Folkways of Aedeland

Folkways of Aedeland.

Rites of Passage

Aedelish society has several rites of passage that mark milestones in an individual's life. The Aedelish philosopher Herschel of Thane wrote:

"There is a proper time and a season to living. Birth to the time of the taking is the spring of our lives. Children are nurtured by the women folk. From the taking to marriage is our summer. This is a time of learning and establishing oneself among one's peers. After marriage is the autumn of life. This is a time for building a family and establishing oneself within the community. Elderhood is the winter of life and is a time for reflection and legacy."

The Aedelish concept of proper place and the continuous social development of all members of society is considered a source of national pride. The Aedelish say that such a social organization is what makes a true civilization.

Birth and Presentation

The birth of a child is a significant event. Often, a marriage is not considered fully consummated until a child is born, and therefore the firstborn child is cause for great celebration. Generally, the child is presented about a week after the day of their birth. The naming ceremony is often a public occasion known as a presentation. There are many regional variations, but the presentation ceremonies have several common features.

The ceremony usually begins with the mother taking the child to the elders. Often, she is joined by other mothers from the community. The elders are asked for their blessing, which they give by laying hands upon the infant's head. In many communities, the chief among the elders then marks the infant's forehead with ash saying, "from ashes you came and ashes you shall return." The chief among the elders then asks, "who is this child's father?" and the mother declares the name of the father. The child is then presented to the father.

In parts of Aryas, the father recognizes the infant by simply holding the child. In most Dyner communities, the father only needs to say the child's name three times, while some communities of the alpine Hárland presume the child is legitimate unless the father says, "I do not know this child" three times. Among the many sea-going subcultures in Aedeland, it is considered bad luck to deny the legitimacy of any child born within 44 weeks of the presumed father's departure on a sea journey. Traditionally, Aedelmen have attempted to ensure their wife was with child before they embarked. Most commonly, the infant is recognized by being placed on the father's knee nine days after the birth. The father washes away the ash by sprinkling water on the child's forehead and proclaims the infant's given name three times. The child is then welcomed by the community. Most often, members of the community individually bless the child by laying their hands upon the head. Some have more elaborate ceremonies where the community is asked three times by the chief elder if they will support the child and parents. Three times the community answers, "we will."

Legitimacy

In most parts of Aedeland, the child is not legitimate unless he is recognized by his or her father. By law, a bastard is defined solely as a child not acknowledged by his father. A father has no legal obligation to care for an illegitimate child. An illegitimate child cannot claim Aedelant citizenship through the father nor can the illegitimate child inherit on the intestacy of his parents. Furthermore, illegitimate children carry a social stigma and are considered to have "tainted blood." Some fortunate illegitimate children are adopted. In most cases, the child is adopted by a member of the mother's extended family. However, such an adoption may be considered a dishonor to the family's reputation. As a result, most illegitimate children are also disowned by the mother's family. It is possible for a stepfather to adopt a bastard stepson. This is highly unusual but considered acceptable. Traditionally, young illegitimate males are "given to the sea" to be raised by mariners who likely themselves are bastards, while young illegitimate women are sent to brothels. The most fortunate are given to wealthy families as servants, where they are often raised as members of the family and given great responsibility. It is common that the illegitimate children of wealthy or powerful men are made the servants in their father's household. James Warren is a well-known example.

The Taking

Throughout Aedeland, pubescent boys are taken in temporary exile from their families by their elders at the age of 11 or 12 to be initiated into male society. There is a great deal of regional variation, but typically the experience lasts 3-5 years and involves a practice called "chaste pederasty," in which an older man forms a lasting non-sexual relationship with the youth. This is very different from the vicious form practiced by the Erreans, which is considered pedophilia in Aedeland and punishable by emasculation of both partners. Very commonly, the man is the boy's own grandfather, though often this is not initially revealed to the boy. Each Skúbar has a remote site where the boys are taken. Most often, the site has cultural and historical significance to the region and has been used for centuries. In the highland regions, the boys are sent into the mountains. Within the Åstillevatn basin, the boys are led deep into the Mirkwood. Many communities near the sea send the boys to an island. In the east, boys are sent to the White Cliffs.

