Zeruan Culture

Commerce, status, competition, individual will; tradition, cooperation, the gentleness of indirect critique. These contradictions define Zeruan culture, kept in balance just like sky and flame.
Zeruan culture is a broad cultural category generally referring to the dominant cultures of the Empire of Zerua - a mileau produced by centuries of successive imperial regimes that have enabled population transfers and encouraged linguistic assimilation.
Generally speaking, trade and urbanization tend to be vehicles of Zeruan cultural homogeny - the imperial bureaucracy and vehicles of population movement are all stronger in the cities and along the coasts. The further you get from these logistical threads of connection, the less coherently this cultural complex affects local minds and communities. Some regions with intense urban-rural migration, like the Vice-Kingdom of Ibaisha or the Vice Kingdom of Karema, or intense bureaucratic mixture, like the Vice-Kingdom of Sanari, have more rural normalization of Zeruan cultural norms.
Zeruan culture is influential beyond just the empire, though - it pervades much of the Kamadan world.
See also Zeruan Calendar

Naming Traditions

Unisex names

See the Zeruan language for details.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Zeruan culture is very much tied in with the Zeruan language family. This doesn't mean they all speak and sound alike; the Zeruan language is more of a dialect blob, not a language with clear rules and boundaries. The sheer diversity of Zeruan dialects and accents is staggering - only truly knowledgable travelers and merchants can identify them all. 
Generally speaking, one dialect (generally referred to as 'High Imperial', or 'Market') is spoken in Kamadan religious, imperial bureaucratic, and commercial spaces. This dialect is very widely known and fairly easy to master, and anyone of this language group who attends Kamadan temple regularly probably has mastered it. Failure to coherently speak the Market dialect is seen as childish or foreign. Market tongue is what most all imperial schools teach and there is a great deal of effort spent defining a "correct" way of speaking or writing it by the Imperial College of the True Word. This group has also created dictionaries, ownership of which is a sign of education and refinement. 
Making fun of the accent of another person is deeply frowned upon as long as the grammar is accurate; the emperor's arms are wide and his family is large, not to be divided.

Culture and cultural heritage

"Cultural Heritage" is not a consistent cultural term; it tends to exist in a nationalistic modern context. But the Empire of Zerua has a comparable concept - a kind of "Imperial Canon" of cultural works and places that are important for members of the bureaucracy and elite to know. These works are necessarily tied in with elite status, imperial patriotism, and religious Kamadism, and are hardly culturally neutral.
In terms of heritage sites, the great monumental structures of Argena are symbols of the Empire - The Palace of Kemegi, the Cathedral of Makoi, the Walled Imperial Palace, the Imperial Gallery. 
The artistic works of the Imperial Canon are all poems, sagas, dances, and operas, primarily relating to two moments: the rise of the Kamadan religion and the imperial conquests of Makoi. These include

• The Dialogues of Doctrine, the writings of the Kamadan prophet Ilona of Lainiko, are important religious writings that serve as the foundational cosmological texts of Kamadism. The Chain of Existence, On Spiritual Balance, and Flesh and Soul. 
• The Founding Saga, a poetic saga of Makoi and the first Zeruan Empire; a truly ancient text, dating back to the eruption of 480 ME.
• The Wheel of Light, a poetic saga that has been adapted into a multi-part opera; a dramatization of Imperial history between the First and Second great eruptions, following the multiple lives of the protagonist Zentu. It is a melancholy piece as a whole, emphasizing how the great accomplishments of generations are impermanent and inevitably lost; and yet, Zentu slowly grows across lives to go from a tragically flawed princeling to a sage. There is no single author to the saga or operas.

Shared customary codes and values

Loyalty to one's kin is extremely important in Zerua, and having a legally recognized family name is essential for holding station in Zeruan society. Even among the poor, extended kinship is wildly important. In the rural countryside, kinship is central to deciding who does what and haves what. For the urban displaced poor, there is constant pressure to form fictive kinship networks - friends who call themselves "cousin" or simply "kin" (in Zeruan language, "Dab"). To fail to provide for your family is to fail as an adult. To fail to show solidarity with your kin is disgusting (though acceptable if done for the Empire or faith) - for it is through the empire and temples that mortals are made kin with the divine. 
At the same time, individual power and agency is fetishized - the "great person" who enforces their will on the world is revered. There is tension between Zeruan individualism and kin obligations. To a certain extent, adoption and fictive kinship resolve this tension. Through hyper-normalized adoption, a person is given agency in choosing their family. Through oath-kinship, family can be made. In reality, though, most people can't exactly shop for extended families, and oath-kinship can be hard to lock in.
Debt is an important element of connection in Zeruan culture - friends and kin owe each other for what they bring to the network. Given that these are also credit networks, that can be very literal.

