A kega refers to both a gathering of all the
Head Tribesman (and sometimes
Crests) of the
Kivan tribes and the notice sent to the tribes to initiate this gathering. A kega can be either a routine or emergency council, but all Head Tribesmen must be present at minimum. It can be called by any of the Head Tribesmen, and their peers are obliged to gather without question. In the past, the kega would gather at the caller's tribe's current location, but in recent decades
Seishmeb has been used as a neutral ground.
If the resulting gathering is for military mustering, it is known as the
Valnoc. One such memorable occurrence was that called by
Hezath Zalesper in late 985AC, which preceded most of the Kivan tribes pledging loyalty to the
Host of Selephise and the
Violet Accord in the
War of the Six.
Namings
It is seen as arrogant and uncouth for a single person to call even a second kega in their lifetime -- though this is a little unrealistic given it relies on an expectation of peacetime -- and as a result, an unspoken rule has evolved in that each Head Tribesman takes turns being the one to call it, whether it is their affair or not, emergency or not. This facilitates the naming of kegas for posterity, which follows the "[surname]'s Kega of [year]" format. In the event of duplicates, either by the same individual or a family member, other information may be added, such as "[surname] the Younger's Kega of [year]" or "[surname]'s Second Kega of [year]".
Valnocs are rarely ascribed to individuals; in referring to them as "the [year] Valnoc", the corresponding kega and by whom it was called is known without it having to be spoken -- in this manner the Valnoc more appropriately belongs to everyone who participated.
Comments