Taalorang Enthronement Ceremony
The enthronement of a new empress takes place three days after the death of the old empress. Rushing to enthrone another is seen as disrespectful. The three days are considered days of mourning; only essential business is conducted.
The empress' heir spends the first of these days sitting with her mother's body as it lies in state in the small shrine on the ground of the imperial palace in Temru. The second day is the former empress' funeral, where her body is buried on an island in Lake Rimra. On the third day, the heir sits in quiet mediation in the shrine, fasting and preparing to rule. The fourth day is her enthronement.
The empress' heir spends the first of these days sitting with her mother's body as it lies in state in the small shrine on the ground of the imperial palace in Temru. The second day is the former empress' funeral, where her body is buried on an island in Lake Rimra. On the third day, the heir sits in quiet mediation in the shrine, fasting and preparing to rule. The fourth day is her enthronement.
Procession
The new empress will have spent the night in the shrine. At sunrise, she leaves the shrine and proceeds to the grand hall of the palace. Traditionally, no one is to fetch the empress, as waking up on time and getting herself to the grand hall promptly is seen as a basic requirement of competency to rule. Realistically, a young serving child is usually sent to bang on the door and then run off a few minutes before sunrise, just in case. This is especially true of enthronements happening in the summer, when sunrise is very early in the morning.
The route from the shrine to the grand hall is a stone path through the imperial garden. The trees lining the path are strewn with colourful ribbons the night before. Commoners are allowed through the gates and into the garden to line the path if they want to see a glimpse of the empress in person. Usually, this means the garden is packed with people, though they are expected to bow their heads and avert their eyes when she draws level with them.
The route from the shrine to the grand hall is a stone path through the imperial garden. The trees lining the path are strewn with colourful ribbons the night before. Commoners are allowed through the gates and into the garden to line the path if they want to see a glimpse of the empress in person. Usually, this means the garden is packed with people, though they are expected to bow their heads and avert their eyes when she draws level with them.
Swearing of Allegiance
Within the grand hall itself, only high-ranking officials are welcome. The governors of each province and representatives of the 11 major ethnic groups in Taalora are present, along with other court officials and royal family They stand along a central aisle leading to the throne and bow as she passes.
The empress sits on the throne, which is on a raised platform against the back wall of the room. The audience turns to face her, and she states her claim to the throne via announcing her name and ancestry, all the way back to the first empress of Taalora. This is mostly a straight list of great-great and so on grandparents, except for the hiccup that occured with the rule of Emperor Osham and subsequent revolt, which caused the title to pass to a second-cousin. This could be considered the most important part of the ancestry, though, because the Tamba family is insistent that they are the true heirs of the original empress in an unbroken line.
Once finishing her list of ancestry, the empress finishes:
The empress sits on the throne, which is on a raised platform against the back wall of the room. The audience turns to face her, and she states her claim to the throne via announcing her name and ancestry, all the way back to the first empress of Taalora. This is mostly a straight list of great-great and so on grandparents, except for the hiccup that occured with the rule of Emperor Osham and subsequent revolt, which caused the title to pass to a second-cousin. This could be considered the most important part of the ancestry, though, because the Tamba family is insistent that they are the true heirs of the original empress in an unbroken line.
Once finishing her list of ancestry, the empress finishes:
In the name of my ancestors, I claim this throne as mine. Do any before me dispute this right?
At this time, someone in attendance could raise a dispute about proper inheritance, but this is exceedingly rare. Anyone who actually doesn't want that empress on the throne is more likely to plot in secret than announce it in public. Thus, it's mainly a ceremonial question. After a polite silence of no answers, she continues. It is considered significant that the empress of Taalora conducts the ceremony and takes the title herself, while other countries often have a significant figure bestow crown their rulers. A ruler who takes their power, rather than be given it, is considered more powerful.
And so I take the title Empress of Taalora. Come before me, now, and pledge your allegiance.
The 8 provincial governors come forward, one by one, and bow before the throne. They pledge their continued loyalty to the empire.
The Feast
At this point, she is now officially the empress. The ceremony moves to the dining hall elsewhere in the palace. The empress has been fasting for a full day now, and is typically ravenous. This is good, as the 11 representatives of Taalora's peoples have each brought a signature dish from their culture and she is expected to eat at least part of all of them.
This is symbolic of her embracing every group within Taalora, and by consuming their offering of food, she is now an honorary member of every group, at least officially. There have been cases representatives not keen on the empress deliberately preparing a foul-tasting dish, but she still has to eat a large amount of it or else cause outrage and offence. She isn't expected to eat 100% of all of them, since there are 11 and the dishes might be large, but she should not seem to prioritize one dish over the others. This can be seen as showing favouritism, even if in reality she just thinks it's tastier.
At the conclusion of the feast, the ceremonial part of the enthronement is over. After this, the new empress often heads out into the city to give speeches, holds meetings with high-ranking officials, gets her government in order, etc.
This is symbolic of her embracing every group within Taalora, and by consuming their offering of food, she is now an honorary member of every group, at least officially. There have been cases representatives not keen on the empress deliberately preparing a foul-tasting dish, but she still has to eat a large amount of it or else cause outrage and offence. She isn't expected to eat 100% of all of them, since there are 11 and the dishes might be large, but she should not seem to prioritize one dish over the others. This can be seen as showing favouritism, even if in reality she just thinks it's tastier.
At the conclusion of the feast, the ceremonial part of the enthronement is over. After this, the new empress often heads out into the city to give speeches, holds meetings with high-ranking officials, gets her government in order, etc.
Related Ethnicities
Cover image:
13th Century Ger
by
Daniel Caruthers