The Arrenites

The Arrenites are a the people inhabiting the Arren Plains, the Summerlands and the Arren Toe. The Arrenites of the Plains and Summerlands are nomads, travelling with large herds of Woolbuck, though the Arrenites of the Toe are primarily agriculturally inclined.
Arrenites have thick, wiry hair ranging from honey-blonde to pitch black which they bind in various ways, and their skin tone is heavily dependent on the season, ranging from a light oak-brown in the heart of winter to a deep, dark tone reminiscent of black walnut in the heart of summer. While this is due to sunlight exposure, the whole body responds equally. Parts of the body exposed more to sunlight do get a darker tan, but parts not exposed to sunlight also darken or lighten depending on the length of days.
Arrenites have a strong martial culture. Their idea of politics, diplomacy and even trading is based on the assumption that the participants are fighting a fight that is more convenient because nobody gets physically injured. Trade, especially, is a much loved combat sport to many Arrenites. Arrenites may even tell stories about clever trade deals over a mug of whatever drink they are having.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Feminine names end on a vowel.

Masculine names

Masculine names end on a consonant.

Unisex names

Arrenite names are largely unisex, the only difference between the feminine and masculine names being whether they end in a consonant or vowel. Arrenite names are based on virtues, and Arrenites believe (or hope) that the virtue expressed in their child's name will shape the child's personality in the future.

Family names

There is a wide variety of family names within Arrenite society. Family names can be martial in nature, or refer to the family's preferred livestock animal, the family farm, or the family's dedicated craft. Family names are given in the male line.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Arrenite culture is based on strife. It evolved in a region where their livestock is constantly threatened by predators, and tribes compete for grazing and agricultural grounds. To an Arrenite, every negotiation is about staying your blade. Trade is viewed more as taking what you want to have without having to escalate to bloody violence than it is about coming together for an equal exchange. Politics and law are viewed as waging war to get what you want without having to send soldiers to their deaths. Hopefully. Arrenite traders will wear elaborate symbolic armour and weapons. When they demand a higher price for their wares, they do as a symbolic act of guarding their possessions against an aggressor; when they haggle another down, they take a symbolic role as the aggressor.

Average technological level

Arrenites have access to relatively high levels of technology. The agricultural groups use windmills to grind their meal, and on the Arren Toe, some Arrenite families farm sailspiders, granting them access to very strong Spidersilk fibers.
The Arrenite Plainsfolk have excellent carts which can be transformed into great tents in very little time.
Bronze bearings are important to Arrenite carts; they have a special composition that reduces friction, and axles will be set in these bearings. These bearings are also instrumental in their windmills and agricultural equipment.
Arrenites wear armour fashioned mostly out of composite plates of rawhide, with alternating layers of thin, hardened rawhide, horn, single-strand woven fabric, glue, resin and lacquer. Wealthier Arrenite warriors have access to bronze mail worn below the plates. Exceptionally wealthy Arrenites may wear Spidersilk garments with that, some being resistant even against bullets. Arrenites who live in the northern regions often top off their armour with enforced treated rawhide greatcoats.
Arrenite weaponry is very varied. Spears, tipped with bronze, are the most common, but firearms are not a rare sight. While mining is an exceptionally rare profession, Arrenites are known to be skilled craftswomen when it comes to working different kinds of bronze for different purposes. Raw materials for metalworking are imported.

Common Etiquette rules

An Arrenite, male or female, will always be armed, even if it is only a ceremonial small knife shaped like a sword. The 'weapon' will be worn visibly.
Haggling among friends is seen as poor manners not respecting the other's power.
Arrenites like to stay out of one another's business. Family matters should be dealt with behind closed doors, and the way other people behave is none of your business unless it causes you harm. It's considered poor manners to comment on other people's choices in life, even if they go against Arrenite culture. They will expect to be respected for their customs, just as they will respect others for theirs; to do differently would be to insult a person's power, and in that, to disrespect Arrenite's martial culture. An Arrenite disrespecting the culture and traditions of a stranger or the individual choices of a 'deviant' may also turn to disrespect another traditional Arrenite family. This disrespect threatens Arrenite cultural cohesion, and is not tolerated.

Common Dress code

Arrenite men wear trousers and vests, and often wear armour when travelling (or at least don the armour just before arriving). Arrenite merchants wear more elaborate armours and weapons designed to impress rather than be functional.
The women wear elaborate dresses or skirts and vests, made of as high quality material as the family can afford, adorned with jewelry and embroidery. While crafting, they wear the undergarments, topped with a leather apron.

