The Hyach are a humanoid species from the planet Shir-shraba. Former members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, they have since become a part of the Interstellar Alliance.
Government
The Hyach are a geritocracy, ruled by the oldest members of their society and governed by way of the Hyach Grand Council of Elders, the most senior of which being the Ssh-Ba (literally "oldest of the old".)[1]
Society & Culture
Hyach Civilization is very peaceful and has endured for 7,000 years. Though favouring an essentially simple way of life, Hyach society can in fact be terrifically complex. Possessing a profound sense of their history and traditions that is said would put a Minbari to shame, the Hyach adhere to thousands of rules and rituals that supposedly cover every conceivable situation. There has been no significant change in this aspect of their civilisation for 4,000 years.
Marriage and parenting are very important to the Hyach, with all unions arrange by the elders of the involved families. The suitability of such marriages are judged first and foremost on the love between the couple to be. After that a very careful scan of the history of both families is carried out to judge compatibility. This engagement process takes a full Hyach year while the elders discuss the marriage. Polygamy is quite common and in fact many Hyach families consist of several sets of husbands and wives, with both males and females considered equal in all aspects of Hyach culture.
Like most races, the Hyach generally prefer the company of their own kind or of the Drazi with whom they have had a long and surprisingly peaceful relationship. Since they are not great travellers, few Hyach are seen away from their homeworld and the those that are tend to be there for a specific purpose; be it trade, diplomacy or exploration. While off-worlders are welcome to visit Shir-shraba, they are not permitted to to take up residence outside of diplomatic embassies, though exceptions have been made made for a select few Drazi.
The Hyach economy is based exclusively on a barter or credit system, as by tradition currency is considered vulgar. So when travelling off-world a Hyach will trade goods and precious gems in order to pay their way. This is mostly possible due to the fact that some precious stone are more common on Shri-Shaba than on most other worlds.
Religion
The Hyach worship an androgynous creator deity known as Oshi-Ta, "the Seed and the Egg" and is the only accepted religion on Shir-shraba. A serpentine figure, Oshi-ta incorporates a balance between both male and female aspects and it is the belief of all followers that Oshi-ta tells all Hyach to live long, be wise and die happily so as to continue the cycle anew. [1]
History
About one million years ago, the main evolutionary line of the Hyach divided producing the Hyach-do. At first the two fought each other over land, then they learned to live together forming joint communities which eventually led to interbreeding between the two races. Over the many years, this had become a great scandal and in about 1050 A.D. it ended with the passage of religious laws which eventually led to their persecution and then to their extermination. They were hunted down off and on their world until they were completely wiped out by 1462 A.D..
When the Hyach became part of the interstellar community, they edited their history files so that other races would not find out the shame of what they had done. However, over time it was discovered that the Hyach birth rate was in a steady decline, the cause was eventually found to be due to absence of a crucial genetic component that originated from the intermarriage with the Hyach-do. With the Hyach-do gone, the Hyach seamed to have paid for their genocide with the possibility their own extinction. This discovery was eventually made public in 2262 when the Hyach Grand Council of Elders joined the Interstellar Alliance and submitted their medical records to Dr. Franklin in 2262. Research into how to save the Hyach race was put into motion but would take years and it is not certain if it is even possible to save them. [1]
Glossary of Hyach Terminology
- Grand Council of Elders: Chief ruling body.
- Oshi-Ta: Androgynous creator deity. Roughly translates as "The Seed and the Egg."
- Shri: Shir-shraba solar cycle equivilant to 16 Earth months.
- Ssh-Ba: Honourific. Literally means "Oldest of the Old."
Notable People
References
Other Sources
- Babylon 5 Scripts - Other Voices: Vol 3 (Babylon 5 Alien Guide)
- The Official Guide to Babylon 5 (CD ROM)
| Major Races | ||
| Ancient Races | ||
| First Born · Vorlon · Shadow · Walkers of Sigma-957 · Thirdspace Aliens · The Hand · Asmodeus' race | ||
| Major Races: | ||
| Minbari · Centauri · Human/Neanderthal · Narn · Dilgar · Drakh | ||
| League/Alliance Races: | ||
| Drazi · Brakiri/J/Lai · Gaim · pak'ma'ra · Abbai · Yolu · Hyach/Hyach-do · Markab · Llort · Grome · Hurr · Cascor · Balosian · Onteen · Iksha · Vree | ||