Felhalanni - Celebrating Time's Passage

Overview

Felhalanni is celebrated all along the Mehr River in honor of someone's transition to a new phase of life. While different cultures and families will have their own versions of it, a typical felhalanni involves a feast, music and dancing, possible gift giving, and always the presentation of new water clock.   Water clocks are a must-have in most river cultures. They're a bowl, commonly made of clay, with a spout. The bowl is filled with water and lines on the inside measure how much time has passed based on how much water has escaped through the spout. Everyone has a personal water clock with engravings in the clay that represent them and their lives.   At their felhalanni, the individual being celebrated reveals a new water clock to represent their next phase of life.  

History

Traditionally, felhalanni was a coming of age ceremony. Children have a small water clock passed down from their parents given to them at birth. At their felhalanni, teens announce their adult name and profession, and reveal a new water clock personalized based on those decisions. In most culture, this is their own felhalanni, the it dictates the rest of their lives.   In Su-mehr Qiamp, seers noticed that many harmful dawns were the result of adults feeling trapped in the life they chose as a teenager. Artisan Tellin Kuyold hosted the first adult felhalanni to celebrate his change in name, which started a slow change to how all Qiampians saw adulthood and their life phases.