An Ancient Bond with the Land

Trade Fairs

Private Trading

Some people who attended a trade fair preferred not to engage in ceremonial trade. Instead, they exchanged goods on an individual, face-to-face basis. These people, often women, would go from tent to tent bartering food, raw materials, leather products, tools, fancy clothing, luxury items and dogs for equivalent goods owned by people of the other nation. Private trading could sometimes be more profitable than ceremonial trading, and it usually opened the door to friendly visiting and feasting.