Zahaani
magic is the tool of a weak heart, a tool that can only be turned to evil
The zahaani were a group of humans that lived on the southern coast of Austur on the edge of the Southern Sea, north-west of the Inesh Daan. Though a heavily distributed people, they were more heavily settled around Ceytus Bay, and what eventually became the city of Zahaan after Unification.
They were a fairly simple agrarian people, set apart from the rest of humanity on Ashvaarya by their absolutely rejection of magic, and their belief that humans who did use it, were deeply immoral and a threat to all life on Ashvaarya. Their absolute eschewing of magic, combined with a general belief in simplicity, and their reverence for the lashaan combined in a quasi-religion they called "Embranda", or "remembrance".
Embranda was a set of rules, doctrines, and mantras designed to aid in fighting the temptations of magic and keep the memory of the lashaan alive in daily life. This practice evolved quickly into a kind of ancestor worship, vaguely similar to the symbolic idolization of specific lashaan "patrons" that evolved in Landen and later Austurian culture.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Mara Alvrez and the first of her followers followed the traditions of pre-sunder Landen, where by every child was raised speaking olde anglesh (the common tongue) and at least one language of their ancestors. As such, Alvrez was, like many in Landen, fluent in the language of her Fallen forebears: portugol. When Alvrez and her zahaani left Landen, they chose to leave olde anglesh behind as well. This was both symbolic and practical, as all copies of the six books of magic were written in old anglesh.
From the time they settled the edge of the Southern Sea in the late 30s AS, any member who did not speak portugol was forced to learn quickly, as both speaking and teaching olde anglesh to your children, was made illegal according to their anti-magic doctrine.
Centuries later, when the zahaani began sending missionaries into the "tarras sugaas" (soiled lands), they were permitted to learn the ubiquitous 'anglesh' in order to preach the doctrine to the "pecada" (tainted people).
Culture and cultural heritage
The zahaani took their name from the lashaan phrase: "zaa sh'haan", which loosely translated to "wise discretion". The ideology began shortly after the Sunder when an influential member of the Landen Council , Mara Alvrez, believed that the actions of the Cult of Terra were proof that humanity had no business using magic in any way. Many agreed and the woman soon had a large following. After years of attempting to convince the other members of the Landen Council of the rightness of her ideology, and with the constant stream of folk leaving Landen to start new settlements further west, Alvrez and her followers decided to do the same.
Unlike others of the time who still wanted to maintain a connection with wider human society however, the newly self-named zahaani wanted nothing to do with what they saw as the moral and practical hazards of "magical society". With a desire to create a true ideologically and social distance, they attempted to achieve a true physical distance, and travelled due south from Landen through the low mountains and rough foothills. Eventually reaching the cliffs and shores along the Southern Sea, the zahaani began their new settlement on the cliffs and hills of what would later become Ceytus Bay.
They built a heavily puritanical culture based around ideals of "simplicity" and the overarching notion that any and all magic was utterly evil and destructive. The resulting practice was called, Embrada (remembrance), and it was followed, enforced, and practiced by every single member of zahaani society.
Shared customary codes and values
The Zahaani believed that humans should not practice magic of any kind. They lived very simple, agrarian lives, using only the simple technology they could create without magic. They believed so strongly in the rightness of their beliefs, that they viewed any magic using human as quite literally better off dead.
They tended to be quite peaceful internally, but did have an elite force of exceptionally skilled warriors called "blademasters". These started off as part time fighters defending various zahaani settlements from the occasional predator that would come out of the Blacklands or up from the Inesh Daan . As centuries went by, the zahaani began having contact again with the rest of humanity. This was usually either inconsequential or peaceful, but occasionally led to violence. The zahaani learned quickly that they would not be able to force the rest of humanity to follow their beliefs, and that they would have no hope in conquering them, so they took a relatively isolationist tact.
Completely unwilling to use magic, even to defend themselves, the zahaani Blademasters became expert in speed, stealth, precision, and the deadly use of the tecpata, a long, dual edged dagger. Any military or political leader that attempted to trespass or attack zahaani territory, for any reason, would very quickly be found dead in their own camps or homes, crumpled in a pool of their own blood. Very often with every member of their family along side them.
Within zahaani communities, law and order was fairly minimal and self-managed. Violent or property related "crimes" were rare, since self control was so heavily prized in the Embranda, and since communities remained so small that mutual support made deprivation or necessity based crimes unnecessary. Crime in itself was even an ambiguous concept, and punishment was often gendered. If a woman was found to be beating her children or neglecting their education, she would be "dealt with" by the Greatmothers of the community in any number of ways, many of which the men might never even know about. Similarly if a man were to become a drunkard and become violent in his home, or to attack or damage a fishing boat, the men of the village, usually led by an elder fisherman or respected grandfather, would "deal with" the man in what way they saw fit. Though in the case of men, their punishments were often more well known as they would leave bruises or other obvious and embarrassing signs.
Serious crimes however were "dealt with" by a combination of the elder men and women of a community. If a man were repeatedly beating his wife, despite the other men intervening, or if a woman killed a child, then excommunication was almost universally the single and extreme punishment. The Embranda forbade the taking of human life unless absolutely necessary to defend ones self or family, but it was generally understood that excommunication was all but a death sentence.
