Yemhasin

Greenery fills the wood-walled raised beds and hanging planters of Yemhasin, a community descended from the hurricane refugees of drowned Yamasa. As their original society was highly agricultural, strictly caste-regimented, and blindsided by the Eye of Abendego’s opening, the Yamasans who made it to Absalom were mostly poor farmers and a smattering of higher-caste elites who initially refused to treat the farmers as equals or work alongside them. The refugees had little wealth to barter and few skills relevant to urban life, and they could not practice traditional agriculture in the city, so the first years of their settlement were miserably destitute and fostered a negative image of Yamasans in Absalom. They were particularly stereotyped by contrast with the Lirgeni, who arrived at the same time under similar circumstances but assimilated much more successfully.
Over time, however, the Yamasans found ways to adapt. They built container gardens into and around their homes, relying on traditional building materials to preserve as much of their original cultural heritage as they could, and planted dense clusters of herbs, flowers, and vegetables that reminded them of lost Yamasa. Traditional dishes of pounded root starch were adapted to use different cocoyam species that grew around Absalom. Caste divisions softened and then vanished as younger generations discarded their forebears’ prejudices.

Type

Neighbourhood

Location under

Foreign Quarter