Biya Sama Fujin (Lady Biya), modernly known as Laurel Anne Rockefeller, has been playing in the Society for Creative Anachronism since the first week of October, 1990 (AS 25).
She was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska where her passion for companion birds from almost birth would eventually create a leadership opportunity for her in AS 41 when she founded the Known World Aviculturists Guild on August 14th, 2006.
Yet her sseparate passion for aviculture was the furtherest thought from her mind when Laurel was called into the student activities center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in early September 1990 and "strongly reccomended" she "try" at least one campus group. When asked what she enjoys, the Society for Creative Anachronism was suggested to her for her love of singing and love of history and she was asked if she would consider trying medieval music. In 5th grade Laurel's class at Calvert Elementary school had put on a production of "Comedy of Errors" by William Shakespeare. those not in the play had the option of singing in the medieval choir for the play--Laurel had chosen that role and so, 6 years later, was happy to try the SCA. The first week of October was the next music practice and Laurel attended--she never stopped singing.
It would be a different kind of music that would catch Laurel's (now Anne de Lyons of the Shire of Mag Mor) heart. In 1993 she attended a Korean cultural festival at Kimball hall which included several musical performances, including the 12th century Arirang. She was in love--with ASIAN MUSIC and culture. As a history major, Laurel shifted her focus to East Asian studies and took every Asian class offered by the University of Nebraska. Medieval Europe was forgotten in favor of China and the Jurchens.
Upon graduatation, Anne declared her first Asian persona: Feng Yin-yue, a Han Chinese from Yanjing from the ending days of the Jin dynasty. She moved to Iowa City to the Shire of Shadowdale and enrolled at the University of Iowa to study Chinese. Just as importantly, in the Uiowa music library she found an out of print book of medieval sheet music from the Korean renaissance that included medieval Chinese pieces. Feng Yin-yue could now study Asian music!
Unfortunately for her, Calontir politics is Calontir--she found herself not so welcome now she was playing Asian as when she played European. As a low vision person dependant on others for assistance getting to events, Feng Yin-yue discovered that help was no longer available to her. All it took was a simple withholding of favors.
Fortunately for Feng Yin-yue, her aspirations careerwise took her out of the midwest--in January 2000 she left Calontir and took out six months to visit a friend in Kentucky. On July 6th, 2000 she moved to New Jersey to the Barony of Settmour Swamp, knowing nothing about the East Kingdom at all!
Fortunately for Laurel during her time in Kentucky, she continued her historical research and was finally able to secure research access to a Manchu-English dictionary--she could FINALLY create a name, and a persona, for an actual Jurchen in the Jin dynasty instead of playing a Han Chinese. In the weeks immediately after her move to New Jersey, she decided upon a name based on that dictionary:
BIYA.
It has been her name, and ever shall be, ever since. In January 2011, her name was submitted to the college of heralds as "Biya the Jurchen" after ten years of debate and research on if and what her byname ought to be. The confusion arising because in the SCA a byname is required. However, Jurchens, before the 17th century, were never addressed by their clanal affiliations (which were recorded on paper but never used with the living). Hence in almost period irony, what Biya is addressed in person as and what sits on paper is and shall ever be--different. For persona purposes, Biya in the Jin era is from clan Aisin (gold) and from the Ming era is from clan Gioro.
Her byname, required by the heralds but not period for a Jurchen, has been a different matter, but with a Jurchen name in hand, Biya contacted the Settmour Swamp chatelaine, informed her of her move to the barony from Calontir, and in the spring of 2001 attended her first event in the East: Mudthaw.
Mudthaw is now usually a kingdom level event for Settmour Swamp. I am perhaps glad in 2001 it was not...it made the culture shock a little easier!
