Orc

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Tusks

Orcs of old possessed upper and lower tusks. The Orcs living on the Prime Material have lost their upper tusks. Due to this loss, the Orcs must file down their tusks. The filing can be done 3 times per month with intense force, or more often though gentler.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Hyper-omnivorous

Civilization and Culture

Courtship Ideals

Orcs court each other by the interested partner expressing their affection to the other partner and the woman decides if they have permission to enter her home. The interested partner can only visit at night in secret and return to their home by morning. If a child is born, the mother takes custody of child, while the father returns to his family and cares for nieces/nephews. Only the Sister's children are present within each household, however, the father is still apart of important ceremonies of the child and if he wishes to help raise the child then he must prove his worth to the mother's family.
Marriage is rare between orcs and other species, but not forbidden. The orcs have adopted the eleven marriage ritual , because of their frequent contact. If an orc and other species marry, the couple must choose between the two tribes to live with.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Women are leaders in both the household and tribe. Only women can be head of tribe/house, however, men can be leaders though have less status and power. As both genders can vary in size and stature causing duties to vary; every member is able to fight and expect to fight if the need arises. Linage is traced through the tribe by women and being the heads of households the women are property owners.
Households are comprised of extended families. Head Mother, Arm Aunt/Uncles, and Leg Sister/Brothers with their corresponding children live in the same tent(s). A Head Mother is either the mother of Arm Aunt/Uncles or the eldest Arm Aunt if the mother is deceased. Arm Aunt/Uncles come from the same Head Mother, while Leg Sisters/Brothers come from the Arm Sisters. Some families are so large as to have Arm Daughter/Sons, who's children become the Leg Sisters/Brothers.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Death Is Not The End

Orcs expect death at any moment, discussing how their corpse is prepared and how it is used after is important. Every detail from what dressage to their nails and what carvings are made into the bones to reflect who they were is considered. Although corpse decoration is important for the mourning, more value is given to bone decoration.

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Bone decoration denotes their name on the collar bone, family linage on the rib cage, children's names on the pelvis, skull has honor and tribal role, arms and legs have important life events depicted. All of which is carved, or etched, into the bones; although other decoration is allowed, only Warriors and Head Mothers have precious metals apart of their bones. Warriors and Family Guardians have beautiful metal art that functions to reinforce their bones to take hits for they will protect the tribe just as they did in life.

Tusks

They are symbols of lineage and are decorated for very specific events. Tusks are decorated for ceremonies such as the Coming-Of-Age, however, carving of tusks are only done for warriors and the dead. Warriors will carve their tusks and teeth to be identified after death in battle. However, some orc warriors do not decide what is done with their corpse as they believe their body might not be retrieved till long after the battle, which places more importance on bone decoration.
After the mourning, the tusks of an orc are removed for the linage marking. The tusks have their owner's name carved into them along with a design denoting their honor and role amoung the tribe. Both tusks are given to the Head Mother as one is placed on a cord with other family tusks and she decides what happens to the second. The second tusk can end up with the youngest member of the family, significant partner, or the eldest Arm Sister as she will take the place of the Head Mother after her death.

Head Mother

Her bones are treated with more care as they can be made into ritual items. Only after an ancestral commune can she decide what is to become of her bones. Head Mothers commonly become Family Guardians; these bones set near the family's tent are only active when the tent is moved, or the family is in danger. These bones are the most relentless and heavily imbued necromantic magic, as such are used for extreme dangers.
Every Head Mother must commune with the family's ancestral council. The ancestors delve into her spirit to decide if she has wisdom and will to be one of them. Those chosen by the ancestors have secret rituals performed before their death by the other Head Mothers of the tribe. It is not know what is done during these rituals, but they are said to prepare her body, mind and soul. What is left of her after the mourning; her skull is made into a shadow bowl, ribs are charms given to her children, pelvic is grounded powder, and the other bones are kept in the Leader's tent.