Paul M. Arezina writes:

Reply off the list. Or on it, if you believe this will be of help to more
fanfic writers than just myself.

Being a fan of Ranma 1/2 solely on the base of fan-fiction (Curse/Bless you
Lawson-san!) and having neither the resources nor the opportunity nor the
freedom to purchase anime or manga, I must rely on the experience of those
who have. Hence, don't flame me for asking what you believe to be stupid
questions.

That out of the way...

Exactly how much of Amazon tribal law is defined in the canon? More
specifically, is there any prohibition against the following
laws/traditions? (And the reasons behind them, for those of you who think
I'm just making these things up with no backing.)

   As an initial comment, very little is actually known of the Amazons and
their laws and customs. You may infer a great deal, but much of it will
come down to personal taste and preference, and what suits your story. People
have come up with very different pictures of the Amazons, some of which I
think are pretty wrong-headed, but that's another story.

The Amazon tribe will accept as its own any creature who falls into the
Spring of Drowned Girl, or Nyanniichuan. (For those of you who don't like
translations.)

Reason behind it: Think about it. Exactly how many of you outsider males
wouldn't take advantage of a vapor-brained knockout, (if Ranma's reaction to
the Nyanniichuan can be taken as typical) particularly if said knockout was
acting like an animal in heat? And no outsider male would voluntarily give
up his manhood. In the Amazon village, the poor things can at least be
fairly well protected...

   Possible, but uncertain. Although Ranma fell into the Nyannichuan, the
Amazons certainly consider him male. Shampoo fell into the Maoniichuan, and
she's still an Amazon. By extension, they may well consider a monkey, say,
that fell into the Nyannichuan still a monkey, especially since it's
uncertain how intelligent such a creature would ever become in human form.
Ryoga intelligence, such as it is :-), doesn't seem to have been affected
by his curse, after all.

   And what exactly do you mean by "Ranma's reaction" in connection with the
term "vapor-brained knock-out"? I don't recall Ranma ever acting that way,
except when he was trying to show his mirror clone how to pick up guys,
(and although Ranma doesn't generally make the most convincing girl, you
have to admit it worked), and certainly don't recall him ever taking advantage
of anyone else who was acting that way.

   Finally, note that the Amazons don't seem particularly solicitous of women
outside the tribe, particularly considering the outsider woman rule. I see 
the Amazons as a very insular society that generally prefers to have as little
as possible to do with the outside world, and generally looks down on
outsiders, whatever their gender. Not unlike the Japanese during the
Tokugawa shogunate.

Any outsider male who defeats an Amazon female is bound by law to marry her.
(Yes, I know that's already in the canon... bear with me, here.) However,
within the tribe, defeat is not binding, but it is necessary for marriage,
though this requirement can be waived by the agreement of an Elder and both
interested parties.

Reason behind it (the new part): If the original purpose of the law was to
extend the genetic pool a bit, then there's really no reason why defeat
should be necessary within the tribe. If anything, it'll actually dilute
things a bit, since only the weakest of the warriors will actually marry
unless someone sneaks a few performance-enhancing drugs into the man's
ramen. Of course, love will find a way, though a thrown match is hardly
binding. The waiving bit came about because there are some warriors who do
love within the tribe but either would obviously be throwing the match if
they lost or because their sense of honor won't allow them to give less than
their all. Also, I really didn't want Lawson's Shampoo and Mousse to be
living in sin. Read the TIL epilogues for some idea...

   The asnwer here is unclear in the manga, but deductions can be made.

   First: it's unlikely the defeat rule applies at all within the tribe, as
otherwise Mousse could have simply defeated Shampoo to marry her (he's
certainly good enough to). Note that although many fanfics have Mousse
challenging Shampoo, somtimes on a regular basis, he is never seen to do so
in the manga. Note also, that although it is never actually said that Mousse
is a member of the Joketsuzoku, the fact that he doesn't challenge Shampoo
would seem to indicate it, as well as his behavior towards Cologne.

   Second: it seems like an unlikely rule for a matriarchy to have. Every
woman has to marry a man stronger than she is? How would someone like
Cologne ever have gotten married? This penalizes the strong by reducing
their selection of mates. I would find it more plausible if a woman was
allowed to marry her choice of the men she could defeat. That would reward
the stronger women with their choice of husbands.

And, finally, rape by a male, particularly an outsider male, is the worst
crime, comparable to or worse than murder and punishable by either permanent
removal of manhood (Nyanniichuan plus that strange and mystical bucket the
Musk Dynasty has... or just a few cuts in the right place) or death.

Reason behind it: In a matriarchal society which prizes the strength of its
women, do you really have to ask? Perhaps that "defeat by an outsider male"
rule was instituted for more reasons than just to keep the tribe strong...

   Possible. Although the outsider male rule may reflect a practice of
casting out women who were weak enough to have let themselves be raped.
There is nothing inherently kind and gentle about a matriarchy.


Reid Carson
rcarson@mnsinc.com