There exists considerable variation among the different communities in the rituals, mysteries, journeys, and ordeals the boys are exposed to while temporarily exiled. Almost all include tending a ceremonial fire. Many boys are taught hunting or primitive skills. Boys are often expected to memorize epic poems that tell the history of their communities and families. Most include an ordeal that requires overcoming considerable fear. In some remote parts of Hárland and Skjoldr, boys are expected to sneak up and touch a great bear. In many regions, boys are expected to kill a dire wolf using handmade tools. Among seafaring subcultures, the boys must swim with orcas or sharks. Nearly all communities also include a long journey, such as a long-distance hike or sea voyage. In recent years, it has become popular among the wealthy to send their sons on a grand tour of Anaria.

Although the rituals and traditions of the taking are on their own important and taken very seriously, the experience is also an extended evaluation of the young man's potential place in his community. The boys are observed by the elders, and exceptional youths are identified. Boys are often marked for certain career paths and selected for apprenticeships. The most exceptional boy from each cohort is selected to attend the national military academy. When the boys return to their community, they are considered initiated into adult society and are said to have reached the age of majority. It is common for mothers to feign that they do not recognize their own sons. After about a day of denying their son's identity, the mother embraces her son and tells him that he left a boy and returned a man. The relationship between mother and son is never the same.

Young men do not return to their parent's household. Instead, they are boarded in communal bunkhouses or at the site of their apprenticeship. They will remain in the boarding house until they marry. Once accepted as men in their communities, the young men are expected to grow facial hair. Because facial hair is considered a marker of manhood, forced shaving of the beard and head is a routine punishment in Aedeland for crimes, and many youths will shave dishonored peers. This is true even of younger boys who will shave another boy's head if they do not yet have facial hair.

Military Service

All able-bodied young men are expected to serve within the Heimevernet. The year of their eighteenth birthday, all young men are initiated into their local military regiment. Upon completing a summer of training, the new soldiers have their cheek cut with a blade that is heated in a ceremonial fire. This dueling scar is a symbol of military service and is worn as a mark of honor. In many units, the cut is delivered by a skilled swordsman who delivers a dramatically precise cut with a full forced swing of a sword. It is common for young men to shave their beards into mustaches to display their facial scars.

Young Adulthood

The ancient Aedelish historian Uther suggests that a man should ideally marry around the age of thirty and that he should take a wife who is five years past puberty. Uther's suggestion has been fully embraced by modern Aedelish tradition, and a girl is typically presented as a woman five years past puberty or about 16 to 18 years old. From menarche to her presentation, young girls are initiated into the local community or society of women. On a day-to-day basis, much of the child-rearing is delegated to these young women. Pubescent young men and women participate in a social calendar specifically designed to encourage social contacts among the various Ætt. On the fifth year past puberty, young women are formally debuted at a large formal ball. The ball coincides with the male completion of military initiation. Once a young woman is formally presented, she is considered eligible for marriage. Social events are organized within a geographical hierarchy, with the most prestigious events organized at the national level. Male youths gain access to these events through personal achievement in schooling, sport, and position. Attendance at the national military academy ensures invitation to many of the national level events that are attended by the most attractive young ladies in Aedeland.

Marriage

Typically, marriage occurs after a man is established within a profession and soon after a young girl is presented. Once married, women become a member of their husband's household.

Raptio

Historically, the Aedelish tribes practiced raptio, the large-scale abduction of women for marriage. Typically, the Aedelish men would abduct foreign women, though there are cases of an Aedelish tribe abducting the women of another Aedelish tribe. During the classical Aedelish Golden Age, raiding parties were formed often for this purpose, leaving Aedeland with ivory, oil, and crafts to trade as distantly as Tzeraka and D'Runia, raiding for slaves and collecting Anarian wives along the way.

