Faren culture

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Overview

Farens are the most populous people of the Continent They believe that personal freedom and democracy will lead to the greatest scientific advancements. They were the first to invent writing, to preserve the knowledge of their venerated ancestors.

Material culture

Clothing traditions

Main article: Faren clothing
Related articles:
Social class in Faren clothing
Traditional Faren belts
Faren colour associations

The most common Faren piece of clothing is a tunic. Short and long tunics are worn according to the weather, and higher class and women usually wear longer tunics. A skirt or a coat can also be worn over the tunic. Pants are usually avoided. The most common clothing materials are goat wool and linen. Zeribian Sea Silk is highly valued.
Farens enjoy bright colours when possible. Blue is worn for formal occasions, and teachers and counsil members wear yellow. Simple single-colour tunics are decorated with traditional woven belts. The type of the belt and it's patterns transmit information about the wearer's status and background.

Architecture

Famous buildings:
Tower of Sunset

by Truman Seymour (1875)

Wealthy Farens live in large one or two storied houses, that have rooms circuling a central yard from all sides. The houses have small personal rooms, and a common space used for dining and receiving visitors. Many houses have access to running water, that connects to a fountain on the yard.
The common peoples' houses are similar in shape, but are at least three stories high, and every family only has a small apartment. The yard is shared, and can be used for cooking and washing. The apartment buildings usually share one toilet.

There are often shops and other businesses in the ground floor. The entrance to the yard from the street is often guarded in middle class houses, but it's common that the inhabitants on the yard are watching for each other, and the apartments don't have any locks. In warmer areas they might even not have doors.

Cuisine

The typical Faren diet consists mainly of grain, legumes and vegetables. Only the rich eat meat daily, preferring wild game, while the common people usually eat goat meat or fish. The typical beverage is either wine or beer depending on the area.

Due to the broad trade networks, the rich Farens have access to a wide variety of luxury food items grown both on the continent and the islands. Most important imported foods are spices, nuts and fruit.

Farens love mushrooms that grow plentifully in the Lowland woods. Zeribians are horified by this custom, because they usually only use the tropical mushrooms on the Eastern Islands for poisons.

by pixnio

The most important meal of the day is the dinner, eaten right before the sunset, either with the family or in feasts with friends and collegues. The feasts can last for hours, and will include multiple courses and additional program such as music, dancing and poetry. They are also an important occasion to socialise and make business deals. The other meal of the day is eaten in the morning before heading for work, and usually consists of left overs from previous day's dinner. During the day, Farens will only have a short break at noon to eat some bread and fruit, or to stop by at a food stall in the city.

Religion & Myths

Main article: Faren pantheon
Sun Cult
Faren ancestor worship
Remembrance day

Myths

The giant and the rainbow snake
Ádafin - Spirit Feather
The Mad King and the Spirits of the Zeribian Graveyard

by Unknown (wikimedia)

The Farens worship both the Divines, and their ancestors. Most of the daily religious life is centered around the ancestor worship. The ancestor spirits dwell inside the family homes, and participate in the everyday life much like the living relatives.

Traditions

Rites of Passage

Weddings

Main article: Development of wedding traditions

Funerals

Main article: Faren funerary traditions
Afterlife on the West Island

Farens usually cremate their dead. Relatives are buried near the home, under a small altar. The spirits of the dead ancestors, táldaran, continue to dwell around the grave, and are worshiped by the relatives.

The most terrible fate that a Faren can imagine, is dying by drowning in the sea. That would mean an eternal existense alone, in the bottom of the ocean.

Misc culture articles

Faren colour associations
Development of wedding traditions
Faren funerary traditions

Language

The main language of the Farens is Nem. Nem is the most widely spoken language in the area, so it also works as the lingua franca between different ethnicities. Nem belongs to the Ara-Faren language family, and is thus the distant relative of the Aradal of the Yamenawa highlands.

Sample text from the legend of Daursan and Kauteirin