belly wrap

Whether male or female, everyone in the women's villages wears a strip of cloth or leather around their belly from the day of their birth to protect them from spirits that may try to enter their body through the navel. The wrap is worn constantly no matter the weather, even under other clothing that would also cover the belly. It is only removed when washing oneself, and even then it is the last thing removed and the first put back on.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

At its simplest, the wrap is a length of leather cut to the size of the wearer's girth with enough excess to fasten the ends together. Wraps that are woven can be more elaborate, folded and fastened to include pockets.

History

The practice of wrapping an infant's healing umbilical stump predates the villages by at least five thousand years. The women's herding ancestors brought the custom with them when they crossed the mountains into the eastern part of the continent, but the wrap was always removed when the scar healed as part of a naming ritual. As herd groups dispersed through the grazing plains, some varied the amount of time the wrap was left on, but in no case did children stay wrapped beyond the age they learned to walk.
In the multi-year drought that wiped out most of the stronghorn herds, three separate groups banded together to search for water. As the death toll increased, desperation led them to experiment with all manner of talismans and rituals to try to manipulate the spirits, including putting a belly wrap on older children and even adults. This was one of the habits maintained after the drought broke and the bands settled a new home.

Significance

Women believe that spirits are everywhere, carried on air and in water, and can enter the body through any of its openings. They consider the navel to be one of those openings, without a means to close itself. The belly wrap seals it off from spirits that would cause sickness.
In addition to being a protection against unwanted spirits, the belly wrap is a functional piece of clothing. It is a secure place to keep any small object, be it a tool or a snack or a favorite rock.

Item type

Clothing / Accessory

Related ethnicities

• The Women

Rarity

The wrap is so ubiquitous that anyone without it is considered naked, no matter what else she is wearing.

Raw materials & Components

The wrap can be made of anything so long as it has enough length and integrity to wrap securely around the body and stay there during everyday activities. Fur and leather are the most common materials, but they can also be woven or braided from reeds, pipe tree leaves, or small fibers.

View from the future

12,000 years, The Ocean
The modern Ocean cultures understand more about what causes disease, and spirits are not part of their worldview anymore. But hundreds of generations of firm belief has conditioned them to find the sight of a belly button disgusting, and they continue the tradition of keeping the stomach covered.