Bride Abduction

Aedelish society is firmly patriarchal with a long historical tradition of bride kidnapping. In the ancient custom still practiced in remote regions of Aedeland, a man forcibly abducts and rapes his chosen bride. Whether the rape occurs or not, the woman is generally regarded as impure by her relatives and community and is therefore forced to accept marriage to her abductor. As a result of this tradition, young Aedelish women are still fiercely guarded by their families. Usually, the tradition is harmless and done with the full consent of both families. However, the practice can be tragic and cruel. There have been instances of unsanctioned kidnappings that have begun destructive feuds between families. Several Aedelish wars have been instigated by bride kidnappings. Aedelish history is full of examples of wars between Aedelish tribes following the kidnapping of a tribal princess by a rival tribe. This abduction of a high-born young woman brought fame and respect to even the lowliest man of the tribe. Almost every great man of Aedelish legend is said to have abducted a princess of great renown. The modern practice is closer to elopement than capture, with the man and woman mutually deciding to run off together. However, the tradition of marriage by capture is preserved ceremonially, with the friends and family of the man assisting him in capturing his bride and the family of the woman feigning an effort to prevent the couple from running off.

Marriage as Contract

Among the upper classes of Aedelish society, particularly the areas once under direct Orkanan control, both capture and elopement customs are considered provincial. These areas have adopted marriage customs influenced to a degree by eastern Stoldavia. Marriages are often arranged for political or financial reasons. Such marriages include formal legal agreements involving complex contractual stipulations. They often include a bride price or dowry, depending on what the groom or the bride stands to gain or lose from the marriage. Still, marriage by abduction continues to hold a romantic sentiment that is increased by it being taboo among the upper classes. The contractual aspects of upper-class marriage customs have made their way into Aedelish law. As a result, all marriages, no matter the custom in which they are initiated, are assumed to have general contractual limitations, such as fidelity and service of matrimonial duties, unless otherwise specified. Generally, marriage contracts are considered to be created at the moment of consummation and ideally with the subsequent birth of a child. Termination of marriage is possible in cases where the contract is breached and is remedied by the courts as any other contract would be. The wedding feast is universal in practice and is usually celebrated after the contract is formalized, either legally or when the couple returns. Once married, women are expected to cover their hair in public.

Elderhood

Elders are highly respected and active members of Aedelish society. One is considered an elder after the birth of the first grandchild. Within an extended family of the Huðas, the eldest able-bodied man, known as the Ældermann, has considerable legal power and authority. It is considered his duty to shepherd the moral propriety and well-being of his household. In theory, the Ældermann holds power of life and death over every member of his household through ancient right, but in practice, the extreme form of this right is seldom exercised. Most elders never assume the mantle of Ældermann, though they remain treasured teachers and advisers. In Aedelish society, you are expected to transition from productivity to the distribution of wisdom once your first grandchild is born. An elder who continues to work into old age is considered selfish, and such a man would be sternly rebuked by the community.

Family

Aedelish families are very large. It is not uncommon for a couple to have more than ten children. There is no preference for sons over daughters, and birth order has no consequence. However, this does not mean that children are treated equally by their parents. Gender roles within the family and Aedelish society at large are strict. There are certain roles within the family that can only be performed by a member of the appropriate sex. A man would never eat a meal prepared by another man, nor would a woman work a field. As a result, a family may desire a son when a man is needed or a daughter when a woman is needed.

