Dominant Trait - Interdependency
Opposite Trait - Independence
Common Trait - Compromise
The area this culture is centered around is extremely uneven and hilly - not rocky or mountainous, just a lot of hills. Forests and plains are the most common geographical features on these hills, and there are a vast multitude of shallow, narrow streams and rivers in the low points between hills. The terrain makes it unsuitable for larger animals like horses or cattle.
The society is small, and consists of two main classes of warriors and “commoners" - the warriors are not dictators however as the two classes depend on each other to survive. Without the warriors the commoners would suffer, and without the commoners the warriors would starve. While the two operate in very different manners, the society generally trades the responsibilities of leadership depending on their needs. When bandits and rival tribes threaten the shepherds and crops, or migration to new fields is necessary, the warriors take the lead. In times of peace, or in seasons where food is more scarce and rationing is needed, the commoners take the lead. While there is no “law” to mandate it, the families of both classes highly encourage intermarriage between the two to maintain the balanced role each plays in their culture.
The people are primarily farmers and shepherds, focusing on sheep and grain crops as their main food sources, which also benefit from one another in a co-dependent fashion as the warrior-commoner dynamic of the humans - sheep eat grain in the winter, grain is fertilized by sheep who also clear away weeds and brush from the fields.
The people, being farmers and shepherds, tend to favor a stationary lifestyle, choosing a hill and establishing a “fort” - essentially a defensible enclosed town from which the people can carry out their daily lives. The forts are simple, and not meant to be points of life-or-death last stands - if an outside threat proves too significant for the warrior class to realistically handle, they will simply move to another hill where it is safer. Warriors tend to favor portable shields over the weight of armor, and instead of metal-worked chain mail or other such protection they will at the most wear a hardened leather jacket.
In the society's spirit of interdependent living there is no societal distinction between the sexes, with gender only really being a descriptive means of referring to others.
Art is practical - the things that receive the most detail are the things that will receive the most use, often hereditary items like tools or weapons, and clothing, though plain, is a common investment. Food is similarly practical, being a literal meat-and-potatoes society with simple mutton, dairy, and grain dishes supplemented with vegetables. They tend to prefer meals as singular entities rather than a combination of dishes - if it can be combined together, that’s how they prepare it.
Due to the strong interdependence of the two classes, the society is extremely introverted and does not have much interaction with other societies in the hills. Many of the other tribes around them function in very similar fashion, and thus there are occasionally violent disputes over land rights for herds, farm land, and travel. There is not only war, however - intertribal marriages are common as a means of establishing peace or sealing treaties. A tribe will not go to war if that would risk endangering one of the members of their own tribe.
As the society is semi-permanent, and has passed through many generations, there is a strong tradition of story-telling and writing, and the people love songs - particularly historical songs about the feats of their warriors or very profitable harvest seasons. Typically they do not embellish these stories to a great degree - they value honesty amongst themselves and rely on their story-telling and song as a historical record. Shepherds often second as the story-tellers, as they spend much of their time in dormancy watching sheep graze.
The sacred nature of stories as history has made truth an absolute value in the tribe. Most all crimes can be traced to the idea of dishonesty - Telling or writing a fictional story, claiming sheep or crops that are not your own, and lying are some of the greatest crimes.
Crime and punishment is a somewhat elaborative process that involves the entire tribe, and could be seen as inefficient - If one commits an offensive act against another, the tribe gathers to hear the charges of the ‘prosecutor’ against the ‘defendant’ - after which there is an open debate as to what is the truth, and what should be done about the liar. The class currently in command generally has somewhat more authority in these decisions, out of respect for their role.
Death is a rare punishment, with exile being preferable. Theft or destruction of property, murder, deliberately fabricating false stories, and violently attacking others generally is punished by exile, with lesser crimes being punished more leniently with manual labor or public humiliation.
As the culture is dependent on an equality between warriors and commoners, both classes tend to dress simply and keep their tools and weapons as ordinary as possible. Embellishment on clothes and other extravagancies such as cloaks and jewelry are an indication more of bloodline than of power or wealth - families who have existed longer have accumulated more decoration.
