The young acolytes are taken away from their families at the age of three and four, sequestered in a shadowy world of darkness in stone huts at the base of glaciers for 18 years: two nine-year periods deliberately chosen to mimic the nine months of gestation they spend in their natural mother's womb; now they are metaphorically in the womb of the great mother.
Mlade sljedbenike razdvoje od njihovih porodica u dobi od tri do četiri godine, izoliraju ih u sjenoviti svijet tame u kamenim kolibama u podnožju glečera na 18 godina: dva devetogodišnja perioda namjerno odabrana da imitiraju devet mjeseci trudnoće koje prevedu u prirodnoj utrobi majke; oni su tako metaforički u utrobi velike majke.