Culture of Çeridgul

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Customs and Traditions

Property

After leaving their mothers' homes, females become very conscious of status and territory - they like to have it made clear what is theirs and what is not, and are frequently possessive of what is theirs. This applies to many things, both tangible and intangible, but the classic example is land, which is almost exclusively owned by female heads of household - or, as it is seen through the lens of Çerian society, the female in question is the trustee of the local zeren, having its exclusive permission to use and defend the land, and becoming the interpreter of the zeren's will.

The owner of land will mark its boundaries prominently. In areas where natural boundaries already exist, the markers may be relatively simple - poles erected along a riverbank, paint applied to a rock face - but, where the boundary is not otherwise obvious and requires attention drawn to it, may involve constructions of prominent cairns at intervals. The symbolism in boundary markers may vary slightly in the details, but almost universally involves the symbolism of claws pointed outward from one's territory. Frequently, two adjoining properties will have a narrow space between the lines of their boundary markers; this is a sort of formal zone of joint ownership, which acts as a buffer and neutral space between the owners. Roads and paths are frequently built in these spaces, so that people may travel easily across the landscape without entering someone's exclusive territory.

A female may acquire land with the blessing of its zeren, either by claiming an uninhabited area or having obtained it by agreement from another female. How much land a female may reasonably hold depends in large part upon the size of her household; as for social reasons (see further below) it is necessary for a property to be patrolled in search of entrants, the more household members there are, the more territory can be patrolled. The primary mechanism for conveying the use of property between unrelated females is ultimately by a form of leasing: many new families, unable to acquire decent property conveniently, may be allowed to settle on a particular portion of the land of a higher-status female, use its resources, and remain unmolested upon it, in exchange for providing labor or materials toward the maintenance of the greater household - the lessee gains many of the benefits of land ownership at what is, in the short term, a cheaper price, while the landlady obtains a household resource base larger than that her own family could provide by itself. Twelve years is a common lease term, at the end of which the lease may be renewed, or the lessee may (often) purchase the leased land on amicable terms.

Entering a female's property proceeds by one of three methods:

• The intent to cross a property entirely for the purposes of transit - stopping only to rest - can be signaled by the carrying of a flag of a particular pattern, which is in fact the national flag; its use in this latter capacity derives from the sense of neutrality associated with the former. Traveling "beneath the banner" signals an intent to move across property in a timely fashion without claiming its resources or offending its owner or its zeren; so long as the party holds to these limitations, the owner shall not prevent them from doing so (if they do not, they can be evicted at the owner's discretion). While even a traveling party short on food may not hunt or gather while "beneath the banner", many enterprising owners along popular travel routes will sell provisions and accommodations in a rough form of innkeeping.
• One entering a property for emergency purposes may claim "the mercy of the Gentle Eye" if challenged by the owner, either through verbal declaration or using a black banner with a white circle in its center. Making this claim states that the person trespassing is doing so in dire need of the owner's aid against a threat to health or life - aid to be obtained either through some action on the part of the owner, or through the provision of something on their property. For example, should a traveler be out of water and the nearest source is on a nearby property, entering said property under the mercy of the Gentle Eye to obtain a drink and refill one's canteens may be allowable. It should be said that the owner still has the right to evict someone who uses this tactic, but doing so carries a certain social risk: it would be understood if the owner could reasonably feel that she cannot spare the aid requested, or if the claim is being made under false pretenses, but to refuse someone genuinely in need when in ample possession of the needed thing would, if it became known, lower her standing among her neighbors.
• One who intends to visit a property as a destination for any reason, by contrast, must obtain the owner's specific leave to do so. Ideally, this must be done before passing the boundary at all, which presents the problem of signaling its inhabitants; regular patrols of the property are required for this reason, though the process may be eased by the designation of obvious waiting areas. Once the owner's attention has been obtained, she will proceed with a ritual challenge, demanding to know the purpose of the visit and the intentions of the visitor. This is often far less rigorous toward males, who (if unmarried) frequently wander across the landscape on various forms of business, often useful, and are usually far more welcome visitors. Female visitors, by contrast, usually receive more extensive questioning unless the owner is already on very good terms with them; this is not necessarily a genuine expression of suspicion about the visitor's intentions (though it may be), so much as a display of territorial rights, and even those with whom the owner is on fairly good terms may be subject to it.