Art & Architecture

Wheels are a common element of aesthetic in Arrenite culture. Armour and clothing is adorned with wheel and livestock images, wheel-shaped broches adorn women's clothes, shields are adorned with a spoked wheel motif, and wheel and livestock motifs adorn the great variety of weapons wielded by Arrenites.
Plains-dwelling Arrenites usually live in carts pulled by their livestock; these carts are connected to a circular tent of oiled rawhide, woven wool and wood to create a common living space, while the carts themselves grant some privacy for sleeping quarters. The carts are roofed with wooden arches, covered in a layer of woven wool, which in turn is covered in a layer of oiled rawhide.
Agricultural homes are built in a variety of ways. Some are constructed of planks, with tarred wool in between, and are built to resemble carts. More often, the buildings are wattle-and-daub constructions, which can be made more cheaply. Roofing varies between wooden shingles, baked clay and dried reeds; some buildings may incorporate several types of roofing.
Arrenite homes are very small, with only sleeping quarters for the parents and the children. Once the children hit puberty, they'll start building their own small homes with help from the family. This means that an Arrenite family looks a lot like a small village in its own right. The family land is communal, and every family will have its own Hall, the place where the family comes together to cook and eat. Families will also have communal work places, like sheds, stables, forges and more. Most of these buildings will sit in a space surrounded by a wall. This wall is typically as tall as a full-grown man, and has small watchtowers placed in strategic positions.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

When a baby is born, the family (and all families in the vicinity that are invited) celebrate with a communal feast. This feast starts at sunrise of the morning of the seventh day after the child's birth, and lasts until the sunrise of the next day (or until all participants seek their beds, which is usually a lot sooner since work needs to be done the next day). Feasts are also held for stillborn children and children who die before the festivities can take place, though there usually is a lot more alcohol involved in these celebrations. It is customary for guests to bring food and drink to a Birth Feast.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Funerary and memorial customs are different for men and women.
When a woman or girl dies, the men construct a cart to lay her body in. The cart represents the Home; the ritual symbolizes her position as a Matriarch. Even if she was not in life, even if she died in infancy, she is honoured as a Matriarch in death. The cart is carried by the men to the burial site, and buried in its entirety in the field. The grave marked with a stone. When a man or boy dies, the women craft him a suit of armour and weapons. This represents his position as a Warrior. Even if he wasn't in life, even if he died in infancy, he is honoured as a Warrior in death. The body is carried by the women to the burial site, and buried, in armour, with the weapons, in the field. The grave is then also marked with a stone.

Common Taboos

Divorce is a great taboo in Arrenite society because it damages the social structure. Cheating is a taboo, but also a commonality; marriages are arranged, and not always to the satisfaction of the ones involved. In agricultural settlements, cheating is more common as people live in closer proximity, and there is greater economic consideration in marriages.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Arrenite beauty ideals for women include wide hips, heavy breasts and slight pot bellies. Long, strong fingers are also deemed very attractive. Beauty ideals for men are different; heavy musculature, square jaws and short, thick beards are found beautiful. Both women and men adorn their hair with beads made of bone or horn for common Arrenites, or silver for the very wealthy.

Gender Ideals

Arrenite culture is rigidly patriarchal in the public sphere, and rigidly matriarchal in the family sphere. On the plains, the men are trained in animal husbandry, arms and armour to protect the herds against predators, as well as carpentry to build the tents, houses and carts. In agricultural settlements, the men are trained to work the land and perform construction, as well as martial training. The women of both the plains and agricultural Arrenites are trained in crafts such as tailoring, pottery and metalworking. Each family is headed by a matriarch, who decides what the family needs and how it needs to be run. She selects sons and grandsons to act as travelling traders for the family, or political ambassadors at tribal meetings, and she is the one deciding on the proposals her ambassadors bring to the discussion. The men are the ones who negotiate policy, but the matriarch is the one who sets its direction (and often decides which demands are non-negotiable).
Infants are trained from a very young age to perform their gender roles in Arrenite society.

Courtship Ideals

On the plains, matriarchs send their unwed daughters with an armed escort to the family of a friendly matriarch. If that friendly matriarch sees a woman she likes for one of her unmarried sons or grandsons, she'll make the other matriarch a proposition. In practice, this means that both unwed participants get to meet one another and see if things click; matriarchs often select a woman based on that click. But the preferences of the prospective partners can be overruled for economic or political gain.
It is customary for a matriarch who has sent daughters to be sent daughters in turn. In some situations, a matriarch my choose to send warriors to another family in order to retrieve one of her daughters when diplomatic or financial relations turn sour. A matriarch who leans one of her daughters is abused may command the son in charge of military matters to organize such a raid. A matriarch who learns one of her sons is abused may send his wife away, even though this might invoke the ire of her original family.
The exhange of women to new families ensures that every family ends up with a Matriarch who is originally from outside that family. This is believed to increase her impartiality, as well as strengthen connections with Matriarchs from other families. Sister-Matriarchs especially are known to form powerful alliances.

Relationship Ideals

The ideal relationship among Arrenites is that of a dutiful wife and obedient husband. The husband is obedient in the household first to his grandmother, second to his mother, third to his wife. Outside of the household, he is obedient first to his father, and second to the one appointed taskmaster in whatever task he is set to.
The wife, meanwhile, is responsible for keeping her husband's house or tent, maintaining his equipment, and taking care of their children.

Arrenites as Characters

Gender is a pretty large part of Arrenite society. Arrenite women tend to have more crafting skills; blacksmithing, tailoring, chemistry and even device (though limited to very simple things like locks, lamps and firearms) are common.
Arrenite men, by contrast, will generally be more combat-oriented. Armour and weapon skills are common, as is Husbandry. Most men among the Arrenites have some training in Carpentry. Diplomacy is also a much valued skill for Arrenite men.
Of course, none of these skills are mandatory for an Arrenite character. Maybe your character breaks the mold. A character's ethnicity can be as much defined by how well she fits in as it can by how much she does not.