Intergalactic Summit

I have a request.

I have decided to be more public with my past as I have yet to answer some personal questions that I hope that will better assist me in understanding my heritage. I am proud to be Jin-Mei, but my entire life I have been barely considered Jing Ko because of the other half of my genome. People have chastised me for my "unladylike" behavior and aggression, blaming it on my Minamar father whom I've never met, let alone known. I personally call bullshit on such claims as personality is shaped by culture and upbringing and not genetics, but this did bring up a large gap in my life. I know everything my mother taught me about being Jin-Mei, but nothing about what it means to be Minmatar.

I need to understand what it means to fly as Minmatar. I have been shown my place but I have always been free. I have been treated badly due to my caste, but never oppressed. I have been a slave to the system, but never a slave.

I kindly ask, as I need to understand, what does being Minmatar mean to you IGS?

Interesting choice of an example, but yes, I am aware of that. My stance is that genetics will make me gay or give me dark skin, but it will not make me funny or make it easyer for me to learn how to make a traditional tea.

What does it mean to be Matari?

A good question.

I've spoken to many urbanized Sebiestor who criticize me for being 'un-Sebiestor'. I understand why; my head is with the spirits - more-so than most of my kin, not fretfully toiling away over contraptions for hours.

The truth is, my clan rarely had the resources to devote to experimentation like many modern Matari. Don't get me wrong - there are many of us who live in terrible conditions, but many too especially who have abandoned pre-industrial tribal thinking who live comfortably.

Again, don't get me wrong. I don't seek to shun their abandonment of our social system (primarily), but I do criticize their diminutive treatment of their kin. Many of the clans that I grew up interacting with were deeply culturally and spiritually rich, leading life-styles that were not materialistic at all. I do think many of my urbanized brothers have become complacent in this way. Whilst some of us starve, there are those who discard our heritage whilst living in infrastructures far under-capacity for the amount of heads they are capable of supporting.

This is where the impression of Sebiestor as 'geeky engineers and tinkerers' comes from - many modern day Sebiestor exercise their freedom to (relative freedom, after Amarr reign) design. Of course, that is just one of many aspects of our tribe. If you look again to my people, the Sebiestor from less prosperous clans who fight daily for survival, you would see the root of this behaviour.

Namely, the Sebiestor talent of making things out of 'rust and duct-tape'. Particularly for my clan, which were very nomadic, it became a necessity to build irrigation systems, for instance, from parts that were on hand. Sometimes we would need to convert a weapon into a remote power-source, only to turn it back into a weapon later - with a few choice, jury-rigged modifications, of course.

To this end, creative thinking is one of the most powerful assets of a Sebiestor.

This problem-solving behavior doesn't stop at technology, although more on that in a moment. Our warriors didn't tend to be the biggest, or the strongest - although they were hardy, as was a necessity in some of the environs we lived in (and indeed, I believe most Sebiestor would agree with me, in our choice of home in Mikramurka). Because of this, we needed to levvy a certain sly cunning when resolving disputes between other clans. Lacking the brute strength of some of our neighbors, our social strengths (and again our adaptive approach to resources) were major boons for my clan.

Going back to my spiritual background - I believe that it is a major strength to have faith and follow the path of the spirits. Some of my kin have forgotten what has gotten us this far. My clan has survived for this long because of communal strength and passion, not because it has forgotten who it's brothers and sisters are and have discarded faith to live comfortably. As a Sebiestor, your allegiances lay with your family and Tribe.

Creativity, the gift of gab and community are the three pillars of being a Sebiestor. If any of the pillars crumble, we are left weak. Do not become dull, introverted or self-serving. If you do, then you lose what it means to be Sebiestor.

...

Just a collection of idle thoughts upon the topic, purely from my experience you understand. Speaking as a rather poor, remote tribal girl. This may sound overly harsh and judgmental to my kin who grew up in a better environment, but please do note that I went to very careful length to state that it is only some of these Sebiestor who have turned their backs on the rest of us.

I hope that this has given you, Tessa, something to think about it - or indeed any of my fellow children of Matar who have turned away from our ways.

Of course, it would be easier for me to articulate my thoughts in person. You're naturally welcome to visit whenever you wish.

You'll notice that instead of answering your question, I speak only of my experiences as a Sebiestor.

This is intentional - one, I do not wish to answer for the other Tribes, who I have no place speaking for.

Two - I do not wish to answer for other clans and sub-Tribes, who deserve the respect to say their piece.

Very aptly put.

I am not one for long answers.. But your question "to be Matar" piqued my interest as it is a question that one surely can't answer.

To be matari is essentially to be of the tribes that make up "The Minmatar" . Any other perception is purely personal. Nothing more. and certainly not Fact!.

Halete has more than covered the matter however. I just wanted to make my point clear.

If you'd like, I can put you in touch with a Serpentis genetor who can have those pesky unwanted lower-caste genomes scrubbed entirely from your next clone. The man is working wonders with clones, playing ribonuclease strands like harp-strings, and he's been a great help with my... latest... well, let's say personal project.

I am so sorry that I have not been more active in my own thread... Business trumps personal interests...

I'm going to form a more formal reply when I have the time, but I would like to say a few things. Firstly I was unaware there where so many views, but I should have... Next, I have not met by father but from tests he may have been of tribe Sebeiestor... but there's noway to know for sure unless I have a face to face.... something that I'm not too interested in...

Finally, while I don't beleave that you meant offence Istvaan, I would never change my genetics other than a minor remap or to change my hair. I am who I am, and I will not change. After all, how long would it take to for me to get a tan like this with sun alone?

I look forward to hearing more of your different views. I would also like to take the time to invite you to the Shadowknight Public ComNetwork. ( "ShadN" in the GalNET chat channels)

Dear Tessa,

What a wonderful question you ask. Each of us will give an answer from our own experience and knowledge. I intentionally give an answer that reflects an ideal, not always reality. However, the ideal is worth holding on to.

Being Matari is a rich experience of belonging and destiny.

We belong to family, sub-clan, clan, sub-tribe, tribe, and to a community of tribes in balance, sometimes tension, but in beautiful variety. We are a community of nations.

It is an experience of destiny. Our spiritual paths take us on a journey of destiny. Our lives are entwined with the spirits of the cosmos and we move in harmony with them. If we have experienced the voluval, we enter the path of specific destiny that reflects the unity of the spirits with our inner person.

Fly, then, as a person of belonging and destiny. Let not the prominence of cynicism around you deny you the experience of all that being Matari entails. Embrace that which your Matari blood cries out to embrace.

To be Minmatar is to be emotional. To be intertwined with your heritage and birthright. Confusion, rage, fear, sadness, doubt...
Maybe it's just because I'm young... I was going to become an industrialist and help our nation grow. But it gnaws at you, you lay in your bed and feel yourself falling. I've seen slave breeding facilities, I've read up on our history. I can feel it pumping through my veins and making my head ache horribly.

The day I gave up my mining barge and got my tribal tattoos applied, at last joining the war effort, was the day I felt whole again. Maybe it's a void that is only temporarily filled with bloodlust and thoughts of justice. But for now it will have to keep me going.

To be Minmatar is to continue being enslaved to the darkness within us, a darkness others forced on us.