FateOfAKingdom/Culture
[A letter to Magistrate Seventh Promise of the Wind, Judge of the Six Provinces and Captain of the Mantis Maiden, from Sunna Tiye, daughter of the First House of the Second City, delivered by Ahn-gu, Spirit Servant of Lord Serozi, governor of the Second Province… where-in certain matters of traditional Am-Herashi language and etiquette are discussed.]
My Lord Captain,
Governor Serozi has informed us that you wish to know more of the traditional customs of our land and people. I am honored to have been chosen by the First House to be your instructor on these matters. Let us begin with the distinctions between the six provinces.
Just as the Ptah has a different character at its source than it displays here in the delta, so too are our traditions shaped by the geography of our land. Though all have come from a common source, divisions both natural and historical have given rise to differing folkways in each region. Even our language shows subtle distinctions, such that one may tell a man who comes from the Sixth City from one who comes from the Third simply by listening to his choice of words and the cadence of his voice. There are many traits that remain universal at their root, however, binding each region’s customs together as the children of one mother. You will find echoes of the whole in each variation.
Let me begin with the area where our ways differ most strongly from those of your own native islands in the West… divisions of labor and the role of our women. In the Western Islands I am told that distinct spheres of influence are maintained between the sexes. Men see to men’s duties while women see to their own, and rarely are the two worlds encouraged to intersect. In Am-Herat we have a similar tradition regarding the division of labor, but one’s role is determined by station rather than gender. Any given farmer or merchant or priest may be either a man or a woman with no difference in regard, but no member of the highest caste would sell dried dung from a street-cart, and no member of the lowest would find himself the High Priest of Kuenekina.
We divide ourselves into four castes… Those-Who-Teach, Those-Who-Battle, Those-Who-Build, and Those-Who-Labor. The station of our birth largely determines which role we are to play in the life of our land. Many of your own Magistrate Judges come from the caste of the Teachers, for example, while your guardsmen were born to the caste of the Warriors. Your housemaid comes from the caste of the Laborers, and your merchant friend Aruza was born to the caste of the Builders. The status of a family defines the status of its children. We receive both our names and our lineage from our mothers.
The coming of our King has made some of these divisions less clear than they once were. Are the Delzahn Warriors of the first caste or the second, we ask ourselves? If they, like Governor Sian of the First Province, chose husbands from among the men of our people, are their children of their father’s caste or their mother’s? The answers to these questions will become more important as the years go by and our ties grow stronger.
Our families are extensive, and many generations often share a family home. Each of us takes only one spouse here in the Second City, though in the Fourth City and in the villages of the East a man may also wed the sister of his wife if her own husband should come to an untimely end. It is thought best for her children. In the Fifth City and villages of the North, they are very lenient about marriages between members of differing castes, and many families include lineages that are above or below the others in their household. Here in the West, we are stricter about such things, and pairings that would disrupt a family so profoundly are frowned upon. No matron would allow her daughter or her son to do such an irresponsible thing.
That is perhaps enough information for this first letter, my Lord Magistrate. If my manner of instruction does not displease you, I will continue tomorrow with an examination of matters of dress and decoration.
May the blessings of the sun and the river be upon you,
Sunna Tiye
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[A letter to Magistrate Seventh Promise of the Wind, Judge of the Six Provinces and Captain of the Mantis Maiden, from Sunna Tiye, daughter of the First House of the Second City, and delivered to him in the Fourth City by Khairi Umbo, Plainsman Messenger of the Lion Clan… being a communication on the subject of traditional Am-Herashi dress, decoration, and deportment.]
I greet you again my Lord Captain,
I was glad to find that my first humble communication on the ways of our land pleased you. In this second letter, let us begin with the four traditional styles of Am-Herashi dress.
One’s clothing is a mark of one’s station in Am-Herat, as well as a reflection of the province one resides in. Here in the West, as you know, we favor white cottons of simple design. Those in the North have adopted layered robes and coats reminiscent of the styles of An-Teng, a land with which they once traded. The South, in contrast, is a land of bare legs and bare shoulders, where sturdy hemp and flaxen weaves are made bright with bold block prints, while those in the East favor colorful wraps and fine cloth woven from the silken inner bark of the jungle’s tengong trees.
In all cases, the dress of the higher castes is more finely crafted than that of the lower ranks, as is proper. That is not to say that the highest caste’s costume is necessarily the most elaborate or colorful. Quite the contrary, as you have so deftly observed among the people of the Second City, it is often the Third Caste which favors the most elaborate decoration and ornament, as they are the craftsmen who produce our wares and the merchants who sell them. Those of the First Caste and the Second often seem very dull in comparison…
All Am-Herashi are magpies where jewels and ornaments are concerned, however, and no man or woman, no matter how high-born or low, would think of being seen without their beads, or bangles, or other ornaments of some design. Like our costumes, our ornaments are often a reflection of our origin and caste, and there are taboos against one caste wearing clothing or ornaments reserved for another. In the West where we have the advantages of the sea and trade, we favor shell, pearls and coral. In the South, horn, bone, and amber from the marshes are more common. The North makes jewels of jade, silver, and glass, and in the East they favor ivory, gold, and exotic woods from the jungle.
I have included with this message an example of one of the most common ornamental designs you will encounter throughout the kingdom, the Staff of Aten. A bundled sheaf of wheat bound with three cords, it is a representation of life, growth, and prosperity… and a talisman of good luck thought to protect its bearer from want. This one is carved of white hammu shell, but they may appear in many other forms, from papyrus paper drawings to large gateposts and temple columns carved of stone. Only those of the highest caste may carry one hammu shell, but even the poorest slave is likely to have a Staff talisman made of clay, or bone.
In your reply to my first letter, you asked how we Am-Herashi greet one another. As in all things, it depends upon caste and status. An equal is greeted by name, with a small bow from the waist, with the left hand drawn to the right shoulder. A superior is greeted by title or honorific, with a deeper bow and the arms crossed. An inferior may be greeted in any way you chose, but those who are exceptionally polite may use the crossing of the left hand to the right shoulder without the accompanying bow. It is an archaic form, and nearly extinct, however, and as such may mark your manners as old fashioned if you use it. We all kneel on one knee with our heads bowed before our High Priest, our gods, and our King.
May the blessings of the sun and the river be upon you,
Sunna Tiye
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[In answer to a question posed by Golden Shadow Spider on clothing styles, gender, and hair styles popular in Am-Herat]
Sunna [brought to dinner in Menes one evening, and introduced to the rest of the Circle as Windy's 'Advisor on Native Culture and Customs'] says: "In general you'll find more gender differences in costume in the cities than you'll see in the countryside. Since our division of labor is not determined by gender, practicality tends to drive costume choices in the more active occupations regardless of sex. A male sailor or farmer, for instance, will dress much like his sister. You'll see more difference between the costumes of a Magistrate, for example, or a city Caius, and her husband.
Hair styles also differ by region. In the South hair is most often worn short, or even shaved. In the West we favor complex braids. In the North hair is often worn loose, and in the East both men and women keep their hair very long, and held back with golden bands or complex wooden combs."
