Erica
Dragonrider
Posts: 186
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Post by Erica on Sept 1, 2008 4:03:47 GMT -5
I have to ask (and some may feel this is a rather morbid topic) but we all know (within reason) how birth and pregnancy are dealt with in Pernese society. I was prompted this morning to wonder about the other end of the lifecycle and how it is handled. (I’m sure a lot of this is covered in books but please bear with me since I’m without my usual reference library)
What are the mortuary practices for Pern?
We know that dragonriders usually die in ‘fall or due to injuries. Dragons who are gravely injured go between (do they always take their rider with them? If this happens during fall?) Do dragons who have been in the care of dragonhealers but unable to fly or otherwise move (or suffer plague, or whatever illness) when they die, do they have the energy or ability to between themselves? (or do other dragons do this?) In ‘fall the dragon takes them between and there is no body to deal with.
But what about the other instances (such as physical illness) and other inhabitants of Pern?
Do they bury their dead?
If so do they: practice embalming? Or mummification?
Have vaults or crypts for storage? (especially Lord Holder families)? If they do bury their dead, do they have the equivalent of a cemetery?
If they do not bury their dead do they cremate them?
If not, then how are human remains disposed of?
Are there people who are authorized to deal with the handling of remains?
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Suki
Dragonrider
Posts: 104
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Post by Suki on Sept 1, 2008 10:22:55 GMT -5
Hi, Erica -
This is all I remember from the stories:
if a rider is injured slightly during Fall, the dragon will flick 'between' to freeze the Thread, then go back to the fighting.
If a rider is severly injured during Fall, the dragon will flick to 'between' to freeze the thread, then appear at the Weyr as close as is allowed in order to get the rider to medical attention.
If the rider dies during Fall, the dragon takes the rider 'between' and never comes out again.
If a rider dies in his/her Weyr from injuries or sickness or what-have-you, the dragon will immediately leap up and vanish 'between' and never to come out again. The only exception I know of, in 'Moreta's Ride', Moreta and Leri's dragon (not a pair) died together timing the medicine delivery across the continent. Leri and Moreta's dragon knew instantly when it happened, but Moreta's dragon had a clutch on the ground and could not leave her eggs until they Hatched. As soon as they Hatched, however, Leri mounted Moreta's dragon and they went 'between'.
If the dragon dies of his/her injuries, the dragon rider will either try and commit suicide, or live as a dragonless rider (L'tol to Lytol).
In one of the later stories, a sailor's body was sewn into a thick sack with ballast at his feet, and given burial at sea - like the ancient Earth sailing traditions.
And in Moreta's Ride, all the plague victims were burnt - for health reasons, to be sure, but there were ceremonies done at the burnings. But I don't really recall Ann McCaffery really mentioning mortuary services for the Holds in her writings.
For my two cents' worth, I would say that an agricultural society that does not have religion would burn its dead, as the scattered ashes would be good for the crops; and an agricultural society would certainly be into keeping said agriculatural society's soils as healthy as possible.
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Post by Hope on Sept 1, 2008 17:09:21 GMT -5
Erica, we like morbid around here!  The Pernese do not bury their dead because of the thought of the body being out, "defenseless" against Thread. They may bury at sea, as in DragonSong, or burn bodies...more common inland, I'm sure! Dragons can die on the ground...and what a logistical nightmare that is!!!! Crypts are possible for the extremely rich, but I personally doubt it; it just isn't practical to waste the resources. |
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Post by Andrea on Sept 1, 2008 18:03:17 GMT -5
Can you imagine some poor dragonrider being given between duty for holders and crafters who wished it? Just going around in their spare time as a punishment for some wrongdoing (or perhaps some morbid volunteer)? I seem to vaguely recall it being said in the books that bodies were dropped between, but I could be wrong. It's been a loooooooooooooong time since I've read the books.
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Post by Hope on Sept 1, 2008 19:44:52 GMT -5
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they "buried" dragonriders and dragons that died on the ground between. It would be a mammoth undertaking for a dragon, particularly if it were a queen; probably 6 dragons, like human pall bearers, just to get the body into the air.
I don't think dragonriders would be willing to "bury" non-riders that way, nor do I think the holders would want it. Even if an eccentric one did, his family would probably have fits. Much as dragons are revered on Pern...dragonrider culture is not. (That's not a final word on the subject, just my opinion.)
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Andy
Dragonrider
Posts: 75
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Post by Andy on Sept 3, 2008 20:10:14 GMT -5
This is most likely a hold a mark of high honor for the deeds that the person had done in life. In TWD the woman (Telgar?) that went to the Dawn Sisters and was marooned there was returned to Pern by Lord Jaxom and Ruth was interred under a cairn of rocks (I think) Been a while since I read the book
And in the last book written by Todd, the harper buries the holdless children in the earth. So it sounds like just about whatever way is at hand is used.
Andy
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Post by Hope on Sept 3, 2008 20:49:13 GMT -5
OK, I need to know the name of that book so that I can NOT read it. I just can't tolerate children dying en masse, even in fiction.  Take adults, torture 'em, kill 'em, feed 'em to the pigs, and I'm fine. (Fictionally speaking, anyway.) Do that to pets, and i get testy. Do that to kids...well, let's say, don't. It stopped being okay 9 years, 4 months and 17 days ago. Right about the time the entire world changed in a moment, and no one but Charles and I seemed to notice... |
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Post by Anna on Sept 4, 2008 19:02:41 GMT -5
Oh, millions of other folk noticed, Hope. Just at different dates and times. Burial is dependent on location. At the Weyr, burial by between would be the most logical. Even the lower cavern folk could very likely be carried there by a friend or family member, to honor them. Riders would naturally be taken between either with their dragons or by a wingmate/wingleader. Seaholds have burial by sea, as illustrated in Dragonsong. Landlocked holds would vary, depending on several factors. If they have a lot of arable land, they may bury them. If they have rocky land but a lot of cliff-side little caves, then they could be buried in caves which are then sealed. Or they could be cremated. I would say that the burial traditions would vary from hold to hold, and by a family's personal preference (to some degree). |
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Post by janet on Oct 5, 2008 17:41:54 GMT -5
I got the impression that the burial of Sallah Telgar was an extememly unsual event meant to convey the incredible honor and debt they all owed to her. I always favored the idea of cremation but now you have got me thinking. Wood products are precious on Pern and not to be wasted, but there are other ways to cremate a body. Oil or coal aka black rock could fuel the pyre.
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Post by ginnystar on Mar 9, 2010 22:34:22 GMT -5
This is most likely a hold a mark of high honor for the deeds that the person had done in life. In TWD the woman (Telgar?) that went to the Dawn Sisters and was marooned there was returned to Pern by Lord Jaxom and Ruth was interred under a cairn of rocks (I think) Been a while since I read the book And in the last book written by Todd, the harper buries the holdless children in the earth. So it sounds like just about whatever way is at hand is used. Andy ----- janet got the impression that the burial of Sallah Telgar was an extememly unsual event meant to convey the incredible honor and debt they all owed to her. I always favored the idea of cremation but now you have got me thinking. Wood products are precious on Pern and not to be wasted, but there are other ways to cremate a body. Oil or coal aka black rock could fuel the pyre. <sinp> there is black oil in Southern and Igen that can to the mx. AtWoP All the Weyrs of Pern with the burial of Sallah Telgar, It was a small cave that a rock slide open, and they put here there and the masonsmith coverd back up. Mor - Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern NS, Ner - Nerilka's Story Dragon Harper Dragon's Fire: Holdless (Shunned) kids. They all put into a group mound, and waited for the ground to settle after. |
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