Re: Social classes (was Re: Aussie pronounciation WAS: The King of Glottal Stops ReignsSupreme!)

En réponse à Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>:

  There were also a fairly large number
> of
> slaves, perhaps 10% of the population.  Slaves were subdivided into
> several classes.  There were life-slaves, who were the closest
> equivalent to the common idea of slave in our culture.  These were
> generally sterilized by removal of the pouch (the speakers are
> marsupial).  Then there were time-slaves, who were sentenced to a
> period
> of slavery for a specific period as punishment for a crime.  After the
> time was up, they became Houseless.  Finally there were debt-slaves,
> who
> were enslaved to pay off a debt.  When the debt was paid, they
> returned
> to their Houses.
>
Interesting. I've discovered a while ago that Itakians, when dealing with
wrongdoings committed within the Itakian community, by Itakians against other
Itakians, often resort to slavery where we would resort to imprisonment
(Itakians never use the justice of the country they live in, unless the
wrongdoing has been committed by a non-Itakian against an Itakian. And even
then, it's likely that before giving him to justice they will have punished him
already in a way or another). Typically, if some Itakian has committed a
wrongdoing against another Itakian, he'll have to serve the person s/he harmed
(or the family or tribe of that person if the person is no longer) for a
determinated period of time (or for life, very often in cases of rape or
murder). Still, Itakian slaves are rare. The Itakians, though divided in
competing tribes, have a strong sense of people's solidarity, and it's highly
unlikely that an Itakian will attack another, unless by mistake (Itakians seem
not to have the same restriction when it comes to harming non-Itakians. Then
the responsible one will be severely punished... by a lecture about how wrong
s/he's behaved him/herself! :) Moreover, other Itakians will do everything
possible so that the person be never reached by justice).

With this, I may give you the impression that Itakians consider non-Itakians as
inferior people and despise them. Well, yes and no. The Itakians seem to really
have a strong feeling of superiority, but at the same time have no problem
welcoming a non-Itakian and including the person in their communities, to the
point of making that person an Itakian too! And there seems to be no difference
in treatment of "pure" Itakians and adopted Itakians.

The Itakians are full of those apparent contradictions, that nobody seems to be
able to understand besides them (and since they are masters in driving
anthropologists and sociologists crazy, it seems that nobody's gonna be able to
study their society well enough to solve all the problems and mysteries around
them :))) ).

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.