Biati
Naming Traditions
Unisex names
All names in the Calpian laguage are unisex. The affixes -us or -a are appended depending on the gender of the wearer.
Family names
Each person in Biati culture belongs to a denoba, or tribe. Members of the aristocratic class also have a family name called an ibabiwivum. The two elements are put together, denoba ibabiwivum to form the name that serves as a surname. For example, Cuccinr̂ius comes from denoba Poab and the family Heisanum. His surname, then is Poabus Heisanus. When addressed by his full name, you would call him Cuccinr̂ius Poabus Heisanus.
Like all nouns in the Calpian language, proper names are modified according to the gender of the the person to whom they belong. Livium becomes Livius for a male or Livia for a female, and so on.
Denoba
There are fourteen acknowledged denoba in the Biati culture. They are:
- Poab
- Osba
- Bom
- Cave
- Apbaig
- Qulen
- Talagr̂on
- Eccug
- Degu
- Arval
- Tuvil
- Seadec
- Govapi
- Wudul
Ibabiwivum
There are hundreds of ibabiwivum in use. They are often derivatives of adjectives that described the head of the family in the past.
Other names
Notable individuals, usually but not always aristocrats, add honorific names that denote special accomplishments of the bearer. These names, called, caliwivum, follow the ibabiwivum. A caliwivum is not passed to subsequent generations.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Biati people speak the Calpian language, though their dialect often replaces the final /s/ with a lisped /θ/ phoneme.
Common Dress code
Textiles
Govunum
While the Biati lean heavily on linen, they also fashion another material called govunum from the fibers of a shallow-growing seaweed. The fibers used in govunum are extremely tough and water-resistant. Regretably, they are a sage green and do not accept any known dyes.
Wool
The Biati use wool a great deal in their clothing and other textile goods. They have perfected a thick, warm fabric, as well as a light breathable one, both from wool fibers. The fibers dye easily, and the Biati take full advantage of this, producing woolen goods in a variety of greens, blues, browns, ochres, and yellows.
Linen
About half the textiles produced by the Biati are linen. hey dye it in saffron and scarlet. When it is used for garments of office (the vuna otumaux, explained below), the linen is left largely undyed, except for a broad stripe of green dye around the edges of the of each given piece of cloth.
Embroidery
Embroidery in woolen threads is common and can be found in any combination of colors that other woolen textiles may be dyed in.
Women's Attire
Biati women wear a descendant garment of the qamasus called the guliwusa. It is almost identical in design to the qamasus, except that it is longer, reaching to the ankle. Like its predecessor, a common variation of the guliwusa is one where the gown is tied at each shoulder to allow easier access for breastfeeding mothers and wetnurses. The guliwusa is worn either belted or unbelted, according to the tastes of the wearer. When belted, it may be fastened by a simple sash, a plaited leather belt, or a cord belt, again depending on the wearer's preferences. A key difference in Biati womens' guliwusa is that it may be woolen or linen, depending upon the season.
Men's Attire
Biati apagubum men wear a variety of garments of a variety of textiles. Those who work on or near the sea prefer govunum garments for their outerwear, due to its water resistant properties. Breeches in all types of textiles are very common.
Military Attire
Males in military service (and those females who choose to serve) wear a version of the corditum that is dyed a bright scarlet to denote their military station. Stripes of rank are embroidered at the hems of the sleeves and at the bottom hem.
Governmental Attire
People who hold any kind of civic office, who are colleceively called the pangelar̂usaux, wear a garment called the vuna otumaux (VOO-nah OH-toom-owks. This is a single cloth of linen, about twelve to sixteen feet long and four feet wide, cut straight along one long edge, but slightly concave along the other long edge. All four edges feature a broad, green, dyed stripe. The cloth is wrapped from mid-back, over the left shoulder, around the chest and abodmen twice, then over the right shoulder from the back and pinned in the center of the chest with a bronze pin indicating the specific office held by the wearer.
Art & Architecture
Architecture
Urban. In urban settings, Biati live in two to three story wooden townhomes that frequently touch one another. Second and third floors overhang the first floor footprint on all but the most major thoroughfares. Roofs are pitched and feature rough-cut wooden shingles made of cedar.
