Carneira is the term used for the first lover of a Malkieri. In the Old Tongue it means "first".
Custom of a First Lover[]
The tradition dates back more than a thousand years in Malkier. It was generally expected that young men and women take a lover before settling down to court and wed. Customary this lover was someone older and more experienced. Always women chose out the men, so that men were chosen by their carneira, while women choose theirs. Malkieri boys let their hair grow to their waist. After the couples' first night together, the woman hires a team of female barbers to cut the man's hair to his shoulders. He must then sit at her feet and braid it for her. This lock of hair is called the daori. If the woman wishes, she can take hold of the daori and gain advantage over the man until she gives it to his bride. After that time no man wears longer or shorter hair then their shoulders. They tie it back with the hadori when they are allowed to do so.
Obligations, relations in society[]
These kind of relationships were not casual and there were no way out of them. They defined the relations between sexes in Malkier. If a young woman attempted a married man, older women talked with her. One had only one carneira and the sexual part of their relationship traditionally took only a year or two at the most. Although, lifelong rights and responsibilities came with it. A man had duties and obligations towards the woman, but he had no right to make any demands of her at all.[1]
Examples[]
Lan Mandragoran's carneira was Edeyn Arrel, as seen in New Spring.
Notes
- ↑ The Wheel of Time Companion, Malkier
