Steppe Riders
Steppe Riders are a nomadic human cultural group that lives in the Western Steppe. They live by herding and pannaging sheep and goats.
Tribes
There are many tribes of the Steppe Riders, but most of them have no contact with the outsiders. Some of those tribes do not even have knowledge of the outsiders.
Known tribes
The Settled
The Settled aren't one tribe, but a group of the Steppe Riders who live in the village on the outskirts of Westfort. They are the only Steppe Riders who converted to the Susannite faith. The Settled act as intermediaries in any trade relations between Steppe Riders and Westfort.
Gold Diggers
Gold Diggers are a Steppe Rider tribe that lives in the southern hills and mines the local gold deposits. They are a seclusive tribe and don't trust outsiders. They trade with Westfort through intermediaries. A Gold Digger can recognized by golden armlets with woollen strings hanging from it.
Haiman
Haiman are a trading tribe. They act as intermediaries in the gold trade between the Gold Diggers and The Settled.
Kiryk
Kiryk are a raiding tribe. They believe that the Trusans and Lugians will destroy the Steppe Riders' culture and want to drive them from the steppe. All Kiryk men are warriors. Boys recieve a dagger as a part of the coming of age ceremony.
Snow Riders
Snow Riders are a mysterious tribe from the north. They are rarely seen in the south. Snow Riders were thick animal furs.
Bula
The Bula are a tribe living on the shores of the Lake of Susanne. They are the only Steppe Rider tribe that lives from fishing instead of herding.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Religion
Steppe Riders worship spirits of their ancestors. Shamans are able to communicate with them and ask for things ranging from protection to curses. In order to become a shaman a candidate must be taught from a very young age. In order to be chosen there must be something unique or special about the child. Possible signs include surviving a dangerous incident which should have resulted in death, being born with a deformity or developing faster than other children. In reality the most important factor to be considered as a shaman candidate is having magical abilities. However, it doesn't guarantee the position as there are multiple mages in one tribe. The best candidate becomes the shaman.
Art & Architecture
Housing
Steppe Riders live in yurts, which are portable, round tents made from a light wooden frame covered with animal skins. When a tribe is moving yurts can be disassembled or put on a big wagon pulled by oxen. Wagons are usually reserved for the yurts of the chief and shaman.
Art
Most of the art in the Steppe Riders' tribes is small and portable. Among the most common things are decorations woven from the sheep's wool. Tribes living in the southern hill region mine gold and produce jewellery from it.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
The mother has to stay inside the yurt for 10 days afer giving birth to a child. That tradition is related to a myth from the Age of Darkness saying that The Fallen would take away a child younger than 10 days if it isn't protected by a parent. As fathers are expected to work with the herds or be warriors that duty fell to the mothers.
Coming of Age Rites
A child enters adulthood at the age of 15. To symobolise the seperation from the parents the child is given a permission to build its first yurt. When the yurt is ready the child lights the fireplace for the first time while being accompanied by the tribe's shaman. That moment symbolises the entrance of the child into adulthood.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The dead are buried in special places known as villages of the dead. Each tribe has its own village which location is known only to the tribe's shaman. When a person dies the shaman leads the family carrying the dead to the village. During the journey the family of the dead is blindfolded. The dead are laid in one of the yurts in simple wooden coffins and the shaman performs a prayer which allows the soul to pass to the afterlife.
Chiefs and shamans are laid for the eternal rest in big ornate yurts. Their coffins are often decorated with textiles and gold.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Gender ideals vary between the tribes.
The Settled
As The Settled are Susannites men and women among them are equal.
Haiman
Haiman men go with the caravans and conduct trade. That makes people believe that Haiman are a male-dominated tribe. However, that isn't completely true. As men are absent most of the time, women take care of the camp and sheep herds. What is true about the common believe of male dominance is that the Haiman chief is a man.
Gold Diggers
Gold Diggers have similar gender ideals to the Haiman. Men mine the gold, while women take care of the camp and sheep.
Kiryk
Kiryk are a male-dominated tribe where women are limited to taking care of the household and children. The only execption is the role of the shaman, which is chosen in the same way in all the tribes.
Snow Riders
Very little is known about the Snow Riders.
Bula
Bula are a matriarchal tribe. The only important position which can be held by a man is the shaman.
Courtship Ideals
In most cases Steppe Riders take partners from their tribes, but relationships between tribes are not uncommon. They are necessary in order to avoid creating a situation in which tribes would inbreed.
People are allowed to choose their partners, but parents of both of them have to approve of the union before it formed in the presence of the shaman.
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