Spou
Naming Traditions
Family names
There are no family names among the Spou. They use their professions to identify themselves. Since most members of a family are in the same profession, typically, this takes the place of the family name, but it technically is just an identifier.
Other names
Another name that is sometimes confused with a family name to outsiders is the sner. This is typically a descriptive nickname given to an individual, and nearly all adult Spou have one. It describes a trait of the individual. For example a dvaer who was bald early in live might bear the sner "Shinypate."
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
The Spou venerate the full spectrum of Khulding gods.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
When a Spou reaches nine years of age, they are annointed with mineral-rich water from their cavern warrens in a special ritual called the urbramimeft ("the hardening"). The symbolism is that the minerals will infuse the child and embue them with the strength of the stones. This is a major event in Spou culture, and extended families will travel great distances to be present. The ritual is always followed by a day-long feast.
Coming of Age Rites
On their 50th birthday, Spou go to the Temple of Mortag, where they spend the entire day in prayer, fasting, and meditation. At the end of the day, the priest will pronounce a blessing upon them, at which time they are considered an adult in the community, and they are expected to work and contribute to the overall society. This event is called the kvors ("arrival").
The kvors is not optional. Those who choose not to go through the kvors are exiled, for they are seen as refusing to help the community survive and thrive.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The Spou have dual funerary customs, depending on the economic status of the deceased. Common in both cases, friends, family, and acquaintances will hold a vigil over the deceased's body for twenty-four hours, which is immediately followed by a service of remembrance called the urbravokt. At the urbravokt those who survived the deceased will recount memories, facts, and so on from their life.
Following the urbravokt, the wealthy will entomb their deceased in great stone tombs deep beneath their settlements. These tombs are ornately carved from the stone, and they often have sculptures and/or inscriptions recounting the deeds of those entombed. Funeral goods are laid by they corpse and the tombs are sealed in.
The less fortunate, however, will divide the deceased's possessions between the survivors and take the corpse to special crematories in the Temple of Zhegharol, where the body is burned. The ashes are kept in urns in the Temple.
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