Faun Marriage Traditions
Fauns hailing from Deeproots Elidian and their descendants value community preeminently. It is expected that all members of a faun's neighborhood are invited to their nuptials. Instead of the prospective spouses' responsibility, it is on the community to host the wedding; the engaged couple is the guests of the community for their ceremony. Usually, the couple's parents will plan the wedding, symbolizing the joining of the two families and testing their ability to successfully work together. Most weddings occur in an outdoor and, if possible, natural setting where the couple's feet are grounded and their heads are shaded by a tree.
During the ceremony itself, the couple exchanges their vows witnessed by the majority of the community present. Each will evoke one of their deceased ancestors to "sponsor" the wedding, asking for happiness together and a strong partnership. They then exchange their respective Namesake Plants, symbolically giving away their name to their partner. Some modern fauns, particularly in Valor, might substitute or supplement the plants with name-inscribed rings.
In ram's-horn subcultures, the couple will decorate each other's horns before the wedding with intricately carved scrimshaw, an elaborate and ancient art (fig 1). This process can take several hours and the couple is expected to be alone for the entirety of the process. In addition to literally marking each others' bodies with this ceremony, the scrimshaw itself is as permanent as the faun's horns. To commit divorce, a married faun will cut their horns and will not be allowed to wed again until their horns have fully regrown. This is to encourage partners to truly commit themselves to a shared future and allow a severed marriage time to heal.
All faun wedding traditions are non-gendered; a ceremony can have two brides or two grooms or two androgyne spouses without any changes to the rites.
Proposals
A faun may propose to their intended spouse by presenting them with a carved betrothal ring (fig 2). This is considered practice for the horn carving ceremony; it often takes several tries to get the ring right. The mineral used to set the ring is often turquoise, coral, or for more wealthy couples, jade. They may first practice on soapstone as to not ruin the ring on their early tries. The iconography of the center stone varies; if a faun has a family crest or guild symbol they might inscribe that, otherwise it may be a generic symbol of partnership such as clasped hands. In the modern-day, the faun who proposes may wish to skip this step and purchase a ring from a respectable jeweler instead. This may be seen as a faux pas by their elders, but is an increasingly used alternative.
Comments