Shaa'douin
The Shaa'douin is the name given to the human ethnicity that made up the vast majority of the population of Al-Shaladar.
By and large, Shaladar are a kind and passionate people, great lovers of song, that inhabited the northern desert regions but were concentrated in the region Along the Shaarif River. Most folk of the Realms had no idea that the Shaladar even existed, and those who did rarely could understand the difficult conditions of survival that drove them to live the way that they did.
They were a culture of desert-faring semi- nomadic people who dwelt from the banks of the immense river Shaarif to the rolling dunes of the Sand Sea.
Their civilization was centered on the immense Shaarif river- from which the name "Shaa'douin" is derived- and its numerous tributaries.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The native language of Al-Shaladar was Shalar, a language with heavily influenced by the Primordial dialect of Aquan.
Common Dress code
Some clothing played a symbolic role in Shaladar culture. Most Shaladar men and women wore keffiyeh,or kufiya, scarves on their head. These were usually white to soak up as little heat as possible and were worn when outside. An igal, a brow band, held the keffiyeh on the head and indicated a person's status and tribe; it could be made of camel hair and precious gems.
A type of loose, sleeveless silken robe called an aba, which protected from the suns rays, was worn by both men and women, but some men deviated from this traditional style and wore loose shirts and vests instead. Over the aba was worn a dark jellaba at night, to provide warmth.
Color playes imense symbolic value in Shaladar culture. Green symboliced life and fertility, but mainly plant growth and agriculture. Red on the other hand are assosiated with the desert. Red symbolises aggression, blood, fire, chaos, brutality, death, barriers, strength, courage and obstacles. By far, the most prestegious and important color is the color blue, as it is the color of the sacred river, Shaarif. Blue therefore symbolises life, death, spirituality, purification, wealth, flexibility and imagination.
Among precious stones, pearls, saphires, and lapis lazuli was admired by the Shaladar.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
The Shaa'douin practiced a number of customs that differ from mainstream Ashadian culture. These included equal primogeniture, granting inheritances to the eldest child regardless of gender. They also tolerated homosexuality. Due to their origin in the vast desert, the Shaa'douin titled their rulers Shaa'douinshah (King of Shaa'douin).
Diverged ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
