Rhandi

The Rhandi are a close-knit people living in the North of Arhinda, between to the edge of the cursed cold desert of the Everice and the Frozen Fjords. They settle in small towns and villages, living mostly off the land and barely travelling besides for pilgrimage or hunts.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

A Rhandi believes in always providing shelter to one another, and thus it is common for the few that choose a life of wandering to flit from homestead to homestead, forging bonds with strangers over the hearth-fire by sharing tales over meals. This value is not often extended to foreigners, though the settlements at the edge of Rhandi land do open their doors to outsiders.

Coming of Age Rites

Upon their twelfth winter, children partake of the Mintwine ceremony where they hunt and gather together with the Eldest Witch of their village, travel to the edge of the Everice and drink the beverage to have prophetic dreams. Upon their return they are considered adults, and the whole village throws a feast in their name. The children are robed with great pelts and given antler crowns to wear while they dance to the coming of age rhythms of drums.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Bodies of the fallen are burnt in a night with the stars visible, and a vigil is held over the fires by the extended family huddling for warmth. In cases where the deceased is a hero or a well-respected Elder, the whole village joins in the mourning. In both cases, a number of the attendees add to the pyre something of their making that reminds them of the one lost.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Rhandi prefer long, braided hair on both men and women, and often embed bone or wooden fetishes in their beards and clothing. They wear mostly greens, browns and yellows, and leave the rare blue for respected Elders. To enhance their simple styles they add furs of great beasts they've hunted, but they don't generally use jewellery unless from the rare settlement that trades with outsiders.