#Cnoc na Riabh Yaraan-Doo

[i-scream-for-fate]

Foreigner class Cnoc na Riabh Yaraan-Doo (Knocknarea) for the Servant Summer Festival 2023 in Fate Grand Order.

Illustrator: Takayama Kisai.

[kaibutsushidousha]

I saw that Knocknarea's actual name is "Yaraan-doo", but who is that? I tried looking it up but can't find anything remotely relevant.

Yaraan-doo is the Aboriginal version of the Southern Cross. Here's a source.

The implication with Yaraan-doo is that this version of Cnoc na Riabh is classed Foreigner because she comes from an unknowable world very far beyond the realm of human comprehension: Australia.

[raionmimi]

What is your opinion on Cnoc na Riabh being Yaraan-doo also?

I haven’t read much, but from my understanding, it makes sense she’s third in line, born from Cnoc na Riabh, the name of Medb’s grave. I’ve been wanting to know how the faeries are born from each other for years, so it’s nice to finally get a little glimpse of that.

Yaraan is also the tree where the first human died, paralleling with Mab’s lover being a human who died. It was taken by Yowi to be lifted into the Milky Way, adding to the foreigner concept. The place the tree used to be was known as Yaraan-doo from then on. Death was essentially alien to earth prior, so nature lamented over it becoming a permanent concept.

I found it a really lovely myth, especially because the first man died because he refused to kill an animal. Just like the LB fae are all softer than Medb, as they are born into a life not really knowing what death is until it occurs and literally changes them. It’s a sort of naïveté that can only come from someone born amongst fae and not humans, so they’re more vulnerable and more easily shocked when they, harbingers of death, are exposed to the very nature of their birthright

And it started with Cnoc because Mab was initially fine keeping human slaves. She took on a human lover, but the second that human died, death was brought to her. So her next life, Cnoc hated humans because she herself introduced them to it. In her third life, Yaraan-doo doesn’t consider herself a warrior at all apparently.

I think this is one main factor of why Medb was more of an actual warrior to them. She’s got a human trait (though we have no idea how she was born, she only mentions that she’s got fae blood), so I think her being more aware of what it means for a person to die makes her more resilient to want to fight to live.

But

If she’s actually Cnoc na Riabh, it’s way funnier because she’s just a foreigner possessed by the alien known as Australia (Hell)

[elyserie]

Fate's Refusal to Honour (or at least properly research) Depictions of Non-Japanese Figures 2: Electric Bogaloo ft. Wandjina from the Current JP Summer Event

Disclaimer: While I am an Australian, I am NOT of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Therefore, I am coming at this issue from an outsider's perspective. If there is an Aboriginal person, or more specifically of the Mowanjum people from the Kimberly regions, please PLEASE correct me if I am wrong on any front.

The culprit behind the events of the current Summer story in the JP servers has recently been revealed to be Wandjina, a creator Dreamtime figure from the Mowanjum people's culture.

In any other context, I would be thrilled to have an Australian figure in FGO, but the problem here is the figure they use.

Wandjina are sacred to the Mowanjum people, and therefore one needs to go through Aboriginal Law to obtain the right to use the Wandjina's image.

In Australia, this resulted in an actual conflict between a non-indigenous artist and aboriginals. You can read more here, but one quote to note is from an Aboriginal man of the Darug people, Chris Tobin: "Aboriginal law is very specific on what you can and can't do with wan[d]jinas." Another quote on this topic is made by the owner of an Aboriginal art gallery, Adrian Newstead: "Only a few Aboriginal artists ever win the right to depict wan[d]jina, and only then after years of initiations and ceremonies..."

I am NOT attaching an image of FGO's iteration of Wandjina due to this. Not only is her appearance only Aboriginal on a surface-level with her 'dot art' aesthetic (dot art* is only a recent addition to Aboriginal culture, created back in the 1970s), having no resemblance to an Aboriginal person (note, that while many Aboriginal people are white/pale, FGO continually chooses to depict people of colour as light skinned as possible. And yes, I know she's blue, not white. There is literally no records of her being blue skinned; is this because Wandjina's are associated with rain????) but she is also not very Wandjina looking? These figures do not have mouths, have large eyes meant to resemble the eye of a storm and are typically depicted with elaborate headdresses. That little glowing boomerang on her head is not exactly elaborate. And WHY does she have a boomerang??? Because she's Australian???? By that logic, every Japanese figure needs to have a katana. #GiveMurasakiaKatana2023.

There is also the issue of Cnoc na Riabh. While it is funny to think that she's a foreigner because of an Australian influence, Yaraan-doo is also another Aboriginal figure. And it is slapped onto a white girl for a fan service event. I'd just rather Fate leave Aboriginal culture alone and just do, like, Ned Kelly or something if they're going to continue like this.

More resources and info under the read more!

You'll have noted in the quotes that I've edited an 'n' into wanjinas. This is so I didn't confuse anyone: both can be the correct spelling! I just stuck to what I thought FGO was using for their Wandjina.

Here's an overview of what wandjinas are and their inappropriate use in art: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/arts/what-are-wandjinas

Here's another page about an inappropriate use of Wandjinas (note: it's only a short synopsis about a documentary that covered the incident, I'm uncertain if you would be able to get access to the documentary outside of Australia): https://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/who-paintin-dis-wandjina

It should also be noted that the two websites I've linked above are from the website Creative Spirits. While it is run by a non-Indigenous person, the person behind it is currently transitioning it to be an Aboriginal owned and run resource. You can read more about how this site is run in his About page.

*If you want to know about dot art's origin, here and here are some resources on them. However, this article brings up something interesting that I would like to bring back to FGO Wandjina's dot art aesthetic. It notes that "the term 'dot painting' stems from what the Western eye sees when faced with contemporary Aboriginal acrylic paintings" (emphasis mine). All three articles note that dots were used to obfuscate sacred symbols and artifacts so that those who were not initiated into their cultures could not see what these figures were. In that case, what the hell is the dot art seen on Fate's Wandjina supposed to represent? In this article, it talks about the symbolism in Indigenous art. Fate's Wandjina has none.

[kyousukebei]

4★ Cnoc na Riabh Yaraan-doo (Foreigner)

[reignsan]

4* Foreigner Yaraan-doo/Cnoc na Riabh ascensions

[raionmimi]

When the Mab fae line is reborn, they legally have to change nationalities so they can spread their reign

Missy Worldwide