My 13th
This was written on a tablet, found by archaeologists in an abandoned village. It is thought to be several hundred years old:
I’m so excited! Tomorrow is my thirteenth birthday, and I will undergo the sacred tying-up ceremony for the first time! This is what will happen: my parents will dress me in my best dress, specially made for the occasion. Then they will take me to the temple in the middle of the village. There I will meet up with some other kids, both from this and from the neighbouring village, who also turns thirteen. Then all of us will be lead into the temple and put in a special room at the back. There we will wait for the ceremony to begin.
Before we go in, the priest asks if there anyone who wishes to renew their vows. When that is done, we are lead in and are placed facing the priest. We hold out our hands and he takes the sacred cords, blesses them and ties them tightly around our hands. Then he takes waterproof cuffs and locks them in place just above our knees. They are linked together with a short, detachable, chain and minute padlocks. That way we can walk, albeit with small steps, and we can bathe, but we can’t run anymore. The keys are given to our parents. After that, we solemnly promise:
1. Always to have our hands bound in a neat fashion every time we go out, until we get married
2. Never protest when we are required to be bound
3. Never to take the cuffs surrounding our knees off, except for emergencies
When we return home after the ceremony, there will have been bundles of rope delivered to our doorstep.
From that day forward, we will never again leave home without being bound, not even for school.