Borenae (BOR-en-ay)
The Borenae people are those native to the Southern Stretches, a region of Syvat south of Gol-Kasha and west of the Heartlands. The Borenae people natively speak Borachi, though having been absorbed mostly into the Vekhen Empire means that most also speak Common Vulgar.
Borenae overindex as Halflings, though other species are also among their number, with no notable exceptions or infrequencies other than Dwarves which are comparatively rare. Borenae are stereotyped as being optimistic, parochial, and generous, though also as stubborn, scornful, and clannish in thinking.
Grumbulls
Much of Borenae culture — at least, traditional Borenae culture, outside of urban centres — revolves around kinship networks called grumbulls. A grumbull, so named for the "heap" of dirt used to build large defensible mottes back in their early homelands of the Southern Stretches, is typically a large household comprising many families all living together towards a common shared purpose and identity. Though these families will be intertwinned by blood, they are more tied together by place and politics. Physically, grumbulls are large stockades, often surrounded by pallisade walls and built upon hills or artificial mounds. They typically have multiple houses atop them, often building down inside the hill. Each grumbull is led by a Shërbëtor, an elected position among the adults who live within the community. Shërbëtor's hold their rank for life, or until deemed unfit to serve, and are expected to handle matters of law, administration, and minor religious functions. Should a Shërbëtor's rule be questioned, members of a grumbull are allowed — and encouraged — to leave and establish their own grumbull.Naming Traditions
Unisex names
Borenae children are always named after an ancestor who has died, but whos name has not yet been passed on to a living relative, for the Borenae believe that ancestors are reincarnated via their namesakes. Fastidious records are kept within each grumbull about who is named what, and how they are reincarnated, which are shared often to prevent Souls from being reincarnated multiple times within the same generation. Should this happen, the elder child is considered to be the reincarnation, and the younger child (or children) are given an entirely new name. Such children are believed to be blessed by Reaper & Sower as "new souls," and are expected to have lives of surprise and destiny. It is considered sacrelige to attempt to manufacture such a "new soul" by purposefully using the same name twice, or by not doing one's due diligence, and some have been so cursed as to be stripped of their name for doing so, effectively legally "dying" and losing their soul to be reincarnated.
Family names
A Borenae's family name is determined by the grumbull they were born in, and does not change throughout life. Grumbull names tend to reflect geographical features, or physical aspects of the grumbull they describe.
Culture
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
A Borenae young adult is said to marry when either a) they have been asked and determine they are ready, or b) when they are ready to ask another. In all cases of marriage, a Borenae is expected to marry outside their own grumbull; either marrying a visitor, or travelling to another grumbull to offer their hand in marriage. In the latter case, a Borenae youth is expected to travel from their own grumbull — upon a mount gifted to them by "mother and Mother Make Me" — until they reach a grumbull where their name is not known by a single person present.
Upon reaching a new grumbull, a hopeful is expected to stand on their mount's back (from which they are not allowed to climb down off until they have been wed) and shout their presence. Every member of a grumbull is then expected to file outside and attempt to recall the youth's name. Games of riddles and other forms of folk cunning are performed during this rite so that the new grumbull can attempt to discern the youth's name. It is considered bad form to merely guess at a name, instead of truthfully recalling it or working it out through cunning, but this is incredibly hard to determine, and politics often play an important role in whether someone will play fairly (or even conceal that they know one's name). If one's name is not known, the youth is allowed to join the grumbull and may marry any who will accept their hand.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The Borenae keep tombs to their ancestors, buried typically on hillsides with their openings facing the west. The Borenae concept of reincarnation and the soul is deeply disrupted by the nature of Ghosts and the Undead, for they put into doubt whether the soul is truly returned in themselves or not. As such, they find Necromancy to be abhorrent.
Notably, Old Lady Loom does not play into the marriage customs of the Borenae, though They play a very strong role in their funerary rites in Their aspect as She Who Chills the Blade. This aspect of the God is said to exemplify the desire for a Borenae to hone themselves like a mastercrafted blade in life, so that they will have the best head start when reincarnated. Furthermore, They are said to guard over the dead to prevent their souls from being stolen.
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