Unfacing

Unfacing is a cultural practice and method of social control prevalent in Kahtoyn. Use of practices such as unfacing, blueface and gift economics distinguish Kahtoyn from the wider Otekahré region of eastern Anásthias.

Unfacing involves consciously ignoring, turning your back on, withholding communication and refusing help, as a form of social punishment. Unfacing begins in childhood as a punishment for children who are isolated for short periods, and extends to adulthood where serious crimes result in utter banishment from all society, where all citizens withhold food and shelter from the individual.

Kahtoyn is a mutualist state with no formal government, no prisons, courts or legal codes. In a sense, Kahtoyn is a series of individual polities who all follow this common cultural practice.

Unfacing is often a tactic between disgruntled neighbours or family members, who ignore each other for a certain amount of time. However it is also used as a community sanction against those who have committed theft or violence, or violated other social norms.

Community unfacing is discussed and agreed in community meetings, with the guilt or otherwise of the accused being evaluated. Citizens are free to make statements for and against, and provide evidence. The outcome is judged by the community as a whole.

Though unfacing is as simple as ignoring someone, communities usually give warning or notice to the accused, sometimes in writing. Where the accused requires physical restraint, “line-ups” are used; groups of citizens form a line to prevent that person from, for example, gaining access to their home property, or even blocking them from entering a town or city.

Blueface is the highest form of criminal punishment in , a form of total social exclusion in a society which has neither prisons nor capital punishment.

For lesser social crimes offenders are “unfaced” for a period of time, meaning they are ignored and excluded, unable to talk to family or friends or play any role in the community. For serious or persistent crimes, the offender is tried by a community court, and sentenced to having their face treated with a persistent bright blue dye. Their home and all their property is confiscated, and they are exiled from their home community until the dye completely fades. Depending on the crime and the nature of the dye, this can take years. For the most very series cases the dye is tatooed into the skin, though this is rare and still does fade with time.

Bluefaces are given a characteristic bundle, including a plain blue cloak of good quality, a quantity of travel food, and other small necessities which would allow them to survive for a time beyond the cities without giving the capacity to harm anyone.

Bluefaces are officially shunned, and are taboo throughout Otekahré and are generally unfaced by all. Some join together in small communities, but the social taboo still counts amongst themselves, so most travel alone and live as beggars. Bluefaces are never allowed to play a role in any community, but some isolated farms and villages tolerate bluefaces, giving them odd jobs and allowing them to work in fields in return for food, and lodging out of sight. Some then settle once the blue has faded, though others travel elsewhere to make a fresh start.

Some bluefaces travel north to live as beggars in the cities of southern Harthera, and some have even been seen in Harlon. Most are silent and do not speak the languageplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigLanguages

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The blueface dye comes from a plant which thrives in the noxious salt swamps north of Marr Sirque. It is applied using a lengthy process which first prepares the skin, then applies the dye and leaves it for a certain amount of time.

Originally the dye was simply painted across the face as a universal marker of exile. In later times different regions developed blueface customs, with designs denoting where the offender came from, and suggesting the nature of their crime. The regional mark became important in larger cities where, particularly after some years, residents may not have otherwise recognised a particular blueface as being exiled and excluded.