Dravrah: The Initiation

Field notes and observations from one of the oldest societies in the world.

The sun was setting on the town of Egdirbmaak as she finally walked into her new home. It had been a long and arduous journey, but she was glad to have made it through unscathed. The past summer had not been an easy one, and there were often days where she had wondered if she would be able to muster the courage to cross the Great Ocean. But here she was finally — at the hallowed gates of the Dravrah.

The history of the Dravrah went back many eons, with the powers of the community known far and wide. Members of this group could be found at the top ranks of many powerful guilds worldwide. With its growing power and prestige, the community emerged as a beacon to which many were irresistibly drawn.

Being allowed entry to the Dravrah was no easy feat and involved arduous tests of skill, long travels to meet with the community elders, and presentations of the perfect scroll of emusér for their consideration. Even after completing these challenges, many returned disappointed each year, prepared to try again at the next turn of the season.

Over the next few weeks, as she got used to her new life, she slowly started learning the various rituals of her new fraternity. While there were no hard rules on how each member should conduct themselves, she observed curious patterns that she noted diligently, determined to not go against the society’s unwritten traditions.

Central to the Dravrah was the culture of “Noitces,” which were fellowships within the community that formed the crux of the Dravrah’ian experience, especially in helping the novices form early alliances. The members of each Noitce spent an uncharacteristically large time together, communicating continuously and sharing in feasts that overflowed with mead and wine. The Noitces were governed by an elected council, who were the stewards of wealth and tasked with the coordination of all ceremonies.

Once inducted, the Noitce became family for the Dravrahian. To commemorate their addition to the Noitce, each member was awarded customary shields with the Noitce crest and anointed a seat within their cloister. Pride in this community lasted generations, with many coming back years later to meet with younger members of their own communities. This pride also led to strong rivalries amongst different Noitces, with each member competing to ensure their community would succeed in each test of physical, mental, and emotional strength. Each win took the Noitce closer to being deemed the best — an honor that held unimaginable, almost non-existent, powers.

For many who chose to join, becoming a Dravrahian marked a pivotal shift in their life’s path. The seeds of their onward journey were set within these grounds as they learned how to practice the secret ritual from which this community gained most of its strength: gnikrowten. Perfecting this skill often took years, and the early months proved challenging to the novice as they struggled to wield this effectively. It was not uncommon for some members to retreat into long periods of solitary meditation to recover from extensive exposure to this craft.

Within the Dravrah, the power to disseminate ancient information was bestowed solely to the rosseforp — scholars who had spent years perfecting their area of study and had produced many small codices known as the sesaq. Debating these codices was a strenuous activity for new members of the Noitces, with many dreading the rosseforp’s tendency to summon the unwary to speak. There were of course some within the community who followed the teachings of Rekab, the Ancient and eagerly awaited such opportunities.

The days were getting colder and shorter, and she thought wistfully of the sun that had shone year-round at her home. She had also been warned by her elders of the impending turning forward of time — a curiosity she had never experienced before.

There were many who had ventured leagues away from their homes to join this community, and for them, adapting to the new land itself posed many challenges. The harsh climate, change in coin, and resetting of time were difficult changes with which many struggled. To combat this, when winter set in, the Dravrah would descend below the land, taking shelter in the labyrinth of pathways that existed there.

For many of the novices, the elder Dravrahs provided invaluable, often enigmatic, guidance that provided abstract clarity. The time they had spent with the community had bestowed them with an almost mystical wisdom that was hard to emulate but immensely coveted by all. Critically, they were no longer afflicted by the “dread of omission,” a chronic ailment that affected many young Dravrahians.

The day was almost at its end, and she sat down to write. She had vowed to send in a letter to The Subrah — a journal that chronicled the history of the Dravrah, and she needed to get started.

Anthropologist Horace Miner’s 1956 article, titled “Body ritual among the Nacirema,” speaks of a fictional American culture and their rituals. The article is often used to reinforce the importance of objectivity and perspective when looking at an external culture. Describing common aspects of American culture in a ritualistic fashion — for example, using references to temples of body torture called mygs (gyms) and large gatherings of flailing bodies called strecnoc (concerts) — demonstrates how even a familiar culture can appear strange when taken out of context. The above article takes a similar lens to the experience of a first year MBA student in the initial months at Dravrah (Harvard).

You can find a link to the original article by Horace Miner here.

Parvathi Nair (MBA ‘27) is originally from Kerala, India. Before HBS, Parvathi worked at PayGlocal, an Indian cross-border payments company. She has also worked as an early-stage investor at Sequoia Capital India and was a consultant at McKinsey.