Splin Mar
The Splin Mar is a right of passage for any young female Marite. It is the celebration of her spliting off from her family and starting her own family. This ussally involves the construction of a new Trimarin, for her and her new family to use. The celebrations involes a large dawn time feast where all the women who are forming thier own families are honored with long speaches and food prepared in their honor. At the end of the feast a nights worth of spiced rendared fat, Bub Acky, is given to each new family and the new families on thier new Trimarins are the first boats sent off into the marsh.
History
This ritual has been around as long as the Marites themsleves. It is so intergral to their culture, that they see the Splin Mar as intergral and as natural as the tides.
Execution
When a young women has found a partner that she wants to stay with for the long term. She decides to start a new family with him. For two days she and her family gather the required materials for the construction of a new Trimarin. During the nights her family and friends builds the new boat. When the boat is ready she can take part in the Splin Mar. At dawn the village gathers in a large feast where traditional foods are served and anybody who wishes to speak can. The speaches ranges from heartfelt blessings, to gentle roasting of her by her friends. At the end of the feast each family member presents the woman with one jar of Bub Acky created using thier own recipe. Since each family spices thier own Bub Acky slightly diferently, this exchange of food is meant to allow her to sample a large collection of different Bub Acky as a way to help her create her own family recipe. Once the Bub Acky is given each new Trimarin is sent off into the dawn with cheers and applasue.
Observance
The Splin Mar happens at the dawn of the day as the Marites start to take down their Thurths and disband their temporary villages. The new famlies are honored and sent on their way before any other Trimarin leaves for the day time sailing and harvesting.
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