History Literature / CourtshipRite

* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: In the end, with the maran-Kaiel family bitterly divided over the question of Oelita vs. Kathein, and divorce beginning to look like a possibility, Gaet uses the babies born by the two women and fathered by maran-Kaiel men to help defuse the tension and remind everyone how much they love each other.

* NoBiochemicalBarriers: Averted: Humans on an alien planet can eat nothing but the ""sacred eight" organisms which survived their arrival. There is some talk of being able to process a few of the native plants to make them non-toxic, and of carefully selecting the edible bits of other native species. Some groups of humans have deliberately selected themselves for greater resistance to the poisons in the native organisms. The available foods include honey bees and wheat. Humans are the only source of meat.

The book was written in part because Kingsbury thought it would be fun to write a book where cannibalism was a positive thing, and [[DeliberateValuesDissonance make the reader agree]]. Creator/RobertAHeinlein expressed similar motives for writing ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'', but unlike ''Stranger'', ''Courtship Rite'' makes cannibalism a major theme of the story. It was nominated for a HugoAward in 1983.

** Of locusts. Oelita discovers a native species of insect which is eating wheat and ''not dying''. Normally, native life finds Terran life as poisonous as Terran life finds native life. When the Kaiel get a sample of the insect, they discover it has been deliberately genetically modified, and furthermore, the Mnankrei are standing by with ships of grain waiting for the famine these bugs will cause, so they can trade food for fealty.

* DataCrystal: One of the Kaiel's most sacred relics is a large crystal disc they call "the Frozen Voice of God", Kathein recently developed a machine to read it, showing that it mostly contained gene sequences. Oelita turns out to have another one that she has no idea of what it is. When read it turns out to be a history book on warfare.

* DesignerBabies: Some clans do perform genetic manipulation to try to improve themselves, but since the results can be unpredictable, and the techniques are expensive and difficult, it's not all that common. Genetic screening for undesirable traits is common, but even there, the Getans are aware that diversity is a boon in the long run. The Kaiel for instance produce designer babies in tanks en masse and cook the ones who appear weak, all three of the maran-Kaiel brothers were born that way and survived the creche.

* DataCrystal: One of the Kaiel's most sacred relics is a large crystal disc they call "the Frozen Voice of God", Kathein recently developed a machine to read it, showing that it mostly contained gene sequences. Oelita turns out to have another one that she has no idea of what it is, when read it turns out to be a history book on warfare.

* GuileHero: Hoemei. In a clan where status derives from making accurate predictions, and clan members are encouraged to manipulate events to make their predictions come true, Hoemei is the second-best predictor/manipulator. [[spoiler: Or rather the best, just the incumbent has been bribing the auditor.]]