However, marriage of a smith into one of the other artisan castes is not strictly prohibited. The word nyamakalaw has two root meanings. Nyama animates the universe. It is like electric current which runs through everything but becomes concentrated and especially powerful at certain points. It also is the power to transform matter into energy and back again.
Blacksmiths inherit large concentrations of nyama from their ancestors.
It is this hereditary transmission of nyama which compels smiths to marry within their caste, because persons without the hereditary capacity to absorb nyama could not survive the relationship. However, inheritance of nyama is not all there is to becoming a smith. The transformative power of the smith is nowhere more evident than at the forge. It is in this sacred space that the smith works his control of nyama to make metal. But the forge is much more than a smithy's shop.