Xolkriśgir
Xolkriśgir (literally "colour fear" or "chromophobia") is a widespread superstition in many Coscivian cultures that colour photography has damaging psychic or supernatural effects on its subjects, such as the loss of their soul, erasure of their mind or memories, or condemnation to an early death. Xolkriśgir has created an enduring taboo against colour photography in Kiravia and, to a lesser extent, among Coscivian minorities in other parts of the world.
Xolkriśgir was first documented in 21064 when Marcel des Vespasiennes, a Burgundian photographer and early pioneer of colour photography, visited Primóra to demonstrate his technique to a meeting of the Hanoram Society of Gentleman Daguerreotypists. The audience was aware ahead of time that des Vespasiennes would be taking colour photographs and was, by all accounts, calm during his lecture until he displayed some examples of his work, at which point several members claimed to be ill and politely took their leave. Five members of the Society volunteered to pose for colour photographs after the lecture, which took several days to develop. None were known to have reported anything unusual during this time, though one of the subjects, a shipping insurer, never returned to the Society and went mysteriously missing several days later. However, when the first of the subjects, pipegrass merchant Rutilus Semperviren, was presented with the photograph of himself by des Vespasiennes, he began to scream uncontrollably. Semperviren was removed from the premises and treated with the highest-quality Corummese opium available, which succeeded in calming him,though when he emerged from his medically-induced trance he was found to be catatonic and remained so until his death four months later. Two of the other three subjects, according to their own letters and the accounts of their family members, were overcome with dread upon seeing their likenesses in colour. Although they retained their composure better then Semperviren, they suffered from "the most baleful night terrors" and acute lethargy for months, and underwent marked changes in personality and behaviour that appear to have persisted for the remainder of their lives. One of the men, Xiaroscur Fordelorean, left instructions in his will to forego Coscivian Orthodox funerary rites, as "since 11 Kémtilús 21064 I have not had a soul to save."
The Primóra incident was chronicled in the Primóra Moon and other papers in the major coastal cities, and was a topic of some public excitement in the city for several months, although...
-Did not start to become a known thing until colour photography became more popular -Violent resistence
How xolkriśgir manifests itself and how it is understood vary greatly, and while some details of how people understand xolkriśgir are common to a particular demographic or geographic region, most appear to be idiosyncratic, suggesting to anthropologists that chromophobia should be approached not as a "folk belief" transmitted by oral tradition within a community, but rather as a "modern" mass-cultural phenomenon or enduring moral panic that spreads and replicates itself through informally learned behaviour. Differences in how individuals believe the malign influence of colour photography "works" extend to its ascribed effects (e.g. whether any part of the body "counts" or just the face, whether the subject must pose voluntarily in order to lose their soul), how it is accomplished (e.g. whether the act of taking the photo does it, or it needs to be developed), and its finality (e.g. whether the effects are permanent or can be abrogated by destroying photographs of the afflicted person or through any kind of folk-ritual). Colour photographs of things other than people are fine? Sepia tone is okay?
Xolkriśtívandisuvantohābur
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| Xolkriśtívandisuvantohābur | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Coscivian Soul-death |
| File:Meirl.jpg | |
| An Etivéran businessman rendered dead inside as a result of this colour photograph | |
| Pronunciation |
|
| Specialty | Subarctic medicine |
| Symptoms | Amnesia Catatonia Night terrors Loss of appetite Suicidal ideation |
| Duration | Months to lifelong |
| Causes | Colour photography Cultural taboos |
| Risk factors | Coscivian ethnicity |
| Medication | Aqueous ethanol |
| Deaths | At least 70 |
Xolkriśtívandisuvantohābur, meaning "Colour-photographically induced catatonia" (a closer, but less medically accurate translation being "colour-photographically induced dementia") is a culture-bound syndrome of catatonia and amnesia in reaction to colour photography experienced by many certain people of Coscivian cultural origins.
Extent in Modern Kiravia
Many people who do not believe that colour photography erases one's mind or soul may still believe that it has some other less drastic and more vaguely defined supernatural effect on the subject. Others may not believe that colour photography has supernatural effects at all, yet still view it as unseemly or improper.
Sincere xolkriśgir is most common in rural areas of inland Great Kirav, especially the Western Highlands, Coscivian communities in the more southerly parts of the Eastern Highlands, and also South Kirav. It is also common in Æonara, and Moonlight Cay. It is much less common in Dysona but persists in many rural areas. Xolkriśgir correlates positively with age and distance from the ocean, and correlates negatively with income, education, and population density.
-Geographic and demographic distribution of the superstition
Implications for Public Policy
One of the most visible effects of xolkriśgir on public policy is that headshots featured on photo ID documents such as internal passport and international passport photographs must be in black-and-white. This often causes trouble for Kiravians travelling abroad or interacting with foreign businesses, who may require that identity documents feature colour photographs.
-Governmental and religious efforts to combat the superstition.
-Incidents and controversies related to Xolkriwhatever
Official portraits of all Stanora Delegates are rendered in black-and-white as a matter of course. Andrus Candrin was the first Kiravian Prime Executive to embrace colour photography, in contrast to his immediate predecessor, Irasur Mérovin, who had stated on the record that colour photographs "kúd tá glixélnuir" ("make [him] uneasy").