Wealthier homes are stand-alone structures called popaiccus. These are two to three story structures, often fully or partially enclosed by an eight to ten foot wall. The ground floor includes servants' and slaves' quarters, a small reception/sitting room, a larger dining room, and the kitchen. The upper floors consist of bedrooms, personal studies, and guest rooms. The floorplan of a popaiccus is arranged around two aturanum, usually of unequal size. The smaller of the two will feature a small kitchen garden and is near the kitchen and servants'/slaves' quarters. The larger is an open decorative garden, often featuring a fountain, where the residents can lounge and relax. The lower floors open onto a collonnade surrounding this aturanum, which supports the balconies of the upper floors that over look the garden. The walls are dressed limestone. The ground floor is usually mosaic tile.
Rural. In rural settings, the typical home is a small two story rough cut limestone house with the kitchen, pantry, cellar, and dining on the lower floor and the living quarters on the second floor. Roofs are nearly always pitched and finished with cedar shingles.
Wealthier urban Biati, as well as regionally important leaders will have large estates featuring a dressed limestone poppaicus, very similar in plan to those found in urban settings, except that they frequently will also have outbuildings for the larger staff required. Rural poppaicus also always feature a wall that fully encircles the house.
Governmental Structures
Governmental buildings are uncommon outside of urban settings. These structures are long stone buildings with a central chamber featuring high, vaulted ceiling, and a series of fire pits running along the center line of the chamber. Wooden benches or portable chairs are brought in for attendees' comfort. At the distant end of the long chamber is a wooden dais, upon which will rest one to three wooden chairs called criscivanta, depending on the function of the building. These are analagous to thrones, though they often belong to elected pangelar̂usaux, rather than nobility or royalty of any kind.
The long central chamber, which is called the besemeccus, is flanked by collonnades that run the entire length. Under these colonades, small side rooms are created with portable screens called eibrunr̂eccama. These ad hoc spaces are used for smaller meetings, studies, libraries, and storage, as necessary.
Art
The Biati specialize in drama and pottery as forms of artistic expression. Additionally, they enjoy music festivals throughout the year.
Drama
Drama is a form of art that involves actors performing spoken verse with stylized acting. Props are used to make the action clear, but there are no actual sets. The audience is expected to use their imagination to envision the setting. There are two main types of drama: comedy and tragedy.
Comedy.A comedic drama is a genre that features mythological or fictional characters in humorous situations that are often exaggerated. The writing style of this genre relies heavily on word-play. At the end of a comedy, all of the farcical elements are pulled together to convey a moral lesson.
Tragedy. Tragedies are plays that typically revolve around mythological or historical figures and are written in strict rules of rhyme and meter. The language used in tragedies is chosen to create evocative imagery. Although tragedies often have tragic conclusions, the term "tragedy" is meant to convey that the characters in the play experience significant pathos due to their circumstances or actions.
Pottery
Among the Biati, in addition to being utilitarian, pottery is a canvas upon which they express their artistic impulses. The pots, amphorae, bowls, etc. that they craft are made with an eye toward aesthetic innovation. In addition, they add elaborate colorations and designs to their pottery. Some use a thin, wet clay to paint the fired pot before firing it a second time, similar to the process of creating a fresco. Others experiment with etching and masking with wax. The variations are numerous, with different potters each having their own distinct styles.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
The Calpi venerate the following gods (Calpian names in parentheses, if different):
- The Sun: Strone (Stronus)
- The Moon: Wists (Uvistum)
- Storms: Kearsped (Quiarspa)
- Mischief, Avarice: Tamahkarliq (Tamacarlica)
- War: Kiseswa (Quisesus)
- Love: Kibla (Cibla)
- Lust: Wearnch (Uveiarnica)
- Death: Riglists (Rigelia)
- Commerce: Kisquay (Cisquia)
- Poetry and Art: Prundged (Prundicus)
- Sailors and the Sea: Threlved (Tirelva)
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Traditional Gender Roles
Calpian society is patriarchal, with men attending to business, governmental, and military matters, while women are expected to attend to domestic duties. Social expectations are geared around these roles.
Despite social norms that suggest otherwise, women enjoy significant legal freedom. They are allowed to own property and can fully participate in business, government, religion, and military service if they choose to do so. The legal system offers robust protection for women in these roles, and the courts defend them aggressively when necessary. The limitations women face are entirely social in nature. In other words, women can participate in society in any way they choose, but if they choose to participate outside of the domestic sphere, they are often perceived as aberrant in some way.
In the last fifty or so years, efforts have been made by women's groups, joined by certain men of egalitarian bent, to change the social norms around gender roles, but progress is almost non-existent. Advocates for the changing of gender norms are often subjected to physical violence.
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