Merrwan (mer-huan)
Native to the northeastern arctic region of the known world, the Merrwan are an ethnicity of man related to the Mirran. They have, according to their own myths and legends, inhabited the area since “the beginning of time”.
Basic information
Appearance
The Merrwan have skin tones ranging from the palest of whites to bark-brown shades. They share many eye tones with the Mirran; especially dusty oranges and yellows are common, with browns also not being rare. Many Merrwan have white or grey hair, though fiery ginger and the mossy green tones of the Mirran are also attested. Merrwan haircuts often depend on their profession; hunters often have short buzz cut hair, while other members of society often wear theirs in long braids. Facial hair is incredibly rare among the Merrwan, and only appears among the most elderly if at all. The Merrwan are shorter than other men, with an average height of 165 cm and the tallest reaching 180.Civilization and Culture
Way of life
The Merrwan live a nomadic lifestyle, island-hopping with kayaks and rafts in the summer and roaming the large forests of the north in the winter. They sustain themselves by hunting and gathering; common prey is whales, seals, deer, elk, and boars.History
The Merrwan have lived in the same area and way of life for at least a thousand years. Little is known of their origin, with splitting off from the Mirran to be a separate civilization being a common theory.Religion
Unlike most other civilizations in the area, the Merrwan follow an old druidic faith centred on nature spirits, resembling the Totems yet less uniformed. Each tribe has a shaman or druid as a religious leader, who conducts medicine and religious rituals. Death is treated as a natural part of life, with the body being let back into the cycle by simply leaving it in nature after the shaman has conducted a ritual to protect the body from undeath. Many of the seafaring tribes leave bodies in the ocean. Each Shaman adopts a successor when they feel they need one, picking from the recently born who may have a tendency for magic. The shaman then raises their successor as their own child, teaching them the ways of magic and the rituals they need to know.Naming Traditions
Family names
To the Merrwan, last names serve the purpose of showing an individual's place in society. Last names are often inherited, with children picking up their parent’s profession, though a change of profession may also incur a change of name.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Merrwan mostly speak their own language. Tribe leaders often know several more languages, including the unified tongue, for trading purposes.
Common Dress code
The Merrwan dress in thick, covering coats of hide during the winter, and lighter clothes during the summer. Jewellery made of bones is common.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
The Merrwan society is largely equal, as all people and professions, such as hunters or gatherers, are deemed important for the tribe. They don’t largely differentiate genders outside of who can produce offspring and who cannot.
Major organizations
The Merrwan society is split into tribes, with each tribe deriving their name from a certain animal or other spirit. Some of the largest tribes are the Bearhide tribe, the Sealtooth tribe, and the Birchbark tribe.
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