Naming Day

A name is the most powerful thing you own.

— dawr proverb

The dawr do not celebrate birthdays, as such. Sure, the miracle of childbirth is something to praise, but the process is all for naught if the child dies shortly thereafter. Instead, the dawr wait until the twelfth day after the birth. That day is set aside as the given baby's Naming Day where they get a name in full view of all the assembled members of the community.

Giving and Receiving

The ceremony of the Naming Day is usually announced soon after the birth of the child and tends to be held in the latter part of the evening. It begins with a local priest visiting the family of the child and delivering a temporary blessing to protect them from harm on their most important day. The priest then leads the family to the community's temple where the rest of the ceremony occurs.
As the closest thing to an event leader many dawr communities have, the priest blesses 1) the community for having come to see the naming of the child; 2) the parents for having borne the child into the world and for their continued commitment to raising them; and finally 3) the child themself for the life and contributions they will bring to the town.
At that point, the parents proclaim the name they have chosen for their child in full:

(Given name), son/daughter of (father) and (mother), member of (clan name).

The priest then blesses the name itself and the child is ritually fed a spoonful of sanctified sugar, representing the guarantee of a "sweet" life.

Afterparties and Celebrations

Following this, the family of the child hold a party where they invite all of their neighbours and friends to a festive meal at their home. At least one of the parents has to constantly keep an eye on the baby, but otherwise the rest of the community joins them in celebrating the new life. In addition, whenever two babies happen to share a Naming Day, their parties are often combined and held in some public place where a great number of community members can join in the festivities.

Primary Related Location

Endaman

Related Ethnicities

• Brute Dwarves
• Frost Dwarves
• Lintin Dwarves
• Red Dwarves
• White Dwarves

Name Changes

According to the laws of many dawr communities, changing one's name after their Naming day is forbidden. The commonly-given reason for this is that everyone is ritually introduced to the community under that name, so changing one's name would be changing who they are. This would change their whole relationship with the community.
That being said, a growing number of towns and villages, especially in the far north and the far south, have become more and more lenient in this practice. This means that dawr who want their name changed hold a "second" Naming Day where they get the blessings anew. In addition, dawr of the transgender and non-binary communities of Endaman often hold informal "Naming Day" gatherings when they want to have their name changed in secret.