Prior to the arrival of the Dominion in the Pāll-tanír, the end of the monsoon season was celebrated with religious observations, especially in areas where the sun played a central role in regional beliefs as the end of the rains was seen as a "return" of the sun. These celebrations, however, were relatively minor compared to the modern-day Suncatch Festival, which developed as an unforeseen but not necessarily unwelcome consequence of the Dominion's environmental policies.
In 450.29 NL, after it was determined that the geopolitical state of the Pāll-tanír was sufficiently stable following the conclusion of the
Second Great Desert Revolt, the Dominion embarked on a comprehensive ecological survey of the Pāll-tanír. In 472.29 NL, following the release of the report to
the Grand Rookery, it was revealed that fish stocks along the inhabited coastlines of the Pāll-tanír were in decline. The report concluded that, due to the widespread nature of the decline coinciding with settlements on the coasts, growing populations both in the interior of the continent and along the exterior was leading to the implementation of unsustainable fishing practices that were likely to lead to a spiral of decline for the local fish populations.
Shortly after the release of the report, key legislation was passed at the highest level of the Dominion Government, imposing a three-decade moratorium on fishing in the worst-affected areas and a rolling ban on fishing in certain regions of the Pāll-tanír during certain times of the year. In the interest of minimizing the burden on fishers in and around the
King's Bay, who already avoided fishing because of choppy waters and unkind weather during the monsoon season, the ban on fishing in the area was made to coincide with the beginning and end of the heavy rains.
Over time, the first catch following the end of the monsoon season and the lifting of the ban became more and more important until, in 488.29 NL, fishers in Qesrir celebrated the end of the monsoon season and the fishing ban with drinking, music, and a small feast for their families. This is widely considered to be the first Suncatch celebration but it would not be considered a proper festival until 494.29 NL, when the Qesrir city council officially proclaimed it a day of celebration.
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