Nuhàm Lekhikàn

The nature and purpose of the Circle

The Nuhàm Circle is the Circle of Grandmothers, the highest council of Mikumwakàn. Its name rises from nuhàm, "my grandmother," for every member stands to the Circle as a grandchild stands to the grandmothers who carry the family's knowing.

The Circle exists because life flows through the Mother and because the grandmothers keep the knowing alive through every forgetting. It is the living form of the Law of the Source.

The Circle holds three purposes:

1. To guard the knowing. The Circle keeps the teachings, the statement, the language, and the calendar whole and true across generations.

2. To guide the people. The Circle offers counsel to facilitators and members, and gives the final word on matters touching the whole community.

3. To restore harmony. The Circle hears every voice when harm occurs and sets the path of repair, so the community returns to nishkàhëna.

Who sits in the Circle

The Circle is formed of women of the faith who are grandmothers in years, in wisdom, or in both. A grandmother of the Circle need not have borne grandchildren; she is a grandmother because the community recognizes her as one who carries and passes on the knowing.

Qualities of a grandmother of the Circle

• She is a member in the covenant and lives the twelve ways.

• She speaks what is true and keeps every word given.

• She knows the statement, the calendar, and the teachings of the faith.

• She holds the trust of the community, recognized at Naxa Kishku.

• She leads as the Mother leads: toward the good of the whole and for generations not yet born.

The number of the Circle. The Circle holds an odd number of grandmothers, never fewer than three and never more than thirteen, one for each moon of the fullest year.

Calling a grandmother. A grandmother is called into the Circle by the consensus of the grandmothers already seated, after her name is spoken at Naxa Kishku so the people may offer counsel. She is seated at the next Day One, when the year is born.

The founding Circle. The first grandmothers are called by the founder, Zayin-zari: Bey, and seated together at the first Day One the Circle keeps. From that day forward, the Circle calls its own.

The First Grandmother

The First Grandmother is the eldest voice of the Circle in service, not in rank. She holds the Circle together as the hearth holds the fire.

Her charge

• She opens and closes every gathering of the Circle.

• She names the moon and its three peak days at each Naxa Kishku.

• She speaks the final word when the Circle does not reach consensus.

• She receives the vows of facilitators at the Rite of Anointing.

• She keeps the Record of the Covenant and the Record of Facilitators.

How she is chosen. The grandmothers of the Circle choose the First Grandmother from among themselves by consensus, at a Day One. She serves while her strength and spirit allow, and she may lay down the charge at any Day One.

When she is absent. When the First Grandmother cannot be present, the grandmother longest seated in the Circle carries her charge until she returns.

What the Circle holds

Domain	The Circle's charge
The teachings	Guards The Faith of Mikumwakàn, the statement, and the seven universal laws; approves any change to the founding documents
The language	Approves new Moabe words and each new edition of the dictionary
The calendar	Names the moons at each Naxa Kishku and approves the year count
The facilitators	Approves each facilitator's anointing and each rise in degree; may call a facilitator to rest when the harmony of the circle requires it
The members	Welcomes members into the covenant and hears members who seek counsel
Repair	Hears every voice when harm occurs, sets the path of amends, and welcomes the restored back in full
The shared harvest	Sets fair support for those who serve and reviews the record of every gift and every use at each Day One
The land	Guards the church's sacred grounds and approves their use for ceremony

The Circle holds these charges in service of the whole. No charge belongs to any one grandmother; each belongs to the Circle as one.

How the Circle gathers and decides

When the Circle gathers. The Circle gathers at every dark moon, Samp-oo-somow, in the season of rest and intention, and stands before the people at every Naxa Kishku. It gathers at each of the eight stations of the sun, and at any time the First Grandmother calls it.

The form of the gathering.

1. The First Grandmother opens with Isla, fa hu lan and the cleansing with water.

2. The statement of Mikumwakàn is spoken in Moabe.

3. Each matter is named, and every grandmother speaks in turn around the circle, without interruption.

4. The circle turns again until one voice emerges.

5. The decision is spoken aloud and entered in the Record.

6. The First Grandmother closes with òngùndëwakàn and wanishi.

Consensus. The Circle decides as one. A grandmother who cannot join the decision may stand aside, and her reason is entered in the Record. When consensus does not emerge after three turns of the circle, the First Grandmother speaks the final word.

The fullness of the Circle. A decision stands when more than half the seated grandmothers are present. Matters touching the founding documents require every seated grandmother to be heard.

The people's voice. Before the Circle decides a matter touching the whole community, the matter is spoken at Naxa Kishku so every member may offer counsel.

The bounds the Circle keeps

The Circle holds great trust, and great trust keeps firm bounds.

• The Circle lives the covenant. Every grandmother lives the twelve ways and stands under the same code she guards.

• No private gain. No grandmother receives any part of the shared harvest beyond fair support set openly by the Circle as a whole.

• Stepping aside. A grandmother steps aside from any matter that touches her own family, her own interests, or a conflict in which she stands.

• Suv'eranty of conscience. The Circle offers counsel and sets the path of the community, yet never compels any member in belief.

• Protection first. Harm involving a child, violence, or a threat to anyone's safety is never held within the Circle alone. The Circle acts at once to protect those at risk and brings the matter to the proper authorities.

• The statement stands. The founding statement of Mikumwakàn remains as expressed by its Founder, preserved in its original essence and intent. The Circle serves as its faithful guardian, entrusted to carry its wisdom across languages, cultures, and generations, honoring its meaning while embodying, illuminating, and advancing its deepest principles.

Continuity across generations

The Circle is a living circle: grandmothers enter, serve, and rest, while the Circle itself endures.

Laying down the charge. A grandmother may lay down her seat at any Day One. She remains an honored elder of the faith, and her counsel stays welcome at every gathering.

Calling to rest. When a grandmother no longer lives the covenant or no longer serves the harmony of the whole, the other grandmothers, by consensus, may call her to rest. She is heard first, and her place of honor among the people remains.

Crossing over. When a grandmother crosses over to the ancestors, the Circle holds her name at the next station of the sun, Nëmuxumës, among the grandmothers who walk beyond.

Raising the next grandmothers. Each grandmother of the Circle walks beside at least one younger woman of the faith, sharing the knowing so the Circle never stands empty.

Changing this charter. This charter changes only by the consensus of every seated grandmother, after the change is spoken at two Naxa Kishku gatherings so every member may offer counsel.