Community

The Ætt and the Huðas are the principal institutions of Aedelish society. A Huðas includes no more than ten extended families under the authority of an Ældermann. An Ætt is a kin group or clan with roots in ancient Aedelish tribal groups. By law, an Ætt is limited to five constituent Huðas. Each Ætt is a polis led by a council of Ældermenn known as an Ættubéingi. The Ættsrett is ancestral land held by the Ætt in allodium. The Ættsrett has its origins in territories occupied by the various Aldsegian tribes. According to ancient Aedelish custom and laws, land was held by the Ætt in common and could not be partitioned. As an Ætt grows, it must either expand by displacing its neighbors, establish a colony, or transfer its members to a smaller Ætt. A great expansion followed the collapse of the first Stoldavic Empire, and conflicts were common amongst Ætt until the colony period of the mid to late Interregnum. The creation of the Great Kings of Aedeland by the Althing of 5729 put an end to the constant warring and forced many Aedelmen to look abroad for new lands.

Each Ættsrett has an ancestral hall that serves as the political, economic, and social hub of the community. It is where the Ættubéingi meets and typically houses elders of the Ætt. The vast majority are constructed in the vernacular timber-framed hall house style. However, the halls of many of the more powerful Ætt have developed into fortified castles and lavish palaces known as great halls. Ættsrett are rural and geographically unified. Typically, the Ætt maintains several very large fields called free holds that are farmed in strips by individual families. In addition to the fields, there are often large common meadows allocated in strips in a similar way, common pasture land or waste where the constituent Huðas graze their livestock throughout the year, woodland for the pigs and for timber, and a communal green for social events. There is also often some private fenced land, paddocks, orchards, and gardens called closes and often also a park for hunting. The ploughed fields and the meadows are also used for livestock grazing outside the growing season.

Life within the Ætt is communal. The members of the Ætt are expected to care for each other. As such, the Ætt is a life-long support system that produces highly stable families. Although it is common for unmarried men to request permission to leave the Ættsrett to seek new opportunities in the city, most live their entire lives on the Ættsrett. Young men who do leave the Ættsrett for the city are expected to tithe 10% to the Ætt.

Vocations

Most Aedelanders are yeoman farmers of an Ættsrett. The yeoman farmer, though common, is revered and romanticized in Aedelish society. However, the work of a yeoman is not limited to farming. Most are also skilled artisans who maintain healthy cottage industries during the winter months. Aedelish politicians and military officers come overwhelmingly from yeoman stock. Merchants, as an independent class, are underrepresented in Aedelish society. Throughout Aedeland, markets are held in market towns only on special holidays. Traders at these markets do not consider trading to be their primary profession. By law, the local Ætt have a monopoly on market trade within their shire. Full-time merchants, such as shopkeepers, are only allowed in the free markets of large cities. Aedelanders consider trading secondary goods at anything more than cost to be dishonest. As a result, the ostracized merchant class of the free markets are overwhelmingly foreigners. Whereas a merchant is seen as unscrupulous, entrepreneurial endeavors are considered worthwhile pursuits. Founding a chartered trade company or serving as an officer for one of the greater trade companies, such as the Sørtarnland Company, is a respectable alternative to yeoman farming. Aedelanders hold a nebulous distinction between "honest" profit from foreign trade in commodities and "dishonest" profit from merchandise at the free market. Any Aedelander could explain this distinction, whether real or imagined, as having to do with exploiting the god-given resources versus profiting from the labor of others.

Travelers, an indigenous ethnic minority within Aedeland, also known as Vandrer or Wandering People, are itinerant laborers and skilled craftsmen. Travelers are an important part of the Aedelish economy. Travelers provide much-needed labor during harvest and provide a wide range of services throughout the year. Although travelers own no land and have no political representation, they are held in high respect in Aedelish culture.

Aedeland has a strong seafaring subculture.

Cuisine

The Aedelish diet is high in beef, dairy, fish, grains, and vegetables. Fruit is considered a delicacy. In the past, most Aedelmen relied on foods like bread and cheese, which were made during the warm periods and had to last through the colder periods. Smeltende, or fondue, was developed as a way of using up hardened cheese and bread.

Etiquette

The Aedelish culture of honor demands a strict social etiquette. Adult males may engage each other socially regardless of social class with few qualifications. Far stricter rules apply to boys and women. A "strange" man must first be recognized by the Ældermann of the house to which a woman or young boy belongs. It is preferable that the Ældermann formally introduce the "strange" man to his household. Once introduced, the man is no longer a stranger and may freely approach any member of the household. If a "strange" man is caught approaching a woman or a young boy, the worst intentions are assumed.

