Bardagan (Bar Day gan)
A mix of tribal/clan groups inhabiting the hill and lake region centrally located in what is currently referred to as the contested territories.
The common link amongst the various clans is their shared worship of The Ten Who Walked Among Us. Their line of worship potentially links back to the time of the Ten (if the myth is true).
Almost all of the tribes reflect the Values of the Knife Accord - whilst they have no claim on the throne - nor would any Bardagan want it, they were represented at the Accord. The Bardagans already lived the many races one tribe philosophy, they were honoured to bare witness to the event.
Whilst often considered somewhat primitive by outsiders they have a complex social structure, laws, healing, education and a guild presence. The Bardagan Collective is considered to be the longest direct lineage back to times before the succession wars.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Are generally three or more syllables long
Masculine names
Masculine names are usually two syllables long
Family names
Bardagans do not practice marriage, therefore family names as such do not exist.
An honoured parent may be referred to on occassion e.g Daughter or Son of "".
Other names
Amongst friends and close aquaintences Bardagans will shorten names and often use nick names with each other.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Bardagans generally speak Common fluently, although they did not always.
They have their own dialect a gutteral mix of Common and ancient Erafin, and, due to centuries of attempted incursions, many clans speak a range of Erayax dialects and languages fluently as well.
Culture and cultural heritage
They are connected to their land and connected to nature. It is considered the connection to nature that sustains those rare Bardagans who do travel outside of their hills and lake regions.
Often they are musical and artistic in a variety of ways. Bardagans are considered generally to be quite expressive and extremly animated when excited.
Shared customary codes and values
It is customary between people throughout the Bardagan collective to greet each other with a raised open hand - an age old demonstration of not holding a weapon allegedly.
Bardagans are said to be the most devout worshipers of The Ten continuously still in existence. It must be said that the worship does not seem particularly onerous to a not so devout outsider looking in. Their day to day lives seem relatively like every other average day to day life. It should be noted they gave thanks more than one might hear in other regions - all other regions.
They also mention their gods scandolously at times. This seems widely acceptable and not a sacrilege. The Gods bring both the good and the bad as far as Bardagans see it.
Average technological level
Generally the Bardagans truly are at a comparable technological level to others in Ashnoor. Whilst they do not always dsplay it they are easily able to equip for the violent kinds of emergencies known to break out from time to time.
Highly skilled trappers and hunters in general. They are widely regarded as the best trackers in the land.
Common Etiquette rules
A wide range of day to day common practices reflective of their religious beliefs would be common to all the villages. Along with their common greeting practices and shared festivals honouring The Ten.
Common Dress code
Dress for practicality. If it is cold Bardagans will be covered up to keep warm and, like wise, in warmer months they will wear less, much less when safe to do so.
Generally the various membes and representatives of the Guilds will wear something identifying that association.
Tunics and breeches are not uncommon, however, among the lake folk battle kilts are not an uncommon item of clothing to see.
Art & Architecture
Simple yet practical their architecture is versatile and purpose built. The round structures were simple to build and to add to.
They adorn their rooms with hand woven rugs that are admired and highly prized throughout Ashnoor.
The Bardagans express their art in their pottery, cooking, metal working and almost every other aspect of their lives. They are generally a musical lot as well. Music is considered an inaluable aspect of the healing arts throughout the hill folk particularly.
Foods & Cuisine
Bardagans experience a wide selection of foods, particularly given there is a great deal of trade between various tribes, it is not uncommon for Hill Tribes to regularly dine on sea food from the lake areas and, likewise, lake folk to eat venisen, or the tubers and other vegetables, fruit and herbs grown in the hills.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Each new season has it's own individual form of celebration and there is one mid season. Often these celebrations are for one or two days and some are quite subtle. The bigger celebrations are after crop gathering (usually autumn, obviously except for winter crops). These may go for several weeks of games, festivals, feasting, drinking and much gift giving.
Spring is also celebrated with cleansing fires and spring is a popular time for couples to "court"
Birth & Baptismal Rites
The Bardagans celebrate the mother regarding the birth of children.
A new born babe may be bathed in a cauldron shaped remarkably like a pregnant belly. This is their babtism prior to being returned to their mother's breast for suckling and a first meeting.