Males are not technically forbidden from owning land, but they are considered to be disfavored as interpreters by zerenid. Neighboring owners generally will not take a male's claim seriously, to the point that they may very well ignore it altogether, or else attempt to marry him to obtain it (if a male were married already, his wife would already own the land). Sedentary males looking for their own land are somewhat of a niche case in any event; most adult males are either in a nomadic male band, and therefore have no land to own; or they are looking for a wife. The few who fall into neither category usually become a tenant on someone else's land instead of claiming their own.

Timekeeping and Holidays

In the laurisilvan forests of the interior highlands, where most Çerid make their homes, the seasons are relatively indistinct; the changing path of the sun and of the lengths of days provides an indication of the passage of time, and the southern winter is somewhat rainier than the summer, so the Çerid are aware of the rough length of the year and keep a count of how many there have been between the translocation and the present day (measuring from the beginning of the rainy season), but generally do not keep a precise count of the days themselves, nor divide the year on any scale between days and years; there are no equivalents to weeks or months.

There are not many Çerian holidays per se; the Çerid work when they need to work, give offerings to the spirits when it is appropriate, and use the rest of the time as they like. The main fixed event, held at the end of the rainy season, is the Feast of Unbinding, which commemorates the anniversary of their arrival on Micras and deliverance from slavery. The largest Feast of Unbinding is held at Gultaj, where it is the occasion for the annual Vocal Assembly, and a large portion of the Çer population travels to be present there, but many households and outlying communities will hold their own Feasts for those that do not want to be away from home.

The Feast of Unbinding lasts for an indeterminate period, usually around twelve days but varying with the size and complexity of the event. But during the Unbinding season, it is expected for the rules of etiquette surrounding entry into property to be relaxed: females will allow visitors entry without rituals or challenges, and cross into each others' territory (mostly) without animosity. For someone to take undue advantage of this generosity, by plundering resources or objects from one's land or home, is considered to be intensely disrespectful to the point of being sacreligious, an offense against the local zeren and a sign that one has allowed a dark kath into their soul.

Diet and Cuisine

Food Sources

The Çerid, biologically speaking, are adapted for a relatively carnivorous lifestyle; their teeth are not suited from grinding tough foods, and they lack the capacity to break down significant amounts of cellulose, and are therefore unable to process leaves and stems. Aside from those used as herbs or spices, generally the only way such items find their way into Çer food is to combat outright starvation, as a medicinal substance, or, occasionally, thoroughly cooked (usually as a filler in a stew).

Far less taxing to them are more cellulose-poor and energy-rich plant foods: fruit, nuts, tubers and other root crops, pulses, and grains. These things, together with edible fungi, make up a substantial portion of the Çer diet, since even with an ingrained preference for meat, the ability to feed everyone - as it has in various periods of human history - has depended on a culinary tradition that is willing to make use of, and make appetizing, whatever foods are available.

The bulk of the meat in the Çer diet is goat; feral herds could be found roaming the island at the time the Çerid arrived, and their similarities in ecology and behavior (and taste) to the ejdenid native to the Place That Was made it relatively easy for the Çerid to redomesticate them, and many nomadic male bands now make their livings herding goats across the landscape. Fish is also popular, particularly by the coasts and even more so on the arid stretches where there is relatively little else reliably available. Chickens are beginning to be kept for meat and eggs as well, though they still have something of a dubious reputation (feathers having never evolved in the Place That Was, the earlier generations of Çerid considered feathered animals to be "creepy"). Hunting for wild game remains both a source of food and a popular pastime.

Plant agriculture is not far advanced. The early Çerid refugees were on far less familiar ground with local plants than with goats and fish, and neither the slopes of the laurisilvan interior nor the more arid coasts lent themselves well to farming. Although today some settlements - in the more densely-population interior areas and around the Bay of Winds - have increasingly adopted a kind of small-scale garden agriculture, growing beans, tomatoes, garlic, coriander, and mushrooms, most plant-based foods are still gathered from the wild, particularly nuts, berries, and fruits.