Food Sharing
Food sharing is a specific hospitality practice involving the butchery and distribution of meat and blubber. Actual practices vary but include tolerated theft (by pups, who almost invariably only take what they need), feasts, and distribution models based on individuals' nutritional needs (this most frequently comes up for certain medical cases, but Ta'zhen's species difference from the rest of the Stenza also falls under this category).
History
Before the invention of food preservation, sharing had to be done quickly and efficiently. Offerings were made to Hunter, then the hunting party's associated pups and youths ate first, followed by the adults, and the rest of the carcass was carried back to the settlement, where it would be divided again along these lines. Good hunts could keep everyone fed for several days.
However, this system still required hunts at least every few days and was prone to collapse when herd populations declined (due to disease, birth rate fluctuations, harsh weather, or other conditions). The most notorious such case is known as The Lean Years. The Lean Years initiated the development of an elaborate mathematical process, whereby Stenza hunting parties determine exactly how many prey animals to kill in a given year in order to feed everyone (if the number comes to a fraction, round up). This, coupled with the development of food preservation technology, allowed for a robust system of food management and distribution, and in some cases, the invention of new dishes (for example, 'alashaia hot cider; the fruits would not have survived the journey north intact without methods of food storing).
Execution
The most common forms of food sharing include distribution to visitors, a semi-formalized "opening the storage chambers" during feast days (most commonly First Sunrise and Last Sunset; Midwinter has its own process, as that is when fresh 'alashaia fruits are also available), and tolerated theft committed by pups, wherein groups of them coordinate and execute heists of varying complexity with the aim of breaking into storage chambers or tricking nearby adults who happen to be eating, so that one or more of them can abscond with a snack.
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