The Sea's Blessing

The seas have given us life as long as we can remember and now it is time for their child to experience this gift by becoming apart of it as well. Let these sacred waters be bestowed upon them with the gift of our ancestors the reside within its watery depths. Blessing Excerpt

History

Children of the Sea

Hyperions have always lived their life on the sea more than they do on land. It all the more reason for their children to become apart of it. Before they can even crawl they are placed in the sea to become closer to it. The blessing is an old tradition that is meant to give children who were blessed receive a gift from the sea that will give them a certain boon that will help them in their lives. This can range from being a good swimmer or just being brave it all depends on what their parents want them to be when they grow up. But the blessing is something that links them to the sea for the rest of their lives as they are a part of it now and forever and nothing will ever change that.

Execution

The Rinsing

The main part of the ritual where the priest takes the child from the parents bathed in seawater that that is poured on them from a large clamshell. The child is bathed from head to toe to become a child of the sea and not of the land from they have never walked on it since they were born. The child also has seaweed wrap around their head while their head so can only hear the ocean which is said to sing a beautiful tone that will calm the child down and ensures that they don't fall out of the priest's arms if they struggle. Once the cleaning is done the child is returned to the parent for the priest to finish the ritual.

The Blessing

The priest then takes out a bracelet that is made from a variety of shells that they have gathered before the ceremony and from this bracelet made from them the blessing shall be transferred into it. It is placed into the sea when moonlight is brightest and the old tongue of the sea be spoken to call upon its power. Then the Parents will say the blessing they want for their child and the priest shall say it back and after a few moments the blessing is transferred into the bracelet and given to the child once it is placed on them the blessing is given to them and they officially become a true Hyperion in name and spirit. Once it is over the child is brought home to be cleaned off.

Components and tools

Large Clam Shell: Calm shell makes it easy for scooping up water and as they come from the sea they are used in the ritual as things such as wood and metal have no attachment to the sea and are not used in the Rinsing.
Seaweed: Seaweed has always been considered to have special properties that can strengthen one's connection with the sea and is considered a delicacy as well. But to blind one's senses with is said to let you speak with the sea itself.
Shell Bracelet: Shell bracelets are considered good luck charms that allow the wearer to be protected from misfortune and bad omens.

Participants

Parents: Parents must be present when the blessing is being given as they must ask for the blessing and decided what blessing they want for their child that will determine what they will become when they become older.
Sea Priest: As faithful members of the sea, Sea Priests are the only ones who can perform the blessing as they know the parts of the sacred texts that will grant them the power to grant the blessing.

Observance

It is during the time of the full moon when the tide is at its highest that the blessing must be called upon. At this time the blessing is at its strongest for the child to be received.

Related Ethnicities

• Hyperion