Head of Parliament: Covered Khumaaks a Mainstay

2004.04.30 | Svarthol

Head of Minmatar Republic Parliament Malaetu Shakor in an interview last night stated that the Khumaak, an ornamental weapon worn at diplomatic gatherings by Matari dignitaries and fleet officers but restricted from view at certain functions due to recently-passed legislation, had gone from being fairly commonplace to being almost mandatory.

Shakor, interviewed by the Defiant Descendants’ Society, an organization of Minmatars afflicted by an eye disease causing blindness early in life (a condition which the Parliament leader himself suffers from), also said, with regards to the weapon, “It’s everywhere now. Every international function -- military meeting, trade summit, CONCORD assembly, embassy reception, whatever -- if there’s a son or daughter of Matar present, there’ll be a Khumaak strapped across their back.”

The weapon, a bronze-plated club with curved spikes radiating from a disc set on one end, became the subject of a large-scale dispute among the Minmatar tribes almost two months ago, when Sebiestor tribal head Karin Midular put forth a motion to have it removed from the list of sanctioned Matari fleet and state apparel due to its nature as a symbol of bloodshed. After nearly a month of fierce debates, protests and rioting, the tribes agreed upon a modified proposal intended to limit the Khumaak’s visibility at selected functions, while allowing it to remain on the list of sanctioned apparel.

What has emerged in the time since then, however, is not a stream of Khumaak-less Matari representatives, but rather a stream of Matari representatives with covered-up Khumaaks. Since the proposal’s final draft specified not that the Khumaak should be absent but merely that it could not be openly displayed, an overwhelming majority of dignitaries and fleet commanders -- many of which had never worn the weapon before the proposal -- now carry their Khumaaks, swathed in thick black cloth, to functions where they are nominally to be barred from view.

Shakor himself, long noted for his penchant towards subtle defiance of the Amarr, has carried a covered-up Khumaak to every function he has attended since the motion’s passing. Last week, in what has become a famous incident, at a trans-empire summit with Amarr Emperor Kor-Azor in attendance, Shakor’s cloth covering slipped off the weapon’s top as he bowed before the emperor, revealing the jagged solar flares of the Khumaak’s disc. For the next moments, as Shakor and the discernibly flustered Emperor exchanged words, the Khumaak’s disc remained in full view.

Questioned by reporters after the incident, Shakor responded, “What can I say? I’m blind.”