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SHAVADAI

Shavadai

The Shavadai are the "People of the Steppe" of the planet Simarka. They may be descended from the Chagatai, a tribe of Mongols who kept to the traditional life of the steppe nomad when other Mongol tribes had settled in Persian China and adapted to the local customs. According to legend, they had been brought to Simarka by demons at the dawn of time. The women were once free, some were even warriors who fought with their husbands in battle, but that time is no longer spoken of. Old laws from ancient times, designed to protect and hide the women from the demons who had brought them there, had since taken away that freedom. According to the old laws, it is death for a woman to show her face in public, to speak, or to wear the clothes of a man, however women are highly valued for trade. Although the demons are gone, the old laws remained until Moughal, the chieftain of the Shavadai, began to welcome the new ways, granting freedom for Shavadai women in honor of Carter's example. The Shavadai established a friendly trade relationship with Earth, and a powerful natural anesthetic in use on the planet was brought back to the SGC for study.

Cross Reference: Abu, Moughal, Nya, Simarka, Toughai, Turghan

Episode Reference: Emancipation