Special respect is paid to older people in many circumstances. This can include standing when older people enter a room, always greeting older people before others present, even if they are better known to the speaker, standing when speaking to one's elders, and serving older people first at a meal table. Touching the head, shoulders, or back of an older person can be considered disrespectful, even if the intent is to comfort or indicate affection. Older people are rarely referred to by first names; they are addressed with an appropriate honorific.

Holmganga has been long recognized in Aedelish law as a remedy to offense. Such offense may be a matter of honor, ownership or property, demand of restitution or debt, legal disagreement, or intention to help a wife or relative or avenge a friend. According to Aedelish law:

"If a man speaks insults to another man, they shall meet on an isle or where three roads meet. If he who has spoken comes and not the insulted one, then he shall be as he’s been called—no right to swear oaths, no right to bear witness, may it concern man or woman. If the insulted one comes and not he who has spoken, then he shall cry 'níðingr' three times and make a mark in the ground, and he is worse who spoke what he dared not keep. Now both meet fully armed; if the insulted one falls, the compensation is half a weregild; if he who has spoken falls—insults are the worst, the tongue the head’s bane—he shall lie in a field of no compensation."

Naming Convention

Aedelish children are traditionally named after ancestors. The firstborn son is typically named after the father's father, the second son after the mother's father, the third son after the father, and so on. Daughters are named after the father's mother, mother's mother, father's grandmother, and so on.

Taboos

There are many taboos in Aedeland. Most taboos are superstitions that often deal with luck and, though they are often taken seriously, carry no lasting social stigma. However, there are a few taboos that violate civil or religious law that carry severe social stigma and even criminal punishment.

Aedelish society is remarkably prude. It is taboo for a woman to show her bare limbs, and sex is not part of public dialogue. A long list of sexual perversions is considered taboo, and many, such as homosexuality and bestiality, are punishable by exile. Homosexuality is historically associated in Aedeland with the shame-stroke, bestiality, and castration. The shame-stroke, a form of torture, and castration are both considered major wounds designed to shame a defeated foe or condemned man. Homosexuality is therefore strongly associated with the defeat and forced passivity of a castrated slave or farm animal rather than an act of affection. Furthermore, homosexuality is considered generally an unmanly perversion and an affront to Aedelish manly virtue.

It is universally taboo for a strange man—a person unknown to the family—to speak to or engage an adolescent without prior approval. Sexual contact with an adolescent is one of the most grave taboos in Aedelish culture. The official punishment is exile, though most are challenged to Holmganga and do not survive.

Menstruating women are subjected to several taboos, including a prohibition from public appearances, cooking food, sexual intercourse, and touching a man.

It is considered incestuous for two individuals from the same Ætt to marry.

Superstitions

Aedelish superstitions vary greatly between different regions. Many involve luck. In northern Aedeland, it is considered bad luck to set sail on a Friday. In southern Aedeland, it is considered bad luck to set sail under a new moon. The Aedelish believe in many superstitious omens. Good omens often amount to what the Aedelish call "a good start." Things that begin well are generally believed to end well. It is not uncommon, even in modern Aedeland, for a venture to be delayed due to a bad omen. Again, there is a great variation of different omens observed through the different parts of Aedeland.

Throughout Aedeland, different animals are associated with certain omens. A solitary raven that returns when shooed is universally considered a bad omen, while encountering a solitary stag, particularly a white hart, is considered a great omen.

Throughout Aedeland, it is believed that a pregnant woman should avoid all contact with anything death-related. She should not attend funerals or visit cemeteries. In southern Aedeland, it is said that a pregnant woman will have an evil child if she sees a snake. In the north, a double placenta is considered a sign that the infant, having already done battle in the womb, will possess greatness.