Opposite Trait - Independence
Common Trait - Compromise
The area this culture is centered around is extremely uneven and hilly - not rocky or mountainous, just a lot of hills. Forests and plains are the most common geographical features on these hills, and there are a vast multitude of shallow, narrow streams and rivers in the low points between hills. The terrain makes it unsuitable for larger animals like horses or cattle.
The society is small, and consists of two main classes of warriors and “commoners" - the warriors are not dictators however as the two classes depend on each other to survive. Without the warriors the commoners would suffer, and without the commoners the warriors would starve. While the two operate in very different manners, the society generally trades the responsibilities of leadership depending on their needs. When bandits and rival tribes threaten the shepherds and crops, or migration to new fields is necessary, the warriors take the lead. In times of peace, or in seasons where food is more scarce and rationing is needed, the commoners take the lead. While there is no “law” to mandate it, the families of both classes highly encourage intermarriage between the two to maintain the balanced role each plays in their culture.
The people are primarily farmers and shepherds, focusing on sheep and grain crops as their main food sources, which also benefit from one another in a co-dependent fashion as the warrior-commoner dynamic of the humans - sheep eat grain in the winter, grain is fertilized by sheep who also clear away weeds and brush from the fields.
The people, being farmers and shepherds, tend to favor a stationary lifestyle, choosing a hill and establishing a “fort” - essentially a defensible enclosed town from which the people can carry out their daily lives. The forts are simple, and not meant to be points of life-or-death last stands - if an outside threat proves too significant for the warrior class to realistically handle, they will simply move to another hill where it is safer. Warriors tend to favor portable shields over the weight of armor, and instead of metal-worked chain mail or other such protection they will at the most wear a hardened leather jacket.
In the society's spirit of interdependent living there is no societal distinction between the sexes, with gender only really being a descriptive means of referring to others.
Art is practical - the things that receive the most detail are the things that will receive the most use, often hereditary items like tools or weapons, and clothing, though plain, is a common investment. Food is similarly practical, being a literal meat-and-potatoes society with simple mutton, dairy, and grain dishes supplemented with vegetables. They tend to prefer meals as singular entities rather than a combination of dishes - if it can be combined together, that’s how they prepare it.
Due to the strong interdependence of the two classes, the society is extremely introverted and does not have much interaction with other societies in the hills. Many of the other tribes around them function in very similar fashion, and thus there are occasionally violent disputes over land rights for herds, farm land, and travel. There is not only war, however - intertribal marriages are common as a means of establishing peace or sealing treaties. A tribe will not go to war if that would risk endangering one of the members of their own tribe.
As the society is semi-permanent, and has passed through many generations, there is a strong tradition of story-telling and writing, and the people love songs - particularly historical songs about the feats of their warriors or very profitable harvest seasons. Typically they do not embellish these stories to a great degree - they value honesty amongst themselves and rely on their story-telling and song as a historical record. Shepherds often second as the story-tellers, as they spend much of their time in dormancy watching sheep graze.
The sacred nature of stories as history has made truth an absolute value in the tribe. Most all crimes can be traced to the idea of dishonesty - Telling or writing a fictional story, claiming sheep or crops that are not your own, and lying are some of the greatest crimes.
Crime and punishment is a somewhat elaborative process that involves the entire tribe, and could be seen as inefficient - If one commits an offensive act against another, the tribe gathers to hear the charges of the ‘prosecutor’ against the ‘defendant’ - after which there is an open debate as to what is the truth, and what should be done about the liar. The class currently in command generally has somewhat more authority in these decisions, out of respect for their role.
Death is a rare punishment, with exile being preferable. Theft or destruction of property, murder, deliberately fabricating false stories, and violently attacking others generally is punished by exile, with lesser crimes being punished more leniently with manual labor or public humiliation.
As the culture is dependent on an equality between warriors and commoners, both classes tend to dress simply and keep their tools and weapons as ordinary as possible. Embellishment on clothes and other extravagancies such as cloaks and jewelry are an indication more of bloodline than of power or wealth - families who have existed longer have accumulated more decoration.
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