Zalese
The Zalese people are a people native to the steppes on the eastern side of the Grobas Desert. These people are tan-skinned and somewhat Asiatic in appearance. They typically have blonde hair and rarely grow more than an inch of facial hair. They tend to be on the shorter side, with an average height of about 5' 4''.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Examples of feminine names from this ethnic group are Tethpira, Doa, Kevdiret, and Tokia.
Masculine names
Examples of masculine names from this ethnic group are Balan, Baatan, Pazhperon, and Gigaan.
Family names
Examples of surnames from people of this ethnic group are Berbal, Portar, Kir'tar, and Biðberber.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The zalese language is a harsher dialect of the larger Obohr language and is easily understood by speakers of Obohr, and vice versa.
Culture and cultural heritage
The Zalese culture has been shaped mostly through art, music, and knowledge rather than war, religion, or other major factors that influenced many other Orxian cultures. Due to the Zalese hearth's proximity to the Urthallian border and the Fet hearth, many of the ideals of the Fet had passed to the Zalese, such as the value of knowledge and art in one's life. However, the Zalese took these ideas of art's importance in the lives of the people to a great extent, and began to let that art shape their society at the core. They became a society of pacifists, travelling in nomadic tribes and spreading their literature and stories among the eastern steppe. Eventually, when the ideas of agriculture had reached the Zalese from the Fet, they began to create permanent settlements near the native lands of the biggest of their tribes. This lead to the formation of the city of Al Harasta.
Through all this time, there were ideals of the Zalese that existed before the Fet's influence over them and continue to exist. One of these ideals being the high value placed on attractiveness in Zalese society. The Zalese believe that one should present themselves as beautiful as they can at all times, no matter the circumstance. Those who are naturally more attractive are paid attention to more and revered for their, supposed, lack of physical flaws. However, the Zalese do not look down upon the less appealing members of their society, and instead aim to aid them look better through natural makeup, nicer clothing, and jewelry. This importance of attractiveness in the Zalese has left many of them with a materialistic view on the world which is only magnified by the importance of the fine arts in their society.
Common Dress code
Due to the harsh heat of the Grobas Desert, men of the Zalese culture typically wear loose, light clothing to allow for breathability. Jewelry is kept to a minimum, with the most common accessory being bracelets made of iridium with gems inlaid. Men from this cultural group typically wear shirts, often dyed tonal greens and pastel blues. Loose-fit pants made of linen often dyed to be a brown or sandy color are commonly worn by males as well. Sandals are the most common form of shoe worn by men, typically made from a hard leather from one of the many beasts that roam the Grobas Desert.
Women typically wear loose fitting robes with similar colors to the shirts worn by men as well as a sash typically dyed a lighter color over their shoulder. Once again, sandals are commonly worn by women of this culture. A conical cap made of wood and a cloth covering is worn commonly, to provide facial protection from the sun when traveling the steppe. Jewelry is mostly limited to iridium anklets and necklaces with simple patterns and designs.
Art & Architecture
The art of the Zalese people is mostly that of poetry and song, with many great ballads and poems written throughout history by the Zalese. Their music is simple, but melodic and has a large emphasis on loud vocals which utilize various inflections and tones to create unsettling tones and feelings. The architecture of the Zalese is also fairly simple, with most of their buildings made of limestone with small portions of wood acting as supports and interior flooring. The slabs of limestone are often painted with bright colors of gold, green, and blue. Most buildings are a single story, long, and rectangular, with many triangular windows carved from the walls and covered with decorative cloths.
Coming of Age Rites
When a Zalese male turns 16, he is thought to have reached the age of adulthood. To celebrate this, the male must go on a religious journey to the cavern of Yralos and spend a night inside of the cavern. Upon his return, the male is thought to have come of age and become an adult.
Funerary and Memorial customs
When someone dies, it is custom for their family to burn their belongings to signify their family member's passage from the mortal plane to the afterlife.
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