which finally overcame Richese would likely have occurred sooner But the limited presence of Richese in the lives of the Komans helped to make the burden of their servitude more bearable Most of the population had no contact whatever with the government of Richese unless they accompanied the tribute convoys into one of the district capitals after the harvest Even during the tnbute collection most of the population remained at home on ranch or farm The Komans were obdurately rural Since the only state the Komans knew was Richese, they recognized no state The most important political unit on Komos was also the chief social unit the family The Komans thought of the family as an organic entity It was to be cared for in the same way that their land was tended or their crops were cultivated The ddults dnd their ancestors, provided the resources out of which the future of the family would be created and that future achie\ed form and life m their children Fathers retained control of the lives of their progeny for their lives, when a father died each of his adult sons, whether married or not became a ful!y independent individual for the first time Women on Komos though they enjoyed no legal status m that they could not appear m court or inherit without the appointment of a guardian, nonetheless possessed great powers within the family and society at large Since the religion of Komos was controlled by pnestesses the religious life of the family was in the hands of the father s wife Just as every male hoped to head his own family one day, so every young woman hoped to guide the sacred well-being of her family The only other social entity worthy of note was the tribe Members of a tribe traced their ancestry to a common male ancestor They shared certain religious observances and a common burial ground Religious ntes from birth to death fo cused around the worship of the goddess Kubebe She was a mother goddess regarded as the source nf all life animal and plant In common with similar religions, her followers believed that each year the world died as a result of the absence of their goddess While explanations for this departure might vary from region to region, the result was constant the death of the world This 350 death explained the passage of the seasons and the infertility of fall and winter Naturally the Komans were aware that these beliefs could not be reconciled with the astronomical facts of their star system The stones were regarded as having meaning only with respect to the actions of their deity If Kubcbc chose to create winter by the revolution of their planet around their star, so be it If she desired, she could also see to it that winter continued, rather than turning rate the spring That might mean changing the course ct their planet's orbit, or it might not-who knew7 As Kubebe's absence kafied their planet only hex return could resurrect tt To ensure that return even die most serious rituals of mourning, cleansi