Life Blanket

A piece of home

This article was written for Summer Camp 2024. Therefore it is unpolished and lacking formatting and information. Feel free to comment with any questions or requests for clarification.

The life blanket (which will probably get a better name) is an important part of Koushan Mai culture. Blankets are woven for each new birth in the clan, usually by the expecting mother. If she is unable to do so, a family member will do it. In the rare case of foundlings that are adopted into a clan, the blanket is woven by a member of the new family.
The blankets are woven with plant-based fibre and dyed with natural dyes, and contain bold geometric patterns. Some of these patterns are also seen in lelashan, the traditional tattoos of the Koushan Mai.
These blankets accompany each person throughout their life, being used in practical ways such as keeping warm, a place to sit, or a temporary shelter from the rain. In the event a blanket is lost or ruined, a new one is woven by the person it belongs to and, if possible, input from the person who made the original blanket. Preferably, parts of the old blanket are woven into the new, though it is recognised that this is sometimes impossible.
It is taboo to touch another's life blanket without permission. Sharing the blanket with someone else is a very intimate gesture.
When they die, their body is wrapped in their life blanket before the final rites are performed. If the body is not present, such as an accident where the body is lost, the blanket will be burned with the belief the ashes will be able to join the person in the Nightlands, the Koushan Mai realm of the dead.