Helori

"The Helori became a proud, quarrelsome Tribe that originated from Ateer and Shynae’s oldest living son."

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Ellra, Hannea

Masculine names

Essendu

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

The schism between males and females comes from their Netheri parentage: the God of War, and the Goddess of Peace. The men embody war, and the women embody peace. Nominally the society values both war and peace, but the men, by their very nature, seem to make the divide rather lopsided. However, they do realize that they can't be a constant state of war, so they see peace as the perfect time to recoup any losses, shore up defenses, and assess the current situation.

Shared customary codes and values

The major tenet of the Helori is that to fight means to be truly alive.

Common Etiquette rules

Most outside Tribes consider the Helori to be very boorish. They don't have much in the way of standard etiquette, at least among the males. Probably the worst breech in etiquette would be to make racy comments, or flirt, with another man's wife. The women are expected to be very polite to everyone, regardless of gender, but they also have to show deference to men, while they have to sort out their own pecking order among other women.

Common Dress code

Modesty is generally considered secondary to comfort and protection. The Helori homeland is in the jungles, so they wear loose, short clothes, both men and women. Women are generally covered from breasts to knees, while the men only have to wear enough to cover their genitals.

Art & Architecture

There is very little art in Helori lands, and architecture is based on two things: keeping cool and warding off attackers. They have very little use for empty finery or

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

When a Helori man gets to his declining years, and his wife is no longer alive, he is taken away to the Gladitorial arena. There he fights as a Gladiator until his death at the hands of another Helori warrior. It's considered a very honorable thing to kill an aged Helori man if the 'fire of life' has left his eyes. They have the belief that a Gladiator will not die until he is ready, so if someone dies in the arena, it was fated to be so and a mercy.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

The birth of a woman's first child is the gateway to her marriage. If a baby boy is born, there's a large gathering of men that feast together, congratulating the father on his progeny. If a baby girl is born, the women gather together and actually get to enjoy a feast where they are not intruded upon by men. Three days after the birth of the baby, the parents are married.

Coming of Age Rites

The Helori don't have a coming of age rite so much as the expectation just arises when more is expected out of them. When a girl gets her first period, she is sent to a school to learn her womanly crafts more precisely than what her mother has been teaching her all her life. When a boy's voice starts to change, he's apprenticed to a trade, either with his father or someone else in the community. There's no celebration to these events: they're simply seen as something that needs to be done.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Funerals are very diverse among the Helori, depending on who died and how they died.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Men are idealized as well muscled, healthy, and have at least one prominent scar. Short hair is preferred.
Women are idealized as having very little spare fat, but with a preference for large hips.

Gender Ideals

Men are expected to be outwardly tough, both in their attitude and in their physical bearing. They are the fighters and the heads of the household. Their worth is tallied by how well they fight firstly, and their success in their 'peace time' job is only of secondary importance.
Women are expected to be meek, mild, and submissive towards their husbands. They cannot own property or strike out on their own independently. Their worth is calculated by how many children they can have.

Courtship Ideals

The Helori courtship is very one-sided. A man sees a girl he's interested in, and approaches the girl's father (or other guardian if the father is dead) to ask for a year-long contract. If, in that year, the girl becomes pregnant and successfully delivers a baby, then the couple are married shortly after the birth. If, in that year, the girl does not become pregnant, then the man can either take out a second contract with her guardian, or seek another woman to contract with.

Relationship Ideals

The men are in charge of every aspect of the relationship, and there is little official recourse for a woman who feels she is being treated poorly. However, once a woman has her first child, she's treated as at least valuable. If a woman manages to have multiple successful pregnancies and lives until she's past child-bearing age, she is often treated very well in her declining years. Fidelity is very important to the Helori; being able to track parentage is essential for avoiding children with elemental lesions, so even the men can be ostracized if they are caught sleeping with the wrong women.

Encompassed species

• Netheri

Related Organizations

• Cult of Death