Hallü

Known as the best horsemen and women in the world, the Hallü are a wandering tribal people. They follow the great bison and aurochs herds of the northern plains, north of Nalkon, and even into the northern parts of Nalkon. Being a great hunter is prized in their culture, whether male or female. The plains are vast expanses of grasses, with some few hills, then slowly becoming forest. Here rarely heard of, strange beasts roam alongside those of the well-known deer and antelopes seen in other areas of the world. There is even the occasional herd of wild horses still wandering under the harsh skies of the north, where the gods of weather are fickle and more changeable than at any other place in the known world.
Each tribe is organized as a clan named for a particular totem. With over 100 clans, this is a lot of people! Some of the larger and more powerful clans are: horse (said to be the first clan), aurochs, bison, caribou, grizzly, wolf, coyote, badger, wolverine, and träk-su-esh. Other than the last of these, all clans are named for animals/creatures that are native to these plains. This mountain beast was, according to legend, once found one these plains eating a grizzly. No-one seemed to know what it was, so it was followed by a hunting group for months, until it attacked those tracking it. The sole survivor of this group of 15 people came back with one of its "hands" and presented it to his betrothed as a bride gift, before collapsing. He needed a shaman to heal. Thus the new clan was founded.
Most children are able to ride on their own at a very young age. They are often gifted horses of their own before the age of 10, even though they have been riding clan horses or those of their parents for years already. Horses are also so common amongst the people that the number of horses in a tribe will often outnumber the people, sometimes as much as three or four to one. The training of these horses is often communal, as is most everything in their society.
These people are a wild people who live in hide tents with villages up to 200 or so people. Of course, this is not the common size, as most villages contain between five and ten families. Each family will consist of one man as the token household head, and he will have as many as five wives, depending on his wealth and status. Most men only have one wife, however. And it has been known for very wealthy and powerful men to only ever take one wife. Love is a valued and respected thing amongst the Hallu. The interesting thing about this arrangement of multiple spouses is that in Hallü, is that it is considered extremely rude for any man to court a woman first, or to ask her for marriage. Marriages are either arranged by the elder women, most often at the request of the young women, or the young woman will seek out the man she is interested in. Some marriages will include two men (and possibly only one woman, although that is very rare). This may seem contradictory when considering other aspects of Hallü life.
Given that there is higher mortality amongst men and boys because of violence (raiding, wild animals, etc.) and the warrior’s role in society, it only seems natural for the women to share the more powerful (higher social status) men. Women outnumber men in Hallü society more than two-to-one. As these people are centred on the family unit and the herds, they tend to be very close knit and co-operative amongst one another. While roles for men, women and children are clearly defined; it is not unknown for these roles to shift with the circumstances.
Most of the time the tribes will be peaceful, content to follow the herds, hunting when necessary, and meeting at gatherings where related tribes will often get together and visit, trade and celebrate. It is at these gatherings that the yearly festivals and greatest sacrifices to the gods are given.
The greatest god amongst the Hallü is the spirit of the horse. The horse is the giver of life and fortune to those upon the plains. There is also the sun god, known commonly in the world as GaLa, but called Tagalra by the Hallu. A totemistic people, they seem to worship every spirit in Nature. All their gods seem to take the forms of animals, excepting Tagalra, who most often takes the form of a man, or is simply thought of as a disembodied spirit. The legends of these people say that Tagalra mated with the horse goddess and from this union sprang the Hallu and their closest kin, the horses. This religion is central to their culture, influencing much of what they do.
The whole concept of sexual jealousy does not seem to exist amongst these people which is often difficult for an outsider to understand. Children are raised communally. The mother, of course, is always known – but not so the father. Most often there is certainty, but it doesn’t seem to be important to these people. Rather, the communal family is what matters more, and the children seem to acknowledge siblings from all parents and at the same time multiple fathers and mothers. For the Hallu monogamy and sexual fidelity are foreign concepts, and they view such behaviour as unhealthy and unnatural. While it does happen, that people will fall in love and stay together as a monogamous unit for years or life, sexual fidelity does not seem to be an overly important part of this relationship, rather it is more like a couple who become best friends as well as lovers, each encouraging the other in whatever endeavours and relationships he or she chooses to pursue. Of course, there are some who do remain sexually exclusive with their chosen mates, it is not the majority. There is no other human race on Lainshoa that is so egalitarian. There seems to be no sexual frustration and no typical battle of the sexes with these people.
Of human societies, only the Hallü have so much equality amongst the people and respect between men and women.

Culture

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Marriage Customs
Traditionally it is the women who choose their mates. It is not uncommon for their to be group marriages (typically 3 to 5 people, with varying gender mixes), although most common are couplings. Each summer at the Great Gathering is when most marriages occur, which is also where most engagements are negotiated.
To prove his value each group must singlehandedly hunt one adult aurochs per bride. No magic is permitted during this hunt! As well, it must be done only with hand weapons or small bows (medium bow or smaller). Legendary kills include sneaking up to an aurochs and killing it with a knife. The groom-to-be has from sunup to sundown to hunt (the herd will have already been found). One hour past sunset he must present his kill. If accepted the man becomes part of his wife's (wives') clan. It is extremely rare for there to be a refusal, as there is commonly a long (minimum of one year) courting period. Sometimes there are women from different clans moving into one marriage. When this happens, they will either choose to all belong to one of the women's clans or start a new clan. Starting a new clan is rare! It must also be approved by the Grandmothers of all clans the people in the marriage come from.
The weddings will all take place within a day or two of each other. There will be a party for each of the betrothed the night before, after the acceptance. The bride(s) and groom(s) are not permitted to see each other from the night before the hunt until the acceptance. Also, no one of the opposite gender is permitted to see them.

Coming of Age Rites

To be considered an adult in this society every youth must go through the ritual of adulthood, which includes a closed ceremony where they are presented to the sun god or horse god. Only these people have ever seen this ceremony – others only hear of it. After this, the youth is considered worthy of the adulthood quest; for males must also perform a solo hunt that must be successful. He is not permitted back into the tribe until this comes to pass. He must come back with something no less than an antelope.
Of course, for his protection men of the tribe follow him. There are plains lions, raiders from other peoples, and worse to be found out here. But he is never assisted in his initial hunt. Rarely a male is chosen to accomplish a task that it not hunting. This is usually a very challenging craft or something of a magical nature (should he show a propensity towards such skills).
For the females it is often something of equal challenge, whether it be locating something in the wild, such as a sacred object, or creating something of prized value for her people. Women may also be wizards and have tasks assigned to prove their propensity towards such skills.
For both males and females this rite takes place at the age of sixteen. They may refuse and delay for up to two summers, but this is rarely done