Desi
The Desi are a semi-nomadic group of Ditincian stock. They are expert horse riders and horse traders, who raise sheep for meat, and also hunt extensively for food.
The Desi trade extensively with the Ivr̂ai. They provide wool and horses in return for copper and tin, from which they can make bronze implements and weapons.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Most feminine given names end in -a, -ia, -e, or -ië. On rare occasions, they will end otherwise, but never in -os, -us, or -um.
Masculine names
Masculine given names always end in -os, -ios, or -us.
Unisex names
A gender non-binary person will often modify their given name to end in -um, reflective of their gender identification.
Family names
Multi-Part Family Names
The Desi carry a family name in two or three parts. The first is the banusaux, or family name. The second is the daccumusaux, or parental name. The third part, when used, is considered the clan name or creindausaux, derived from their paternal grandfather's name.
The Banusaux
Every Desi has a Banusaux, which is usually shared with their parents and siblings. Often it is an occupational name, in which case it is the occupation of the eldest living male in direct line of descent. Other times it is a geographical name. Sometimes it is a nickname from an member of the family or a famous ancestor. In a few cases, it is simply a collection of phonemes that sound good together.
The banusaux had no gender rules or affixes, and it was carried by all the members of the family, as described above.
The Daccumusaux
The daccumusaux is the most complex of the tripartite family name.
Males. For males, the daccumusaux wil end in -egos or -legos and will be derived from the given name of their father. (Ex. Antonios Eiccam, son of Ilarios, would be styled, "Antonios Eiccam Ilariolegos.")
Females. For females, the daccumusaux will end in -iega or -liega and will be derived fromt he given name of their mother. (Ex. Quilaudia Eiccam, daughter of Ivena, would be styled, "Quilaudia Eiccam Ivenaliega.")
Nonbinary. Gender nonbinary people listed both parents with a daccumusaux ending in -ibaux or -baux. (Ex. Andum Eiccam, child of Ilario and Ivena, would be styled, "Andum Eiccam Ilariobaux Ivenabaux.")
The Creindausuax
Finally, when used, the creindausaux was a name ending in -itvos or -litvos, and it was derived from bearer's paternal grandfather's name. In cases where a famous ancestor is in in the direct line, a second creindausaux, called creindausaux heitinbelba may be added after the primary creindausaux.
To carry our above examples to conclusion, if Antonios, Quilaudia, and Andum had a paternal grandfather named Quintos and a famous ancestor named Iulios, there names would appear as follows:
- Antonios Eiccam Ilariolegos Quintosivos Iuliosivos
- Quilaudia Eiccam Ivenaliega Quintosivos Iuliosivos
- Andum Eiccam Ilariobaux Ivenabaux Quintosivos Iuliosivos
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Shared customary codes and values
The Desian people venerate the following gods (Desian names listed in parentheses, where they differ from the Celestial names):
- The Sky: Strubed (Strubos)
- The Sun: Strone (Stronios)
- Storms: Kearsped (Quiarsipië)
- The Seasons: Seled (Seleta)
- Fertility: Fermed (Bermedos)
- Death: Rigilists (Riglilistia)
- War: Ulsofyoi (Ulsobia)
- Eroticism: Wearnch (Uveiarnixa)
- Fate: Slens, Ded, Fli (Slensa, Deda, Blia)
- Healing: Gloi (Quilovia)
- Magic & the Occult: Crorrm (Quiroria)
- Poetry & Revels: Prunged (Prundicos)
Common Dress code
The Desi wear long, tanned hides with the furs still on them, sewn into a variety of garments. Breeches are very common. Moccasin-like lace-up boots are the norm, as well. They also make a fabric from the hair fibers of horses, which they weave into belts and undershirts.
Art & Architecture
The Desi are a semi-nomadic people. That is to say, the majority of the population moves in troops across their range, though about a third live in small settlements of no more than five or six hundred individuals. Their portable structures are wood or bone frame with hides stretched over them, hauled on timber wagons. Their mor permanent structures in their villages are semi-dugout buildings that are finished in sod for warmth.
Foods & Cuisine
The Desi eat mutton, deer, elk, and mammoth. They smoke these meats making jerky from them. They supplement this diet with eggs, nuts, berries, herbs, and wild greens.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The Desi burn their dead and scatter the ashes as widely as possible, in hopes of preventing the deceased from becoming undead.
Common Taboos
Leaving a body uncremated after sunset is taboo. When this happens, or when a person dies during the hours of darkness, the corpse is left where it lays, and the troop moves on. In villages, the structure or adjacent structures are burned, along with the corpse and that land upon which they sat remains unused until the deaths of the deceased person's grandchildren. If they had no offspring, the site is considered cursed in perpetuity.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
The Desi have no expectations regarding gender norms or roles. Obviously, females and female-genotype nonbinary indivuduals bear children, but outside of that biological trait, there are simply no norms or roles surrounding gender.
