Aarakocran Culture

Hierarchy of Village Structure- Three leadership roles exist in Aarakocran society, and no one person leads any village, instead when it comes to make decisions a number of leaders may be chosen to choose, or all will come together in a city council style meeting to make the largest decisions such as war, or disasters. The three leadership roles found in their society are the Storykeepers, the Villagetenders, and the Wardens though sometimes called The Wardens of the Forest, this title can differ depending on biome. These roles are described below:
Storykeepers: The Storykeepers are the leaders who are most likely to be sorcerers or wizards, although they typically are not. These are the Aarakocrans responsible for recording the history of the village, keeping the stories of old alive, and writing down all family trees in the village. They do keep track of bloodlines and family lines separately however, as they act as the village doctors and do their best to prevent those related too closely by blood from interbreeding. They also act as the village diplomats, being the face of the village in most dealings, though this may sometimes fall on the Wardens, depending on what the situation requires.
Villagetenders: The villagetenders are some of the leaders that work the most closely with the average Aarakocran citizen. The villagetenders are responsible for all maintenance and construction in any given town. Considering every marriage is a cause to build a new home or fill an old one, they are kept rather busy. They are also responsible for collecting food from the hunters and farmers, storing and preserving it, and distributing it to families or special events. Villagetenders also were responsible for collecting goods from crafters and taking them to nearby towns to be sold, thus acted as the village merchants when non aarakocra visited the villages, with the Villagetender headquarters tending to double as the town shop. This did play into the fact that Aarakocrans don’t actually use gold, as everything is distributed and shared when needed, the villagetenders tended to be the only Aarakocran’s with a sense of currency, and thus could be corrupted in rare instances to use the naivety of their brethren for personal profit.
The Wardens: The wardens are a combination military/police force, due to the fact Aarakocrans prefer not to make cities but instead spread out small villages, this structure works well for them. The Wardens are generally formed of fighters and monks, but a rare few paladins can form, this is rare however due to Aarakocrans love of freedom, and being restricted by a code tends not to suit them, though some oaths work well. Due to their free nature and calm aloof spirits, Aarakocra rarely ever become barbarians. The wardens are expected to patrol the vicinity of Aarakocran villages out to two miles, as well as the villages themselves. They have the duty of protecting all who live within the villages, and defending them from any outsider that would see them harmed.
Apart from these three roles there are plenty of other jobs in the village as one would find in any regular society. Though no job or good produce needs to be paid for by another in the traditional sense, all they must do is be productive.

Culture

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Marriage and Partner Culture- One of the striking differences between Aarakocran culture and that of the rest of major societies on the planet is their view of marriage and partnership. Although it is generally expected that those who are married to each other are meant to be in love, arranged marriage meant to bring two villages together, or two families do occur with some frequency.
Another striking difference of their culture is that marriage isn’t viewed as a commitment to only be with one person, and instead monogamy is viewed as rather odd if not somewhat disappointing in Aarakocran culture. Although this openness between people stops at emotions, as polyamory is generally very frowned on. If your wife gets pregnant by sleeping with another person it isn’t viewed even as a poor thing, as you have added another member to your family. This also applies to men, in that they regularly have children with people aside from that of their wife, and it isn’t frowned upon, nor thought of odd by many Aarakocra
When it comes to marriage in Aarakocran society you are meant to find someone you love, and when the two of you decide to have children, after your prospective wife has gotten pregnant is when you are considered married. There are no proposals or engagement period, although trying to have a child with someone you love could be seen as such. Weddings then take place mid-pregnancy as both a celebration for the start of a new family and new love, but for the love between the two. Vows are exchanged similarly to other cultures, though the words tend to be very different, this would be an example: “I promise to keep wind under your wings, and light in your heart. To grow life anew with you and raise our family strong. To keep your heart aloft among the clouds and to hold you close at night, my wings, your shield from the dark.” These vows are flexible and when the ceremony is finished it is traditional that the last name of the husband is taken and used for that of the family, but all children of the family, whether the husbands or not, receive that last name and are treated as part of that family, though the storykeepers do keep track of bloodlines and family lines separately.

Common Taboos

One of the largest taboos in Aarakocran society is not having children. Though being gay or gender non-comforming isn’t considered taboo in the slightest, this other taboo can have a negative impact on their lives as some of these individuals may be uncomfortable with having children at all, and their families pressuring them can make life rather difficult since you do not get a home made specifically for you, until you have a child to raise. Losing the ability to fly in Aarakocran society is viewed in a similar way to losing the ability to walk in modern-day human society.
What is taboo to many other cultures that isn’t to Aarakocrans is an age gap between partners, since they age at 4X the rate of humans they ignore gaps in relationships to an extent. There is still an age of consent, and someone young mating with someone very very old would be considered odd, because who would help take care of the kids in a few seasons.