Zeribians of West Island
They are the Zeribians living in the Republic of Free West Island that have gotten a lot of cultural influence from the ruling Farens ethinicity. The Faren influence for the Zeribian population was great during the 8th century AH. Many Zeribians had arrived on the island as travelling traders, but settled in the cities as shopkeepers or craftsmen. Their numbers were growing larger, and they were already a majority in some areas. This made the government to impose many restrictions on the Zeribians to discourage them from staying, and to assimilate them. Zeribians were for example been targeted with heavier taxation, and are considered foreigners by the law.
The two main factions
The Zeribians on the West Island can be roughly divided into two opposing political factions. The traditionalists, many descendants of noble houses, are conserned about maintaining the purity of the True Zeribian culture. They are actually often taking harsher viewpoints on many things than the more "pure" Zeribians on the inner islands. The Faren minded favour partially assimilating to the local culture gain more rights in the Republic. Many of them are also in favour of the more individualistic lifestyle, free from the rules imposed by the Zeribian nobility and religion. For example, the traditionalists think that Faren acceptance of homosexuality is corrupting the youth and breaking apart the Zeribian model where homosexuals would often assume the third gender roles. Because of this, they view all homosexual acts as unnatural, even though originally the ban was part of a purity code only meant for the noble class. The already developed groups of Zeribian homosexuals in the Republic were forced to go under ground. The Zerbians of the island are definitely not a unified entity. The traditional noble houses are holding very tightly to the traditional ways. The poorest live in the coastal slums of the large cities and are mostly surrounded by other Zeribians. The middle class is how ever living in the middle of Farens, and find it favourable to adopt the Faren culture. They still see the rasism and other problems their own are facing, and want a change, but think that the nobles aren't doing enough for it.Areas of Faren influence
Nem Ressalit is the dominant and official language of the republic. The Zeribians usually use it to communicate with the Farens, but also often to communicate with other Zeribians, because the Zeribian languages are very diverse and not all of them know the Standard Zeribian well enough. The climate of West Island is also very different from the Inner Islands the Zeribians have traditionally inhabited. The winters are a lot colder and the summers are dryer. The clothing of the island is often a synthesis between the Zeribian and Faren traditions. The people have also been partly abandoning the Zeribian religion. The Zeribian deities are often considered to be local, so they might not be followed far from home. The people are also partially free from the control of the nobility and priesthood, and the more individualistic Faren culture seemes favourable to some.
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