A History of Dunmeri Theater: Velothi Period

A History of Dunmeri Theater

by Siulmo, Artistic University of Solitude

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First print: 4E 465 under the Tamrielic-Imperial Press, Skyrim

This print: 5E 3 under the Tamrielic-Imperial Press, Cyrodiil

Not for unauthorized pressing or scribing

Introduction

As citizens of Tamriel, will never forget the 4th of Sun’s Dawn, 4E 5. This day marks the beginning of Red year and the Dark Age of Morrowind. The land burned and ash filled the sky, leading to a great exodus from the Eastern province. The Dunmer people are still mending Red Year’s devastation today: climate changes call for complete agricultural reform, the Great Houses are on the verge of a civil war, and the increased population from Dunmer-Imperials and Dunmer of Skyrim returning to Morrowind has led to an economic crisis. There is no time for the arts.

To say that the arts never flourished in Morrowind is to make an ignorant assumption. Red Mountain destroyed the gems of Dunmeri society; this almost completely removed the historical evidence of pre-Red Year Dunmeri culture. This does not mean that this culture never existed. Though remnants of Old Morrowind are limited, they are more than enough to reveal a wonderfully unique set of customs, traditions, and arts. To quote Constans Varo of the Tamrielic University of Cyrodiil: “Beneath the layer of ash lies a cultural treasure.”

This report is an overview of the history of Chimeri/Dunmeri theater (Dunmeri theater for brevity), beginning approximately in the Late Middle Merethic Era and ending at the dawn of the 4th Era. Dunmeri cultural history is generally divided into three broad periods: The High Velothi Period (also known as the Post-Exodus), the Indoril Period (also known as the Gilded Age), and the Tamrielic Period (also known as the Reformation).

Velothi Period

The birth of the Chimer race marked the beginning of the High Velothi Period (Velothi period for brevity). Velothi theater itself has much earlier origins among the dissident Aldmeri tribes. This makes Velothi theater very similar to Aldmeri theater. However, the dissidents primarily used their own form of mime-dance as a means to culturally defy the Aldmer, who used strict stage rules. The manner of defiance began subtly, but the differences between Aldmeri and dissident theatrical techniques increased over time. With the Exodus from the Summerset Isles, Velothi theater was dubbed its own art form.

Early Aldmeri theater was, by definition, dance. Dance was considered a sacred practice. Dances were performed at special events such as religious holidays and coronations. The Aldmer viewed dance as a social responsibility rather than an art or pastime; all classes of people were required to learn dance when they came of age. Nobility had special tutors while commoners learned from experienced family members. Men and women learned the same movements, but were completely isolated in their dance lessons, and during performances, eye contact was the only form of contact allowed between the sexes. When an Aldmer grew to an old age, he or she would retire from dance. Both the beginning and the ending of dance lessons were very important life events. The Aldmer celebrated both extensively.

Stylistically, Aldmeri dance was characterized by uniformity, complex formations, and discipline. At the time, the Aldmer defined choreography as a visual art because the pictures that the formations made were much more important than the people. For this reason, Aldmeri dance was traditionally viewed from above to see the entire formation. We know this from engravings discovered in the Summerset Isles, showing pictograms and arrows winding across the slab of stone. Some of these engravings have been found in Resdayn (modern Morrowind); these have daedric letters instead of pictograms. This form of dance notation is now called Som-Res notation, and rumors suggest that families of Ashlander descent still know this ancient art. ^* The most important rule of dance was to maintain a personal space of at least one foot at all times. None of the rules of dance were laws, so a collision was not punishable as a criminal offense, but it was reprimanded as such.

The dissidents recognized dance as a vital aspect of Aldmeri culture and sought to defy its rules. The first dissident movement involved dancing without permission. Dissidents formed groups to dance in public areas on non-holidays. This alone was received as a great offense, even without breaking any stylistic rules. A few years later, a dissident (whose name is lost, but later accounts imply that he was Saint Veloth himself) choreographed a dance involving a line of people who were each a few inches apart. This was received with violence, and though none were killed several were injured.

With the Chimer-Aldmer schism, the new race developed a new form of theatrical dance. This is what we now refer to as High Velothi theater. Velothi theater kept many of the qualities of Aldmeri theatrical dance, but became a much more passionate and personal art form, as well as closer to mime. Following the Exodus, the Velothi used theater solely in reverence to the Daedra. Groups of Chimer performed abstract mime sequences for Temple services. The gender and age restrictions were loosened and every Velothi Temple offered theatrical lessons to the public. Theater was still considered sacred, but it was much more accessible.

Daedric armor and weapons originate from High Velothi theater. The Chimer used masks to represent the Good Daedra in their performances. These were called guisemasks. The first discovered artifact made of Daedric metal was the Guisemask of Boethiah. It is a heavy, ornately carved mask with curved tusks and horns, and its jaw extends past the wearer’s navel. Some Merethic Era myths suggest that Daedric metal was Boethiah’s gift to the Velothi, or even that Boethiah was the one to give the Chimer their own form of dance. Myths from the same year state that Boethiah’s title “Prince of Plots” refers not only to conspiracy, but to the map-like formations that remained a characteristic of Velothi theater after the Chimer-Aldmer schism.

Centuries later, the Chimer were to use guisemasks to frighten Nordic soldiers, leading to the method of coupling Daedric metals with unique enchantments in order to lessen the weight. This practice evolved into the construction of Daedric armor; Daedric weapons are the newest of these creations. Guisemasks were also fashioned for the Tribunal (Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil) to honor their respective Anticipations.

*I added this in later.

Chapter 2: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2eedej/a_history_of_dunmeri_theater_indoril_period/

Chapter 3: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2efjio/a_history_of_dunmeri_theater_tamrielic_period/