Manneskor
Native to the region north of the Frontier Lands, the Manneskor are a large, fair people, with a long oral tradition.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Ása, Brynja, Dagný, Edda, Gulla, Helga, Ingvildr, Ragna, Sigrún, Thórví, Valdís, Yngvildr
Masculine names
Alfarr, Dagfinnr, Einarr, Finnr, Hálfdan, Ívarr, Ketill, Magni, Ragnarr, Sindri, Thórir, Valdimárr
Family names
The Manneskor don’t use family names, instead relationship is shown either patrilinealy or (less commonly) matrilinealy through use of the suffix sønn (for a male child) or datter (for a female child. Therefore, Finnr Ívarrsønn would be Finnr son of Ívarr, and Brynja Helgadatter would be Brynja daughter if Helga. The use of the father’s or mother’s name depends on whether the tribe in question is patrilineal or matrilineal.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Manneskor speak their own language, called Språket, which is distinct from the common tongue of the Mangen. There are actually three major dialects of this language, which are mutually understandable for the most part.
Common Etiquette rules
They are a very polite people with a complex code of etiquette necessitated by the harsh winters of the northern reaches. Harsh winters mean more time indoors, which means more opportunity for nerves to fray and tempers to wear thin. Theft and violence are big taboos, except in times of war. Adultery is also frowned upon, except during certain ceremonies. Gossip is also frowned upon. Those who don’t hunt are expected to learn a skill or craft and practice it regularly. Those who hunt are also expected to learn a skill or craft, but it is understandable if they don’t practice it regularly and become truly proficient at it. Nudity is often seen, but seldom noticed, in fact staring is itself considered rude. Most matters of etiquette amongst the Manneskor are common sense, and to discuss them all, would take an article in itself.
Common Dress code
They don’t have a dress code, as they tend to dress (or undress) for the conditions. In hot weather it is common for men and women to wear only a loincloth or to even go nude depending on the activity and its location. Common garments consist of a tunic and pants (or skirt for women) with layers of furs added when it is cold. Clothes, especially ceremonial clothes are decorated to display both wealth and affiliations. Tattoos are common and often denote rank and occupation. Not everyone is tattooed, but usually leaders whether temporal or spiritual will have at least a simple tattoo.
Art & Architecture
The art of the Manneskor peoples tends to the functional, beautifully decorated items for use, such as tools and clothing. They also make jewelry using whatever materials are available. Most of their decorations consist of abstract patterns, such as spirals, often repeated. While they do produce representations of actual things (such as animals) these usually (but not always) have ceremonial or religious purposes. Depictions of people are always abstract, and never depictions of actual people.
They dwell in communal longhouses, generally made of wood and sod, depending on the materials available. These longhouses have an entrance at either end, and are divided into family areas inside. The walls rise to about six feet, only half of which is above ground, and the roofs are sloped or domed to better shed snow and water. The support poles for these longhouses are usually topped with terra cotta depictions of animals, usually totem animals. The southern Manneskor use their long houses primarily in the winter, in the summer they are nomadic, using easy to put up and take down single family dwellings. These dwellings are round with a center support pole topped with a terra cotta animal.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
The Manneskor are a pantheistic people. They believe that everything has a spirit and there are spirits in everything. Much of the customs stem from appeasing the spirits around them. Luck, good or ill is believed to stem from the favor and disfavor of these spiritual forces. Shamans are often called upon to determine how to appease the spirits when bad fortune falls, and how to thank them when good fortune falls.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
The birth of a child is a much-celebrated thing both to the parents, their extended family and the tribe as a whole. However, the birth is not celebrated, or even acknowledged until ten days afterwards. During the period between the birth and the acknowledgement the newborn and its mother are cloistered, and contact is avoided by all but immediate family. On the tenth day the child is officially named and numbered amongst the tribe in a ceremony performed by a shaman. The exact ceremony varies from tribe to tribe, but usually involves drawing a small amount of the child’s blood and the receipt of some sort of token. Afterwards there is a small feast to celebrate the happy occasion.
Coming of Age Rites
For a male coming of age is marked by his first solo kill, generally of a large animal. Small game and such are often killed before that and the boys take part in communal hunts. The first time he manages a significant kill on his own, usually observed by older hunters, he is acknowledged a man. What follows is a small ceremony where he is ritually scarred, and the hunters of the tribe have a private feast.
For females it is different. A female comes of age at menarche. What follows is a period of isolation where she may only have contact with other women and shamans. At the end of the period of isolation, usually the duration of one cycle of the moon, there is a small party where the new woman receives gifts, generally things she will need to set up her own household.
For females it is different. A female comes of age at menarche. What follows is a period of isolation where she may only have contact with other women and shamans. At the end of the period of isolation, usually the duration of one cycle of the moon, there is a small party where the new woman receives gifts, generally things she will need to set up her own household.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Death is simply another stage of life to the Manneskor. When a person dies it is a time of mourning. It is also believed the spirit of the person will hover near the family and community for some time, so the night after the death the tribe will sit up with the deceased’s family and rituals will be performed to protect the spirits of the family. When a spouse dies shortly after it is believed that the spirit of the deceased pulled their spirit to the next world, unintentionally. The next day the body will be cremated, and the funeral pyre used, in part, to cook a memorial feast. Some of the food is burnt so the deceased’s spirit will have nourishment for the journey. Soon after the tribe’s shamans will perform a ceremony to help guide the spirit of the deceased to the next world.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Fair skin is considered an attractive quality as is fair hair, and blue eyes. The Manneskor generally wear their hair long, and men usually grow beards. Hair and beards are often elaborately braided. Clothing is decorated in a style to show both wealth and family, clan, and tribal affiliation. The more elaborate the clothing worn, i.e. the wealthier the individual, the more attractive he or she is perceived as.
Gender Ideals
Male and female roles aren’t formally established. Men generally hunt and go to war and women stay behind to raise children and tend the home. However, there are plenty of exceptions. Women who have yet to marry usually hunt and even go to war, at least until they marry and have children at which point, they usually (but not always) stay home to raise the children. While exceedingly rare it is not unheard of for a man to tend the home while the woman hunts, though usually the man has suffered some injury that makes hunting difficult.
Courtship Ideals
Amongst the Manneskor courtships vary in length. While a short courtship is frowned upon, it isn’t forbidden, and any couple can marry so long as the clan leaders agree to it. Most often couples will get to know each other through hunting, as many young, unmarried women go hunting, at least on communal hunts. That’s where the men are after all, and a woman who can hunt regardless of skill, is viewed as more attractive. Marriages involve a tying of the hands, followed by a feast, then a period of isolation for the couple of five days.
Major organizations
The Manneskor are divided into three large groupings, the Skogfolk who dwell in the northern forests and are further divided into four tribes, the Fjernhjem, Steinhjem, Sydlande, and Våtplas. Then there is the Gressfolk who occupy the plains and are further divided into thre tribes, the Ledigklar, Nordklar, and Sydklar. Finaly in the far north on the coast are the Sjøfolk who consist of a single tribe called the Fjernord. The three divisions of the Manneskor, Skogfolk, Gressfolk, and Sjøfolk recognize their common kinship and will trade amongst each other and occasionally intermarry. They also raid each other from time to time.
Related Organizations
Languages spoken
Related Locations
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