Common Etiquette rules

Greetings are differentiated between kin, companions, and outsiders - as well as between nobles and commoners. Handshakes and bows are standard displays of friendliness, with any other close contact being reserved for familiar relationships. While significant status differences are important to respect, excessive submission or grovelling is looked down upon. Direct criticism is considered rude outside of specific business contexts or if given by a superior to an inferior.
Timeliness is considered polite and relatively important among the upper classes, but lateness is not a significant offense. 
Whistling is considered generally acceptable in most circumstances; whistling as applause, as a compliment, or to get someone's attention is more acceptable here than in most other cultures.

Common Dress code

Sarongs are a common form of clothing, as are sompot-style loose/fluffy pants. Bare chests are considered acceptable in many circumstances (though they are informal). Formal open jackets are a common item, as are draped over-clothes. 
Like a number of other cultures, Zeruans embrace having scarf-bandana-headwraps as optional pieces of clothing with flexible uses.
Hats and headware are commonly embraced by Zeruan culture as a sign of wealth and respectability, but the exact headwear is often determined by locality and fashion.

Art & Architecture

Architecture

Architecturally, Zeruan buildings tend to have raised foundations, squat bases, and small spires or towers with sloping roofs. Corbelled arches (arches that point upward sharply at the top) and recessed windows (windows that are sunken in the structure wall) are common. Buildings often cluster together, with little to no space between structures. Architecture is dark, though more carefully designed spaces make sure to make the most every window.
Most houses have basements, cellars, and even sub-basements, beneath their raised foundations. These underground spaces tend to be quite wet, especially in the mid-river parts of the city. The wet and mucky floors make them uncomfortable living spaces, but they do have natural refrigeration during the summers. Wet-ground cellars can even be built to fully refrigerate dairy and other spoilable goods.
Speaking of cooling, most houses have chimney-like structures known as windcatchers, which siphon cool winds into the house. Better-to-do houses have movable grates over these that allow them to be closed during winter.
Larger monumental buildings often have domes, spires, or spires on top of domes.

Art

In terms of art, the idea of "permanence" does not register with Zeruan common sense. All things end, all things are remade - to try and make something last forever or be meaningful forever goes against the basic tenets of the Kamadan worldview. It doesn't mean that people don't still try individually, but the artistic mainsteam tends to emphasize the ephemeral and experiential. Performed poetry, ballet, theater, music, and opera are all highly valued artistic expressions - as are visual displays of fireworks and illusions. These arts of spectale, grandeur, refinement, and experience are all hosted lavishly by the merchant-nobility in competition.
While the great arts of spectacle are all performance arts, writing and painting are still accepted as valid. For elites, the goal is to patronize exceptional "object artists" to get them before the Imperial Gallery's judges. Those pieces chosen by the gallery are hosted as the Emperor's favorite and given a stamp or signature by the reigning Emperor. As long as that Emperor reigns, those pieces are of exceptional value; prior Emperor's objects are still valuable, but lack the kind of magical-spiritual power a reigning piece has. Objects of value with good aesthetics are still valued by elites, but they are not seen as profound as experiential art - more as displays of wealth.

Foods & Cuisine

Zeruan food is diverse, just as the empire is. Different staple crops exist in different parts of the empire, making even basics of cuisine diverse. Generally speaking, though, Zeruan cuisine understands fruit, gourds, and berries as important to most all dishes. Meat, particularly lobster, fish, and poultry meat, are also valued, if a little more luxurious; Chicken or lobster dishes are not uncommon, but they aren't every-night fare for most commoners. Red meat, meanwhile, is both luxurious and a little dangerous; it must be carefully cleaned and prepared, as it is associated with both strength and disease. There is a martial draconic fire-death-energy tied to red meat, making it fare for sorcerers and warriors. 
Squash, tuna, and shellfish are just about everywhere in the empire. Cranberry sauce is also a greatly desired condiment - chicken in cranberry sauce or tuna salad with cranberry are both iconic Zeruan dishes across the empire. Salty fish sauce and soy sauce are a more affordable condiments for commoners.
In terms of cereal crops, West is rice while East is yams and wheat. The interior kingdom of Karema has come to largely embrace maize, meanwhile. The imperial center brings in mostly rice, but also a great number of yams. Dishes include Kalabasa stew (fish-pumpkin-bean stew), Pumpkin seed bread, pumpkin rice noodles, and flaky blueberry biscuits.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

After a birth, the mother and child are given a secluded recovery period, most frequently in a community space or family room with particularly good airflow. Airflow is considered extremely important for the health, and has spiritual importance as well. Kamadans typically also burn local herbs or plants to produce pleasant-smelling smoke in the seclusion chambers. Seclusion is not total - midwives, other mothers who have been ritually cleansed, or religious figures can enter the space. 
After emerging from seclusion, a small festivity is often held for the parents; gifts of food are given by the extended family and community to the parents. Music is played and the community gathers in a circle, and the parents twirl the child around to present the infant to all. In a Kamadan religious setting, the child is also often painted in sacred ashes.
These norms all assume access to wealth and family support; many of the poorest and most isolated don't follow these protocols or get this celebration.

