Haldra (Culture)

At a glance:
 * non-hereditary caste sysyem, limited to defining education and religion
 * theocratic dictatorships with republican local governments
 * prefer to live in compact towns intead of villages or cities.
 * Religion is a universal pantheon
 * produces linen and fruit

Socitey:
The government is composed of tribal councils from the various settlements managing their own locals. The whole people is governed by a god-king known as a larican. When the old God-king dies, each village enters a child in a boat race down the river past the land's final and largest largest confluence. The winning tribe is considered blessed and the child that wins is made the god-king. These races are both dangerous and long, riddled with survival tests and fighting along the way. Endurance, strength, cunning design of watercraft, and guile on occasion are essential and result in a well rounded leader. The production of the craft is observed by representatives of all the tribes and is done by the child without help. It is customary for the Godking to establish a harem as a diplomatic gesture to the tribes that give him brides.''' ''' The rest of society is defined by a non-hereditary caste system that defines a persons education, but not necessarily occupation. The system is perpetuated by the scholastic, religious and judicial Auger class, who's primary purpose is to assess pubescents' personalities, talents, and interests and assign them a Ralchom, a sash and sign of their caste. The rest of their early lives are spent in the education of that caste. With a handful of exceptions, castes do not have social rank associated with them. A member of any caste can be destitute or nobility. Likewise, nobility are made up of many different castes. In this way, Castes and ralchoms are signs of personality, prescribed skills and competencies rather than a strict occupational restriction.

Haldran society is a collection of agricultural and fishing communities along the riversides that flow in the area. The many streams have meant that for the history of this land, its inhabitants have had easy access to each other by the use of small watercraft, leading to trade and a collective self developing early on. The rivers are too large for horse to cross unless at one of the rare and often well defended fords, so much of the fighting that has occurred throughout the ages has been waterborne raids. Satellite communities are ruled by local republican councils, but are subservient tot the Larican. Augers are forbidden from holding office, but are free to influence government assemblies.

Haldran communities take the form of a compact compound that functions as a small town. Villages and large cities are rare as these compounds function as central hubs for agriculture and industry. Populations rarely exceed, or fall below 500 individuals. These communities have evolved to thwart raids on vulnerable villages. Each community diversifies enough to maintain minimal self sufficiency, but economic forces often influence specialization in communities. Intermarriage and apprenticeships keep communities tightly nit.

Culture/ethnic stuff
Tendency for height, but somewhat skinny. Usually more tone and than muscular. Various hair and eye color. Sharp but gaunt facial features. The Haldrans are known for artistic craft of abstract style, curious contraptions, philosophic models, storytelling, music and complex but flexible protocols in politics, management and economics. Clothing is usually a variable mix of linen pants or culottes, with linen puttees, sandals often shin high thongs, linen tunic, often layered with other tunics or vests, wide-brimmed low crown hats as well as cone-shaped high crown hats, all made of straw or felt. Clothing is close-trimmed and often exposes the legs at the knee, the arms. Hair is often long, tied up when with a hat under the back of it. Un-married men wear a single sleeved tunic that exposes one side. Ralchoms are warn as caste identities and are often thought of as the soul of the wearer. Ralchims are embroidered headbands and signs of authority.

Lineage:
Upon death, a mans sons take on their own surnames with the eldest inheriting the father's. Cadet branch surnames typically resemble the main branch surname. Nobility is defined by the success of ones close relatives, which is often inherited to some extent. Nobility is not based directly on lineage.

Values:
Haldrans hold conflicting values of individualism and collectivism. They believe in self-responsibility and have a distaste for mandatory charity or service. Despite this, they have a strong sense of duty to the community and are especially observant to meeting ones own personal potential. Being true to ones own talents is considered a religious expression. It is therefor unseemly to restrict a persons ability to perform their talents except in judicial action.

Typically, Haldrans value curiosity and stability. Long term projects are preferred to perennial preparations. Great effort is put into avoiding being fixed in their own traditions. As such, meticulous planning is often avoided, though thoroughly explored. They prefer quality of life over quantity, leading to the common traits of being inventive, unworried, artistic and intellectual, but somewhat nonindustrial. Entrepreneurship and innovation are common in every mans profession, but there is not a strong work ethic. Competition is common, especially in determining the new God-king, but it is not a focal point.

Religion:
Divinity is strongly correlated to cunning, success, and luck; the traits displayed in the choosing of their leaders. It is not particularly associated with nature or the natural forces but the working of destiny and the influence of it by man.

The Haldran pantheon is universal. The Haldrans believe that every thing in the world is an aspect of a deity. Just as these physical aspects make up a deity, deities are themselves aspects of even greater deities. Every deity is struggling to become sovereign, to escape the confines of their over-god's existence and to absorb others. Just as a man might seek to control everything, the gods seek to be everything. in this fashion the Haldran interpret other cultures as aspects of other gods and readily accept the existence of other pantheons as their own.

People and castes are considered aspects of deities that are associated. An example is with their personalities.

The principle god of the Haldran is the god of stability, Larican who is solely embodied in the Larican. Rebels religiously justify their existence as lesser gods seeking their own sovereignty from Larican or as secular arms of the Laricanate. The idea of an anti-larican is not theologically consistent.

Past:
The Haldrans descend from intrepid Bergans who found the rivers of their new homeland appropriate for settlement. Fragments of their western ways can be seen in compact colonial towns that dot the land, a system first developed to deal with island isolation.

Long isolation from other Bergan cultures has created an entirely new one in the Haldran. These river connected colonies concentrated into towns that build on top of themselves in order to curtail the raiding that was common to Bergan culture and exacerbated by the easy accessibility of river travel.

Economic Base:
Fishing and agriculture are the mainstays of Haldran life. The communities function as equal parts plantation, commercial hub and industrial centers. Orchards are the preferred source of food as they are long term investments with minimal labor. Pomegranates are ubiquitous and flax is grown as a source of linen. Cloth production is a large source of employment as well dyed and embroidered cloths are fashionable and the many river-craft create a demand for sails and rigging. Other crops include citrus, plums, yams, barley and rye.

Nation Names: Jotorican, Filmican, Ralgorimosican. Korican. Person Names: Indra, Galigimlon, Zefethres, Jalil, Hefrenok, Effra, Folagrim Place Names: Ujila, Rokorla, Palla, Rosomforla. -ican: Stablitity, peace. "Jotorican" means Jotor's peace. -la: a dock.