Every community had the same punishment, and a solitary stranger arriving in a farm or village with signs of travel, but no gear or belongings, would be immediately shunned and sent away. With the Blacklands to the west of zahaani lands, the wilds of the Innesh Daan to the east, the sea to the south, and the "pecada" (tainted people) to the north, a solitary person shunned by any and all would not survive for long.
Similarly, the pursuit of a life devoted to the Embranda was not gendered, and anyone from any village or family who wished to devote themselves to be a "preora di embranda" (preacher of remembrance), was encouraged by all around them. Such a life was one of constant travel, poverty, and hardship, but incredible respect. Once trained, a preora would spend their life in solitude, moving from community to community, observing and correcting the practice of the embranda, helping to teach small children, counselling village elders, settling disputes, and even bringing news and information from other communities. Such was the respect given to these itineret preachers, that respected families in a given town or village would argue over who would have the honor of being host. Very often the preora, as a part of their role as judge and peacemaker, would divide their time between households over the duration of their stay in a given community. That stay would typically be no longer than a month, but could extend longer during particularly harsh winters.
Though the call to be a preora di embranda was rare, they were common enough that a village may occasionally host two at once. Such instances were almost always celebrated with a special community celebration. Quietly however, the two preachers would agree on a time within the next week when the first to arrive could move on without causing offence to the villagers.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Without the use of magic to aid in food production, crafting, defence, and day to day life, the labour and work of zahaani culture is entirely manual. Life for the zahaani is primarily geared towards food production, with the rest of their time and energy devoted to family, community, and the daily rituals and practices of "embranda".
Common Taboos
Though there were some societal taboos around monogamy and irresponsible sexual practices (with no birth control of any kind, pregnancy was dangerous and a massive responsibility), the vast majority of zahaani taboo was cantered around "brasharia" (magic) and it's potential use. Children were taught from the moment they could speak about the evil and destructive nature of brasharia, and when a child first showed signs of magical ability, typically around 6 or 7, their fear and hatred of it would already be entrenched. In case a child was not sufficiently warry of their own magical ability, any sign of it would be met with quick and harsh punishment. Not just by a child's mother (though the responsibility was generally considered to be hers), but by any adult in the community at all, even older siblings or cousins.
Even signs of undue luck or unusually excellent skill were treated warily and could attract the scrutiny of village elders or any passing preora di embranda.
Historical figures
Each village or region might have a local hero or beloved ancestor, but all communities praised the memory of Mara Alvrez, the great woman who saved the ancestors of the zahaani by leading them out of the "tarras sugaas" (soiled lands), and the great evils of the "pecada" (tainted people).
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Being such a near-subsistence society, with life so focused on basic survival and practicality, beauty standards for the Zahaani were few and far between. Add to that the influence of aspects of the lashaan, in whom physical sex differences were far more minimal than in humans, and beauty standards tended to be very similar for men and women. Broad shoulders and broad hips were considered attractive in both sexes. Facial hair on men was considered quite unappealing and unattractive, and good steel or obsidian razors were one of the few trade goods that might move between villages and towns with craftsmen capable of making them. While strength was generally considered desirable in men, dexterity and agility was valued in women. Young girls hunting husbands might be seen on the edges of the village commons doing hand stands, juggling whatever was at hand, or balancing their hip knife on the end of a finger by the tip of the blade.
In general, the Zahaani tended to value physical achievement or ability more than physical appearance, but age old human influences of facial beauty would still creep into their decision making from time to time.
Gender Ideals
Without magic, and with a general focus on simplicity, Zahaani life was incredibly manual and laborious. Men were generally expected to work on the fishing boats and in small fields that were the central source of survival for most families, and women were expected to manage the household, children, and family resources. There was some crossover of course, especially in more remote or smaller villages where some tasks required as many people to help as possible, but for the most part life was fairly divided along gender lines.
The Zahaani were a fairly matriarchal culture, and the general feeling that men were not suited to the details of household management, or to have the patience and empathy needed to properly see to a child's education and development. Men were allowed to participate in the day to day life of their children, but with long, labour filled days, such opportunities were rare. When a young boy reached 9 or 10 he would be allowed to spend the evening with his father and any other men or older boys in the family, taking care of animals, boats or fishing gear, but they spent the rest of their day in the home with their mother, helping with household chores and receiving his simple lessons in history, naturalism, and Embranda.
With no real centralized government, a Zahaani village or community was an entirely self sustaining and self governing community. Each farm was considered to be owned an operated by a single family, generally by the oldest woman, often called the Greatmother, but fishing boats were so labour intensive to build, but so important to food stocks, that all fishing boats were considered the property of the whole community, and more specifically the men of the community. Fishing was considered a masculine art, with the community boats nearly an extension of themselves, and women were only allowed onto a fishing boat under the most dire of circumstances.
"Humanity has shown beyond doubt, that we can be as trusted with magic as an infant can be with a sword."
- Mara Alvrez, Landen Council (7AS)
Parent ethnicities
Related Locations
Comments