An extract from, Weeks About The Savages by "Lu", an early Juakeh writer on Kanadim culture.
"A youngling, hardly the age of seven cycles, sat in front of the esteemed audience - high caste leaders, of the first three castes. Gathered from many tribes they were, different ornations of feathers, bones, metals and precious stones covered them all in varying places of the form [body]. There I sat also with them, surely the many hundreds in front of us noticed me. Subtly in times not of warring, is not a trait well enmeshed in Kanadim psyche.
For I came attired in formal clothing of the stately merchants of my homeland. My invitation was somewhat untimely, and due to me being of Juakeh descent, there was noticeable disregard of my presence. A sense of indifference and toleration, rather than a kindly welcome is what I felt. My translator - Lo'i, a young scribe of the chiefly sect, educated fairly well in our glorious language, was respectful enough as to not cause direct insult to me - but would occasionally leave desired, gaps in rendering what seemed to be sneers and belittling remarks from those he bothered to introduce me to. The Kanadim tongue is harsh to the ear of outsiders, it is hard to see how one who loses a limb in war, especially the hands, would do well to illustrate a point succinctly. The sun was bright in the sky, a single cloud not about. . He donned the mark of the priestly caste upon his forehead, this youngling, two lines of pale ash colored white (denoting the paths to a level of [afterlife]) with a black third line with intricate patterns, denoting his village and tribe. Bare chested he was but for a simple cloth, brown with yellow painted Si'a characters boldly impressed upon the fabric.
The middle of his head was completely shaved, allowing hair only on both sides, purposefully platted into locks. The young ones gathered made quite the spectacle of this lad’s appearance, not in a disrespectful manner I should say, more in fascination and innocent awe. - I quietly inquired of Lo'i the fashion of his hair as it seemed missing on other high caste, younglings I gazed at the gathering. "It is the style of those who worship the old gods. From the age before, they serve the customs of… less enlightened times." Behind the boy scholar, an old man sat, missing were the flowery ornations of others seated with us. Instead, tattoos covered the man, his hair completely shaved, stone grey eyes he had - an austere demeanor from him I felt. Several individuals, passing by the ancient looking one and the youngling, bowed deeply and gave gifts of foodstuffs next to the old man's right side, before taking their place amongst the crowd... A short stick the old man held to the back of the youngling, it looked like a small dagger but of just wood. A thorn instead of a blade made its tip. Asking of Lo'i the meaning of this, Lo'i pointed to the boy’s lower back. Many small scars, raised and pink spotted all over his lower back. Some sort of religious scarifications maybe I thought.
Lo'i shook his head slowly, "no, the stick is a deterrent for the boy not to make an error in reciting their scriptures". I tried to hide my shock with a deliberate slow nod, less enlightened times indeed, I thought to myself silently. The old man raised the correction stick straight into the air. The crowd came surely to a hush. A tap from the old one to the right shoulder of the boy was his signal. Swaying from left to right, as if in a trance, the boy suddenly stopped. Inhaled a big breath and in a measured tone, loud but not hoarse – a type of melodic chanting, rendered the following verse as Lo’i recounted them in my ear, "Moon. mounts the Sun. Stars. Of the nine heavens. Look upon us… bring down a favor of the [shadows].""