The Gnome Nessian Empire
Culture
The physical environment of the Nessian Empire is not as favorable for Gnome habitation as it first appears. It certainly presented difficulties when the ancestors of the Nessians entered the area thousands of years ago, first settling on the eastern coast of the main continent of Kai. The land was devoid of much that was needed for Gnome habitation. As a result, early peoples had to take in a wide variety of subsistence items, including most of the useful plants and all of the domestic animals they required. The physical environment has continued to exert a marked influence on Nessian culture.
Traditional Ness
Linguistic evidence suggests that ness was first settled almost 4,000 years ago. The capital city of Lohlu is best known for their distinctive pottery dating back to the ancient era. However, archaeological sites in and around Amasso lack ceramics of any kind. Nonetheless, it is clear that the various groups in Ness interacted frequently with one another during the early period of settlement, exchanging luxury goods such as [TBD].
One of the principal characteristics of traditional Nessian culture is an effective adaptation to and mastery of the ocean environment. The Nessians were superb mariners, but their mastery did not extend merely to the technology involved in shipbuilding and navigation. It also permeated social organization, religion, food production, and most other facets of the culture; they had social mechanisms for coping with the problems of shipwreck, such as separated families and the sudden loss of large portions of the group. In short, they were well equipped to handle the numerous hazards of the beautiful but challenging environment.
Another important characteristic of traditional culture was a certain amount of conservatism. For instance, a comparison of material goods such as stone adzes and fishhooks from widely separated groups reveals a remarkable similarity. The same is true for kinship terms, plant names, and much of the rest of the technical vocabulary of the cultures, as well as for art motifs and medical preparations. The ornate and voluminous genealogies, chants, legends, songs, and spells that were passed down and elaborated through the generations show a profound reverence for the past.
Nessian culture displays a thoroughly practical exploitation of the environment. Their languages reflect their systematic observations of the natural world, abounding with terminology for stars, currents, winds, land-forms, and directions. Nessian languages also include a large number of grammatical elements, indicating, for example, direction of motion implied by verbs, including movement toward or away from the speaker, relative positions of objects with reference to the speaker, and direction of movement along a seashore-inland axis.
Nessians exhibit a profound interest in the supernatural, which they view as part of the continuum of reality rather than as a separate category of experience. As a result, Nessian culture places every person in a well-defined relationship to society and to the universe. Creation traditions tell of the origin of the world, setting forth the order of precedence of earth, sky, and sea and their inhabitants. Genealogies fixed the individual tightly into a hierarchical social order. A variety of legends interpreted natural phenomena, while historical accounts often described, with varying amounts of mythological elaboration, the migrations of people before they arrived at the territory where they were located, their adventures on the way, and the development of the culture following settlement.
Violence is an ever-present element of Nessian culture. This is reflected in the oral literature and in all aspects of traditional life. Various customs control and repress the direct physical expression of aggression within the kin group and the tribe up to a point, but there are definite boundaries of behavior beyond which only violence can restore status or assuage injured pride. Prior to Hawemay's reforms, punishments for transgressing ritual prohibitions and social rules often incorporate ritual sacrifice or even the death of the transgressor. Inter-tribal warfare was extremely common, particularly when populations began to outgrow available resources.
Perhaps the most publicized and misconceived aspect of Nessian culture has been its sensuality. As in many other aspects of life, Nessian peoples generally take a very direct, realistic, and physical approach to gratification of the senses. In general, Nessian’s balanced approach to sensual gratification seems just another reflection of a generally straightforward approach to the world.
Assets
Religion
Missionary influence on Nessian peoples increased over time, and [TBD Deity] eventually became an integral part of their lives. In many areas [TBD Deity] was also influenced by local traditions and customs. Quite commonly, villages competed to build larger and more elaborate churches, and first-time visitors to Ness are often surprised at the intensity of the islanders’ commitment to [TBD Deity]. Many Nessians were recruited to proselytize other parts of the east coast.
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