The Sacred Hands

A small community of believers with extreme Tactilist viewpoints has maintained, for close to two thousand years, a relatively stable living founded entirely on a reverence for handcraft. Their technological level has remained unchanged despite the advancements made in the surrounding world.

Structure

The Sacred Hands are led by the Keepers' Circle, a council of five members known as Tradition Keepers. Their only contact with the outside world is through a member of the greater Tactilist community, sometimes referred to as "the sixth Keeper", who respects their dedication if not their ideals.

Culture

Tactilists hold that the greatest and most useful tools are those attached to one's own body. This is hardly a view without merit, since no technology can simulate the grip, heat sense, texture recognition, delicately tunable force, and instant and visceral feedback provided by the hand and fingers. Members of the Sacred Hands take this respect a step further in considering hands to be a necessary tool in every kind of work, and that removing hands from the process degrades a person's very humanity. From this it follows that unnecessary tools corrupt the people who use them, and the Sacred Hands believe that those who do not use their hands at all--in particular, water workers--are evil and inhuman. As a further rejection of this evil, all of the Sacred Hands' records are kept using the old Oceanic Era system; they are the only people in the Ocean to still do so.

History

Aclenti named herself and her followers the Sacred Hands in 9976 Oce/128 Vol after being forcibly removed from a Zaiyevi power station. After three more years of failed attempts at disrupting the spread of steam engines, she admitted defeat and set about creating a place where the Sacred Hands could be safe from the corrupting influence of technology. With a company of just over 100, she founded Miridaswi in 9980 Oce/132 Vol. Aclenti herself placed the first stone in the outer ring of their temple, the Palm, on the day they arrived, and the last stone on the day of its completion in 9995 Oce/147 Vol.

Mythology & Lore

The Oceanfolk cosmology holds that the land of death lies beneath the surface of the water, and that people were brought forth from it by First One (or simply "the One") to make the world above the ocean a place of life. Aclenti, the founder of the order, used as a model a non-standard version of the story, in which the One carries in his hands all the pieces that go into making the world, and then finally the people to dwell in it.

Divine Origins

Tactilism as a philosophy has its roots early in the settlement of the Cluster Islands. Around 9700 Oce a difference of opinion arose on the new fashion of using tongs instead of fingers to eat. Advocates of using hands maintained that the tactile sensitivity of fingertips made it possible to identify food contaminants in order to avoid consuming them by accident, and was therefore safer. This became a general feeling that in any given situation in which hands could be used, they should be. The development of geothermal energy 150 years later, which initiated the Volcanic Era, also introduced the beginning of an industrial revolution that challenged the Tactilist ideals, since steam-powered machinery could operate with far greater strength and speed than was possible by hands. As their use grew widespread, Aclenti, a staunch Tactilist, derided the machines as:

"...tools of spoil and waste! Throwing an egg will also make it move faster, if you care nothing for the egg!"

Ultimately Aclenti was unable to stop the tide of mechanization, but never yielded in her beliefs. Finding no welcome on the islands that were benefitting from the new technologies, she and her followers obtained rights to a substantial area of land on Tierq for the purpose of creating a community dedicated to following the example of the One.

Ethics

The ritual handwashing performed by members of the Sacred Hands stems from a typical habit of Tactilists, but is done before any manual task, no matter how small, and is accompanied by a prayer calling on the One to protect the hands, or steady them, or inspire them. A very small number of tools are permitted for tasks too dangerous to be performed directly by hands. One example is the safety saw--the serrated blade is hidden by two spring-loaded guards that barely meet in the middle when at rest. The saw's user separates the guards, sets the piece of wood against the blade, and lets the guards close on either side, then holds the sides of the wood and moves it back and forth against the blade until the cut is done.

Worship

For members of the Sacred Hands, the purest and best form of worship is to perform manual labor with blessed hands. No task is undertaken half-heartedly, since the hands must be blessed again if the laborer switches to another task.

Priesthood

Membership in the Keepers' Circle is determined by occupation.  The five positions are held by the healer, the wagonwright, the schoolmaster, the duryo keeper, and the weaver.  If at any time more than one person has one of those occupations in the village, still only one may be a Tradition Keeper, and that one's designated apprentice will be the following Keeper.  The Keepers' Circle meets regularly to discuss matters pertaining to the village.

Founding Date

132 Vol

Type

Religious, Cult

Leader Title

Tradition Keeper

Deities

• First One

Location

Miridaswi

Related Ranks & Titles

• Tradition Keeper

Controlled Territories

• Miridaswi