Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb

The Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb, or the Vëtamto, was the Head of a Family, or Žötó-Ýsïb, during the Family's duration within the Ïlýrhonid Tribe. These Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb of all the families together comprised the Alaghúl-Garhifiŋ, or the Council of Law, with one of these being chosen to become the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid. Once a family left the tribe, the authority of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb and the family structure in general invariably and rapidly diminished as tribal formation and cultural and societal interests superceded it.

The main references behind the powers of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb are in the Gaðërïŋ-Tïspamoŋ and the Gaðërïŋ-Hýša, but only fragmentary pieces in both collections remain that talk explicitly about this role. The main ways by which historians have pieced together the information listed here is via documents that mention the actions of these Heads in a larger context, primarily involving tribe-wide issues and events. Although the tribe as a whole was very intricate in its records, the Heads were much more terse, likely treating the role in a more cultural or familial sense than a legal or political one. Thus, all sources are from the tribe's perspective and not the familial perspective.

Powers and Duties

The Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb had autocratic control of their respective family and was mainly in charge of maintaining social and cultural parity with other families. This notion was primarily based on implications of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, which created a belief that no such Family should be 'left behind' in regards to the overarching mission of fending against the Zar-Isyer-Akwor. This belief stemmed from the notion that any family that lagged behind, particularly in upholding the rituals and traditions of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, would become a means by which the Zar-Isyer-Akwor could infiltrate that family and by extension the others.

Beyond this, the Ïlýrhonid Tribe respected the diverse family-specific traditions and generally allowed the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb whatever method of governance as befit the cultural values of the family in question. However, the effective power was dependent on public perception of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb, the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, and the Ïlýrhonid Tribe as a whole. This interconnectedness of tribal interests and reputations would cause the authority of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb to take a nosedive simultaneous to the diminishing power of the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid during the Ýmor-Šapariž and Heta-Ýmor-Vëtam periods.

Religion (Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid)

The Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid, that is, the belief system that pervaded the Ïlýrhonid Tribe, placed heavy emphasis on the collective contributions of all tribal sections in warding away the Zar-Isyer-Akwor. This would quickly become a central responsibility of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb in that they, as Heads, would be responsible for the health of the family and the tribe as a whole, for reasons previously discussed above.

A central part of this was the supervision over holidays, which were viewed as integral towards the warding of the Zar-Isyer-Akwor away. Most of these holidays consisted of ritually burning crops and other resources in a process called Aparaŋ-Ïlýrhonid, and the burning itself would be carried out by the Head, because of safety and also because of the symbolic parallels to Vëtam burning his body in the Ïlýrhonidian mythology.

Civil

Beyond Religion, the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb's duties became much more implied rather than explicitly denoted. The min goal of these civil duties was not to govern the people, to keep the other families and tribal authorities at peace. Given a tribal structure and cultural stance centered inextricably on the collective peace (so to speak), an unstable familial situation would alert other Heads and other families, perhaps stirring instability within their territories too.

After the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid

The Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid would be Abolished in 25025 AYM, and the role of the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb would subsequently transform into that of a civil leader. It was responsible for the family's diplomacy, namely in remedying disputes within itself, but it simultaneously became much more powerful and more responsible for all aspects of the family's health. The tribal situation had reached a point of no return, in which the strains and stresses, both environmental and social, had permanently damaged the tribe's reputation. The Heads thus saw themselves and them alone as the de facto rulers of the families, as the tribal government now had little to no effective authority.

Succession

The Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb was a hereditary role that practiced succession not via primogeniture (firstborn) but via the secondborn child. This is primarily the result of the Ibrófeneð biology; for a typical individual, they do not choose their reproductive gender until the moment they engage in Ýyorhïsïb for the first time. Before that, both genders are available, that is, the gametes for both sexes, called the Mabëžaró, are both present in separate compartments. When Ýyorhïsïb occurs, the individual chooses to secrete one of these, whose gender the individual assumes, while the other is recycled into the body. The side effect of this is that prior to the first instance of Ýyorhïsïb, the body splits the nutrients allotted for the reproductive process to account for either gender the individual chooses, but for future instances, all nutrients are allotted for the gender the individual chose. This results in a much greater amount of Mabëžaró and thus a resultant secondborn offspring that is slightly larger and stronger than the firstborn.

In societal contexts, the secondborn is seen as the true inheritor of the parent's soul and identity. It is for this reason that the Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb operated by secondborn succession. It is also for this reason that any displeasure directed towards the parent ruler would unceasingly be transferred to the child ruler, as they not only were the descendant but also contained an integral part of the parent's identity.

Symbolism

The Hyvamto-Žö-Ýšïb would be an integral part of the Kavamïŋ-Ïlýrhonid through the figures of Hyvam and Vëtam, who founded the Ïlýrhonid Tribe and gathered all 12 families there. Their names form the basis behind such concepts like the Hyvamto, Vëtamto, and the Heta-Ýmor-Vëtam, among others. Hyvam came to signify an overarching ruler of the tribe, the Hyvamto, while Vëtam came to signify the people, the citizens of the tribe. These would be supplemented by relics. Hyvam's two halves of the Оö, that is, the Оö-Ëtavú and the Оö-Ŋüžtú, symbolized the Hyvamto-Rhïlýrhonid and the convergence of the Alaghúl-Garhifiŋ, respectively. The heads themselves were each linked to a part of Vëtam's eight Vëtiš, or legs, which themselves represented legitimacy in the eyes of the populace.