Gae Hirach
The Gae Hirach are a clan of Majan who live on the north shore of the Gulf Sea. Their culture is centered around the sea and wind.
Naming Traditions
Family names
A person's last name is usually the name of their father or mother. However, one can also be identified by House, which bears the name of the founding ancester.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
All speak Hirach or Hiran, though the common tongue is spoken just as often.
Shared customary codes and values
The Gae Hirach value hard work and service. A person's word is held in high esteem, in some cases replacing currency. The pledge of service, loyalty, or other such things is depended upon. If an individual is known to have broken their word, they are deemed to be oathbreakers and are punished in varying degrees of severity, from a simple fine and loss of social status, to exile from their family and/or village.
Common Etiquette rules
Raising one's voice is considered vulgar unless at sea; anywhere else, one should speak at a moderate or low volume.
Art & Architecture
Hiran homes are usually one-story buildings, with a main area in the center–where the family cooks, eats, and spends time–and smaller sleeping areas off to the side and a washroom at the back. Roofs are usually thatched and slope far down, almost to the ground. Underneath lies the cellar, storeroom and the family’s altar room.
Hiran like to adorn their homes with stone carvings, glass, and tapestries. The tapestries are usually made by the elderly and hang in the house to commemorate events. Though their environment seems rough, Hirans enjoy delicate things and like to use and display glassware. Usually, a set of highly decorated makeup and cosmetic vials can be found in the washroom, as well as a mirror. Glassmakers are often wealthy individuals, as their wares are always in demand.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Hirach greet each other with extended hands and palms together, though for more intimate greetings with family, taking the hand of the other is accepted, and for romantic partners, touching the forehead is common.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Children are often born in the family's altar room and are delivered by witches. After a period of two days in the altar room, they are taken outside for the first time. After giving birth, a woman is doted upon by the community for the next moon cycle, until she has her period. She is absolved from all responsibilities, and though she may choose to spend time with the child, the care of children is overseen by the father or other relations.
After birth, the mother and father braid a new braid into their hair, which they tie with red string. This symbolizes the duty they have to protect and care for the child until the age of fifteen.
Coming of Age Rites
On a child's fifteenth birthday, they undergo a ceremony in which they greet each member of their extended family and visit the place of their birth. It is there that they offer a ceremonial gift to their mother, usually food, in order to thank them for their care growing up. Both parents then cut off the braid wrapped in red string, and keep it on the family altar. This symbolizes letting go of the child. The child itself receives a braid with a snail-shell bead, indicating that they are of age.
On a child's twentieth birthday, the shell is removed and they are allowed to engage in courtship or pledge themselves into service.
Funerary and Memorial customs
After death, a piece of hair is taken from the body, braided and hung on the family altar. If they were married, their partner cuts their marital braid and buries it with them. Near each village are the barrow grounds, where each family has their own barrow. They are either cremated and their ashes buried in the barrow or their body is clothed in white and laid to rest among their ancestors under the hill. Then, a stick is mounted on the hill and hung with shells and chimes that make noise in the wind. There, they sing until the moon is restored. Then the chimes are removed and strewn on the grass.
Common Taboos
Breaking one's word is a terrible offense for those over the age of fifteen and can result in being cast out from society.
Common Myths and Legends
The Gae Hirach follow the Majan Pantheon, though their tales differ slightly and they place greater emphasis on the deities of the sea.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Long hair is considered beautiful for both men and women.
Gender Ideals
Women are usually seen as the mages and scholars in society, while men are the soldiers and workmen. Men are expected to be physically strong, hardworking, and dependable, while women are expected to be intelligent, authoritive, and curious.
Courtship Ideals
During courtship, it is the woman who pursues the man, by asking him to an outing in which she can demonstrate her intelligence. Then, the man gifts her with several handmade items, traditionally a wooden carving of the two of them, a woven tapestry, or livestock. The woman then sends back a lock of her hair, initiating the second phase of courtship. During their next meeting in private, he will offer a lock of his own to keep. This is the equivalent of an engagement. The woman will then write a letter to her lover, either explaining her love, persuading him to accept her into his house, or outlining their potential future. Included with this is a charm for good luck, love, fertility, or long life. The man will then bind the charm to himself, committing to the relationship, and find some way to display it in his home or on his person.
The wedding then takes place. Among wealthier couples, it is done on a boat with only the immediate families of the couple and a mage to perform the ceremony. The mage will then braid each lock of hair into the other's hair. This braid is never undone and is always washed with care.
There is a second type of romantic relationship, where the couple is not exclusive, and the arrangement is usually temporary. The process is simpler, done by one party displaying a string of pearls and red ribbon around the neck. This signal is answered by the other party, touching their hair in some way. This is a simple offer of a sexual partnership and is widely accepted among young and single people.
Relationship Ideals
Marriage is expected to be a stable, life-long union in which each party honors the specific parameters of the marriage, which are negotiated beforehand. The woman is the head of the household, while the man is the breadwinner. Marriage is a separate arrangement from a sexual partnership, though most couples are also sexual partners.
Major organizations
The house of Alquan is the current ruling family.
Fashion
Long hair for males and females is common. Clothes vary, though they are usually made of either wool, leather, or goat hair. White is almost never worn, but rather brown, gray, and green are preferred. Among wealthier people, blue and red are sometimes worn. It is common for shell beads to be worn as adornments for both sexes, and the eyes are often lined with coal when sailing or fighting. Tattoos are also popular and often denote one's family, significant events in one's life, or achievements. The hair is the ultimate sign of beauty for both sexes, and it is always worn proudly. Often braided in different ways and adorned with shells or other items, the type of braid can mean different things. The marriage braid is most easily recognized, but other signals change from day to day.
Parent ethnicities
Related Organizations
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