Southern Province Traditions & Foods

Cultural

• Welcome Blessing: Infants are often blessed at a very very young age (sometimes even the day they are born) by priestesses of Luthic. This is a celebration of them making it this far and is a very joyous occasions that all of the close family, and often close friends, attend. A floral incense is burned. The baby is dipped in to water with rose petals and has water rinsed over their skin as the priestesses hum and sing a lullaby for them. The people in attendance are encouraged to hum and sing along as well. This continues until the baby falls asleep, at which point they are anointed with a heavily red pigmented lotion composed largely of holy water, drawing the holy symbol of Luthic on their forehead to encourage them to dream of her.
• Horn Burning: This isn't as favored a tradition now but many minotaurs, especially minotaur men, choose to have the story of significant life events burned in to their horns. This is much like scarification or a tattoo. There are many traditional symbols that mean certain things. These symbols can represent anything from battles won to friends lost, tragedies survived to how many children they have and similar subjects. This is most common (but not exclusive) to priests of Baphomet or those who have undergone similar monk training.
• The Gorgon Coliseum: Raised at the holy behest of Baphomet is the Gorgon Coliseum, which is summoned forth from the earth by the current champion. There are several reasons why this would happen and sometimes it goes decades without being raised, or it might be raised multiple times in a year. Typically this empowers Baphomet with an increase of worship. Victors are allowed to try and best the subterranean Gorgon Labyrinth, where they might obtain a blessing from Baphomet. It is also how the mantle of champion is passed.
• The Purple Trickster: A now long-deceased purple dragon who lived under Gruumsh's Fall when the province's freedom was young. They were a mischievous individual capable of humanoid polymorph and frequently entered settlements to play tricks or challenge more mortal races with puzzles and riddles. Stories about encounters with the gregarious wyrm made them a prominent figure in many folk tales. Many people who grew up in the Southern Province remember these stories fondly.
• Story Coats: In the desert you often end up choosing between roasting in the hot sun or freezing your ass off in the colder night. The cold is easier to cope with. Coats with hand-done embroidery on nearly every inch are an old cottage industry that have become increasingly lavish. They take hundreds of hours to complete and are expensive to obtain as a result, but one lovely coat can last someone their entire life as they are woven with durability enchantments. The art is dying out now, but those who still practice making these coats carry on the traditions of certain materials used (such as seasonally available insect wings or threads dyed with very specific pigments) and making every coat tell a story at a glance. These often recount history or folk tales.A description of a jacket portraying the old home of the Purple Trickster that was presented to a player:

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"He returns with a jacket that is black with gold trim. It also has orange-yellow, bright and dark reds, and a lot of purple to the scene on the back- It is a simplified scene of Gruumsh's Fall, with a pyroclastic storm happening in the smoke above it. Inside it there is sort of an artistic cut-away to show a large purple beast, long-necked and over-all slender with large, bat-like wings and a helmeted countenance that is somewhat, but not entirely, familiar. The presence of the purple dragon might explain the scales embroidered in patches on the arms."

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• Music: There is a lot of heart! Music tends to be energetic and joyous, and with modern day it has taken on a pop-y flavor. In strange juxtaposition death metal is also a beloved genre. Anything that makes you feel powerful to listen to it tends to land well with people of the Southern Province.
• Open Markets: Because of the variety of goods that pass through most cities in the province they are more resistant to box stores than other places, instead continuing to embrace the street market style of shopping. Many people visit the market daily and only ever purchase the foods they need for that day's meals, and competition is fierce to catch the eye and earn the loyalty of passersby. It results in a bright, loud venue that sprawls along entire streets or even over multiple city blocks depending on the location. It is often a vital part of Southern social life as well with people coming together to split purchases and share left-overs or partake in street foods and tea.
• Art initiative: Government and citizens alike are invested in art that will outlast them. Large installations and murals tend to end up the pride of their area and are fiercely protected and loved. There is a constant outreach to employ artists to beautify certain places or even entire sections of city.
• Individual Government and Military: While the Southern Province does have a central government and military that can supersede smaller sects in its borders there is great emphasis on town independence. Local government tends to have numerous elected officials. From top to bottom representation tends to be based on wealth: the poorer an area or town the more representatives they have.

Food Specific

• Southern Dumplings are made using minotaro flour. These have so far been eaten as unseasoned hearty dumplings in a stew and hand-rolled at the table dumplings in hotpot with or without herbs.
• Smoked Silver Goby is a food from Hellmouth. The fish live exclusively in the resevoir and are one of the backbones of the small local fishing industry.
• Traditional entrées include thin sliced sashimi served with a cold chili sauce, as well as raw quail egg which is often added to food.
• Hot pot is a beloved social food tradition and is often served up in thick bread bowls. Typically this is a restaurant food, not an at-home food. Cheaper places offer certain packages of ingredients based on dining party size while higher end places allow individuals to order specific ingredients.
• Pizza tends to try and make one slice in to a meal, more resembling a lasagna than what most would recognize as a pizza.
• Vegetable based soups comprise a lot of the Everyman's Food. These are not always meant to be served hot and often times are also served with bread to soak up the food with instead of spooning it. Kokwe melon is often boiled separately and added for texture.
• Street food is of surprisingly frequent use to people of the Southern Province. Because the desert is so much cooler in the very early morning and cools off in the evening people tend to be in the markets around breakfast and dinner times. Some encountered varieties of foods (both real and fantasy) were gyeran-ppang, fried twinkies, idaho sunrise, cold or hot chewy noodles soaked in broth, and chili-powder encrusted giant gecko tail.