Thing

The thing (pronounced ting) is a regular council held by the Hunters. It serves as both judicative and legislative and can be considered a form of democracy.

Extraordinary things do also exist, but are very rare. One such thing has been held when David Kessel requested to join a tribe for seven years. The request was granted, but Kessel was not allowed to attend the vote.

There are two types of thing, the local klansthing and the global volksthing. During a klansthing, all members of a tribe who have a tree gather to discuss things which concern the tribe or the forest of the tribe. The volksthing, however, is a meeting of all tribes; For this purpose, every tribe appoints a spokesman - called klansmer - and sends it to the great meeting place.

Although there is no regulation for gender balance, at the two volksthings that Kessel was able to attend, the numbers were about equal - a fact which was unbelievable for Kessel and the other men in Harten, who believe women to be inferior to men.

Kessel has depicted a thing as follows: The oldest member of the thing assumes the role of the moderator - called the æltest. Then, in an order the æltest determines, those members who have a concern are free to speak. After every speaker, questions can be asked. When all questions are answered, the members will decide what is to be done by open vote.