The Greeting

The Sandibari have long known that with the change in seasons comes the influx of the Stenza from the North, and so spend weeks preparing for the occasion. By then the larvae have emerged from the dirt, and the 'alashaia fruits have begun to ripen. The Sandibari have indeed taken a page out of the playbook of their northern neighbors.

History

It is unknown when the Sandibari were first made aware of the Stenza's migration patterns, although it is thought to be remarkably early (and some speculate that they even knew of the similarly regular Proto-Stenza, although oral histories on this are notoriously hard to parse out). However, once they had worked out the system, and that their neighbors were intelligent enough to appreciate their efforts, they began to prepare for the meetings with their neighbors. It is through these preparations that the Sandibari discovered the Stenza were unharmed by the consumption of the 'alashaia fruit (ordinarily quite poisonous to the Sandibari, although Stenza say that the poisonous compound is most of the flavor of the fruit).
In any event, it only took a few short years for the Sandibari to begin codifying preparations for the yearly arrival of their neighbors, and with some changes brought on by the discovery of yet more of their odd habits (including their tendency toward specific forms of ice sculpture). The Stenza invention of food preservation allowed 'alashaia fruits and other formerly perishable goods to be stored for much longer periods of time, affecting the trade of ripe 'alashaia fruits with the Stenza but not by much (no technology known can affect the growth cycle of plant life). Additionally, many Stenza ships come equipped with operational forest decks for Sandibari inhabitants, and in these environments 'alashaia is cultivated for shipment to clan ships, which lack these facilities in favor of quarters and storage of food for large numbers of Stenza.

Execution

The first steps begin weeks in advance of winter, ensuring that the larvae have all emerged safely and monitoring the 'alashaia plants for ripeness, but also rot, blight, and other diseases. Stenza, being remarkably good guests, almost always let the Sandibari know how many to expect and roughly when they will arrive. Sandibari prepare closer to the day by harvesting the ripest 'alashaia fruits, and swarms gather as welcoming parties. Stenza return the favor by sharing Migration's Toast with them, after the suitable libations to their spirits and mulling it so that the Sandibari don't freeze to death by consuming it.
The age of space travel has allowed many traditional Greeting preparations and customs to continue in symbolic form aboard Clan Ships, where 'alashaia can be neatly cultivated separate from the Sandibari themselves in order to avoid accidental ingestion. The Sandibari still insist on helping harvest the fruits.

Observance

The beginning of the Stenza migration cycle is dictated by temperature, delicate changes in air pressure and ionization, and in part by the movements of the stars as the Stenza observe them. As such, the Sandibari have developed their own means of marking this change by noting the changing position of the suns in the sky and eventually determining that Stenza migration patterns begin a few weeks before the local winter solstice.

Primary Related Location

Mudewei