Coming of Age Rites
Bardagans are not considered to have come of age until they have completed training within one of the guilds, and, among Bardagans, this can at times be later in life than is common in most of Ashnoor.
It is said that some as old as thirty Autums (a suprising number of babies are born in autumn, roughly nine months after the Spring celebrations) before they graduate from a guild school.
Despite this though, Bardagans train for life in a variety of skills often including those that they will encounter in a guild college.
The majority of them are adept hunters or rangers, excelling at the skills of skirmishers.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Bardagans cremate their dead as was ordained by the Ten (Legend has it that the Ten were cremated when it turned out they were not imortal - it is said that they were remarkably long lived none the less).
It is customary for them to be cremated with gifts consisting of weapons, armour, rations (Dry biscuit) and a symbol of their chosen one of the Ten - often linked to the guild they trained in.
The dead are celebrated annually at Autumn's end, Winter is considered the death of the year.
Common Taboos
The Bardagans do not have much of a concept of good or evil. Consequently, the things that they see as a taboo are not so much evil in their eyes as dangerous or impractical and not for the good of the tribe.
For example, incest is tabooed among Bardagans
And despite their capacity for warfare, hunting and trapping - the idea of killing for fun or out of anger is taboo also.
Common Myths and Legends
The Ten who walked among us were gods and goddesses of a bygone epoc.
Even amongst Bardagan elders they do not pretend to know how long ago in their world's history the Ten walked among the people or exactly how long they did so, although it is widely accepted that it was for at least several hundred years. They do all agree that Bardaga existed in the time of the Ten
They eventually did die off though and had demonstrated the funeral rights of cremation as still practiced today. It is widely held that the Bardagan ceremony is little changed from the ceremony that would have been performed say for Xumdione after his death however, many thousands of years ago.
Ten of the twelve months of each year are named for each of the Ten directly, and these months have on their first weekend specific practices or dedications to that God or Goddess.
For the Month named after the people (Bardaga) there is much celebration often not of a particuarly holy nature...
And the month of Ildres, named for Queen Ildres the architect of the Knife Accord, a legendary figure of her time. There are many myths and/or legends about her life and times.
Historical figures
A hunter named Dereel - she was the founding first ranger of the school of Silent Steps in Doomsayer's Keep after escorting the Alma Aquiesce's keepers there.
Typically of Bardagans who leave home, she never saw her beloved hills again, that was not her destiny.
The School of Silent Steps is her legacy.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Beauty rituals vary widely from clan grouping to clan grouping.
Ranging from Hair length, design or braiding for example, to tattoos, piercings and a range of other ideals.
And as old as dirt itself, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder...
Any adornments they wear will be made from their surroundings.
Gender Ideals
Aside from naturally assigned "roles", typically child birth, gender ideals are generally egalitarian...
If a person is capable of a task, mission or assignment then they can perform it.
Courtship Ideals
The Bardagans practice complex courtship rituals involving ritual, dance and singing specifically individual to each clan group. Generally a male version and a female version.
The rituals are complimentary, however, by their differences mating couples can find a partner outside of their bloodline.
All couples regardless of gender attraction practice these rituals in courtship
Families often exchange gifts as a symbol of unity, however, among Bardagans gift giving is a common practice in all villages.
Relationship Ideals
Relationships too are many and varied between the various tribal mixes and racial groupings.
The overarching ideal of the Bardagans seems to be almost a literal sense of the whole village raises the child.
Relationships are not necessarily life long among many of the clans, separation is acceptable and a common practice. Children are always raised by the broader community. This has proven over time to lead to more often than not, amicable separation viewed as simply a change in the nature of the relationship, but there is still a relationship, particularly if there are children.
Major organizations
The Bardagans have a long term connection with the Saxinii of Pixiewoods, it is not unusual for Bardagans to marry Saxinii and move there.
Some Saxinii likewise come to live with Bardagans, however, their ways often seem too foreign (almost sacriligious in some ways) to some Saxinii.
Bardagans are not naturally attuned to the pixie population and this is often their greatest struggle in fitting in living with Saxinii.