Coming of Age Rites

Coming of age in Zerua is entirely religious. The Kamadan norm is divided into two parts, tied to the two major holidays: Kememti, the day of the dragon in late autumn, and Zaremti, the day of the heavens in late spring. The year that the child turns 16, they have celebrate both holidays differently. During Zaremti, the coming-of-age children parade together during the Day of Awakening (organized by the temple). During Kememti, families provide their 16-year-olds with sashes at the dawn of Children's Day - marking them as transitioning into adulthood. While the Zaremti holiday coming of age is virtually guaranteed to all temple-goers in equal manner, the Kememti sashes are clear signs of family wealth that are not available to all.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Zeruan culture has a strong taboo around interacting with corpses; this is baked into the Kamadan religion, but it does transcend and predate it. Only priests or ritual mortuary workers (who are often Prisms, to whom the corpse taboo does not apply) can cleanly move corpses and prepare them for cremation. This taboo is not extreme or legally punished - families have been known to prepare bodies themselves for cremation if they lack funds or need to deal with a body quickly. Cremating bodies is seen as entirely natural and the only safe way of corpse disposal; Zeruans find the concept of full-corpse burials to be kinda gross. 
Funerals tend to happen quite quickly after death, as the body is swiftly blessed (to lay ghosts to rest and sanctify the corpse against necromancy or possession) and then cremated. The time between death and cremation can be quite frightening for family members, as it has a supernatural weight to it (there are many folk stories of dark spirits inhabiting dead bodies to prey on their families). Once the cremation is complete, a funeral vigil is held by those closest to the deceased, typically at a temple. Wealthy families may later conduct memorial services for the dead months after the death (more akin to a traditional funeral), but this is a distinct kind of event with fewer society-wide rules for them.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Beauty in Zeruan imperial culture is species-specific.

• Humans are encouraged to be pale, have short and black head hair, and have curated (even colored) facial hair. Body type preferences are inconsistent and often vary based on region, gender, class, and occupation.
• Dryads are encouraged to have dark bark and vines (often fashionably painted with light colors), pale flowers, and white circles around their eyes. Thin and tall dryads tend to be seen as more beautiful.
• Half-dryads are encouraged to have long dark hair, to braid with their flower-roots. Bows and ribbons tied into those braids are seen as fashionable. They tend to mix and match fashion elements of both dryads and humans.
• Prism beauty is dark igneous-like clay/stone/skin (which is seen as more "lively") with contrasting bright-colored gems. A tall, broad build is seen as beautiful generally (as with prisms around the world), though some non-prisms also idealize shorter or slimmer individuals. 

Gender Ideals

Zerua has a gender trinary: men, women, and a third gender, known as Bashu. Bashu is a broad category that might be understood as "other"; many intersex people, gender-nonconforming people, and transgender people are understood through the lens of 'Bashu'. Of course, both masculinity and feminity are also broad categories, so Bashu isn't seen as particularly different from the other two.  In spiritual discussions, Bashu is often understood as "both" in terms of energy and cosmic position.
Gender norms are not extreme in Zerua, and are completely absent from non-human populations. Gender norms and misogyny existed in ancient Zerua for humans (particularly lower-class or status humans). This misogyny does have a legacy in some human communities in terms of families expecting daughters to take on excessive domestic workloads and censuring women seen as too assertive. However, Zeruan gender norms are not particularly strong; between regular interaction with gender-norm-less populations and a great deal of time since any gendered regime ruled, gender has lost much of its constraining power. Misogyny is not really present in any culturally dominant form that would be encountered by an adventuring party. [DISCLAIMER: In gameplay, gender discrimination should be left well enough alone regardless of "canon" unless everyone in the whole group has agreed explicitly to explore those themes together].

Courtship Ideals

Courtships are primarily arranged and mediated by families, though individual choice is still seen as necessary for valid marriages. The idea of romantic love is very present in the upper classes; sorcerers have always been given romantic agency, and the idea of a distinct category of "romance" apart from regular courtship among elite youths is well-established historically. Over the last two centuries, with the religious revolution of Kamada, romantic love has spread more into the lower classes and the barriers between courtship categories have eroded among elites. Even with this growing individual agency and emphasis on romance, the power of families remains strong - particularly in the rural lower classes.

Related Locations

• Ekraht