Damvine

Written by EmperorCharlesII

You are there when your elderly Vatarian crewmate takes ill. You see as the disease makes him waste away. He dies just before you put ashore at Miitan and he is given over to his mournful family.
Thankfully you are able to attend the funeral or damvine; you knew him enough by the Vatarian standards, apparently. One of the old man's family gives you the instruction to bring flowers to the beach that night, which sounds equal parts expected and confusing. Why the beach? Don't they use graveyards on the Thousand Stars?
You get there to find a young man in a red robe already drawing glyphs on a small skiff. The surprisingly-chill night air makes you shiver, but you silently place your flowers on the boat. The other gathered mourners nod.
With a flourish, the red-robed man finishes the last glyph, and you watch as the small boat catches fire. Within seconds, the boat is a raging inferno. You lower your head in respect, matching the other mourners. But you can't quite understand the priest (for priest he is) as he begins to speak a prayer in Vatar.
Sobs escape the crowded family, and you can't help but cry as the boat carrying your friend begins to sink beneath the waves...

Execution

The mourners first prepare the body of the deceased by bathing it, then ritually purifying it with various jungle herbs. A priest of Ala'inwë will perform the final rites, committing the soul to the Sea-Shaper's watery chambers in the White Halls.
Following this, the family of the recently dead person will spend the day in the Temple of Ala'inwë, giving their blessings to Him as their relative joins their ancestors in the afterlife. They will each provide a short speech or conversation about what they loved the most about the person, focusing on the positive aspects of the person's life.
As night falls, the mourners will gather themselves at the beach, and they will lay offerings of food, water, and flowers in a small boat or skiff. This represents the dead person's provisions for their journey to the White Halls, as well as an offer of appeasement to the gods. A priest of Ala'inwë will then draw on various glyphs of flame which, when completed, will set the boat aflame and push it out to sea.
The priest then reads the Litany of the Dying, an ancient Vatarian prayer:

My Lord of Waves, your beloved friend (X) has passed from this life. They now travel, their soul searching the hallowed halls of white where you, my lord, await them. Fret not, those who mourn their passing; the Sea-Shaper hears us, and He will take up His favoured one and bring him to His watery lands. They will join their ancestors by the seaside there, until the world ends.

Following this, the mourners promptly head to their homes to rest and recuperate. They do one final prayer before going to sleep, then the ceremony is officially over.

Pronunciation

da-mvi-ne

Related Ethnicity

Vatarian

Materials

Items often used in this rite include:

• Various herbs from the native jungles of the Thousand Stars, including deadbane;
• A small boat or a skiff;
• The services of a priest of Ala'inwë; and
• Flower or food offerings provided by the mourners of the deceased.

History

The first Vatarians did perform this ritual, according to the records of Niganta. It likely was only reserved for the rich, and usually involved a large boat. However, the mass death that occurred during the Drowned Years was so catastrophic that many people were immortalized in this way, and now it is the usual custom among the Vatarian people.

Art Credit: emperorcharlesii (me!)