" to bring our people to a higher level of being. Needless to say, this suggestion has not gone over well in the Empire. This group of would-be revolutionaries has so tainted the name of Reunification that all reunificationists, no matter how harmless, are considered dangerous criminals.
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from the website Institute Of Ra’tleihfi, Department of Xenosociology, previously posted at this URL: www.standford.edu/~auerhahn/rihan.html
On Vulcan, before the journey, hundreds of religions existed of every conceivable kind. When the journey began, the Travelers, therefore, also possessed a wide array of religions. No single one dominated the soon-to-be Rihannsu's attention, until one began to be prominent, one that had, amusingly enough, begun as a fad or joke.
On one of the Travelers' news nets on the ship Gorget, some nameless Rihanha left a small dissertation with the title of "Matter as God." She argued that things in the universe noticed, such as well the very object you need disappears - it simply noticed your need to it, and reacted perversely. The Universe itself, then, is borderline sentient, and will react well or badly depending on how you treat it. The tone of this sounds most humorous, and perhaps it did begin as a topic of humor. As the discussion grew larger and larger, the idea was discussed more and more seriously, though never without a little humor thrown in.
The Travelers concluded that because of the very fact that the universe existed, it had the right to be treated with honor, to be appreciated, and had the right to be named. The Universe, they decided, wanted to be ordered and cared for, and treated well, and we are here to serve that purpose. If there are indeed gods, we are merely their tool towards caring for the Universe. We are the caretakers of the less sentient forms of life.
The discussion grew and continued solidly for 78 years. Many of our modern beliefs formed during this time. The idea of rehei, your private, self-found name, originally developed as people used handles during the discussion. Reheiin evolved until they were names you found within yourself and held a profound understanding of who you were. As an extension of this, naming in general was given a great deal of consideration and everything found, be it animal, mineral, or vegetable, was given a well thought out name, the most appropriate name for it. We see the effects of this form of thought as we consider the significance of Rihannsu names today. When one goes through an important change in life, for example, one often renames oneself.
Since no small importance was placed on the Universe's actual physical existance, a side discussion began, defining the elements of the Universe. Thali (Earth), Ralaa (Air), Takar (Fire), and Atla (Water), were decided upon. Some argued that Plasma and Collapsed Matter should count as well, but these suggestions soon faded away, leaving only the original four. Just as some sort of idea of character was placed towards the Universe, each of the four elements had their own personality. The elements became symbols for ideas. When the elements were invoked, they were to bring aid to that idea.
Obviously, this Elemental philosophy, or religion as some might call it, is not the only religion that Rihannsu follow. Some, such as the d'Ravsai religion, have quite a number of followers, yet the Elemental philosophy has ensnared the thoughts of the majority of Rihannsu, perhaps because it is so open to free discussion and debate. There is no single text or pronouncement which must be followed in this respect. The Elemental philosophy is simply the center for Rihannsu theological debate.
When the Travelers reached ch'Rihan, they did so after decades spent in a life on board ship. There was considerable strain on the settlers who were essentially leaving behind the only home they new for a strange world. S'Task calmed many a worried Rihannsu with a few words of wisdom. He managed to turn upsetting, threatening problems into meditation exercises on the Elements, calming the minds of many. Still, S'Task was only one man, and could not help the burdens of so many individuals. Where he left off, though, was taken up by philosophers, those Rihannsu who had spent their time most heavily involved in the discussions on board ship. Together, the philosophers calmed the fears of most and aided many Rihannsu in making difficult life decisions. To this day those who spend their life following the Elements serve as counselors to the Rihannsu people, helping many troubled minds in the day to day difficulties of life.
The Elements became symbols of ideas and those Elements might be invoked to represent those ideas. The most commonly held opinions of these elements will now be discussed. Takar (Fire) represents quick change, anger, and passion, while thali (Earth) represents stability, the lack of change, tenacity and fortitude. Finally, Ralaa (Air) represents adaptability to change, whimsicality, and celerity of thought and Atla (Water) represents serenity, silence, stealth, slow change, love, and seduction. Usually, an individual will adopt one of the elements as his charge, something he feels he represents most and an element he respects. That individual, if interested in meditating on such matters, can become involved with one of the sects.
Whatever sect a Rihannsu citizen belongs to, he should not ignore the other elements and the attitudes they represent, merely recognizing that he favors this particular element. If his only course of action in a situation was to adapt to it, a typical Rihannsu might meditate on Ralaa to help their train of thought, though if he was normally part of the Takar sect, he might find a Takar slant on the whole symbolism of Ralaa.
Often at birth, diviners are called in to determine what element a child will fall under. Often, because children are taught what they were divined as at an early age, they strive to follow the ideals they see as falling under that element. Obviously though, as people change, many become ill-suited for their sect, and consult with a d'Galan, who will be discussed later, for their true element, if indeed they have one.
Each sect has a leader in any given area and it is they who pronounce that sect's judgment on an idea. Usually, sect leaders try to represent the majority of feeling within their followers. Occasionally, the most powerful sect leaders reach the position where they transcend the sects themselves and become a d'Galan, a great seeker. Power does not necessarily equate to meditation progress, and it is mental progress that is necessary to become a d'Galan. Often, Rihannsu on the meditation journey to becoming d'Galan cycle through the sects so they can gain a viewpoint on how the elements work together as a whole in the universe. A Rihannsu who feels he is ready to become a d'Galan often enters into a meditation apprenticeship with an already transcended d'Galan, who determines if he is indeed ready for such a step.
The following are titles that should apply to anyone involved in Rihannsu religion:
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From the former Romulan Imperium website.