Aradi'upa (Ar-Ah-Dee-You-Pah)
An Aradi'upa is a type of personalized knife given to people in Tunvavvaki culture upon their passage into adulthood. The weapon is unique, being crafted by one of the recipient's family members, and they can vary drastically in size, shape, material, and tooling. They are closely kept personal objects that each person holds unto until their death. After the holder's death, -if the weapon is recovered- their family melts down their Aradi'upa to forge another, signifying their rebirth and last contribution to Tunvavvaki culture in death.
History
Sometimes Aradi'upa find their way to the Yevelian cities in The DCY, outside of Tunvavvaki hands. These few cultural objects typically wind up far from home through greed or desperation; sold by their owners for large sums to private, wealthy, Yevelian collectors. Most Tunvavvaki regard this with horror -with some few people quite literally selling their soul- and this quiet private ownership has become a point of contention between the The Great Ubrashana and the The DCY.
Significance
In Tunvavvaki culture, an Aradi'upa is a physical representation of a person's spirit. This status is signified in rituals like The Test of The Roshiebosk, where a family member of the person's choice crafts and gifts them the knife -showing how they molded the recipient into the person they are now becoming- as well as when a person is banished from their and their knife is taken -showing that they have committed crimes that now leave them soulless. There is further symbolism in the fact that each Aradi'upa is unique, according to the Tunvavvaki belief that each person's soul is also unique.
Item type
Weapon, Melee
Related ethnicities
Many Aradi'upa are engraved by their makers with sigils, runes, and ritual markings to bid their owner longevity and fitness.
Related items
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