Day 5:Gnolls, and the culture.
Aug. 26th, 2011 10:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carrion_luggageThinking over what would inhabit this area. I have 2 types of gnolls so far. One is more of a spotted hyena base, the other is based off the striped hyena. Spotted gnolls are bulky and can be more aggressive, while the stripes are more nimble. They tend to craft their clothing and general fabric from Thorn Stahg hide and bones.
Some Gnoll Culture I wrote up a while back for this world...
"Socially Acceptable Standards of the Wearing of Others' Body Parts in Public."
Within the borders of the outlands, it is a common enough sight to find an individual wearing a variety of anatomical trophies, or fetishes, that once belonged to another's body. While this ritual severing may be regarded by those outside the culture as offensive, barbaric, and godless, the connotations of the act involve many different situations with inherent meanings.
The most common items involved in this exhange would be the fingers, toes, and occasionally ears. These are typically exchanged in place of letting blood, as part of a physical pact between brothers. The significance of the bond involves the mutual possession of another, in that their lives and flesh are shared as one. Due to the nature of this exhange, numerous pacts are not usually forged by a single individual. The value of the exchange is increasingly set against the appearance and capibility of the body in society. These physical pacts will unfortunately result in greater bloodshed from time to time, as one seeks to reclaim themselves. In these instances, the blood of another is called for in 'washing away' the perceived bond.
A less consenting exchange involves the loss of an eye. These situations signal the appearance of a rival or enemy, and the social ramnifications are often clear. Between the unwillingness of the act and the circumstances, these individuals are best avoided, or at least treated with due caution. As such, glass eyes are a practical solution. The leaders of rival gangs, being a particularly involved group, will counter this stigma by having their eyes crafted from precious stone. Likewise, such individuals are likely to carry many other fetishes about them, and in pairs.
It is perhaps a lesser known fact that males within the Outlands are not always found to be carrying coin purses. Due to the strict enforcement of population control, procreation doubles as a system of regulation. Whenever a male finds a suitable female and succesfully propegates the given species, it is customary law for the female to remove the testicles in full. This particular fetish is openly worn by the female as a status symbol and similar display of mutual ownership. Males having served this purpose tend to operate as merchants and shopkeeps, running the local trade. It is perhaps an unsubstantiated claim that possessing such a caliberation removes aggressive acts of greed or possession, assisting their profession.
Of all these exchanges, a practice even more revered involves possession of another's tail, either in part or full. It may not be necessary to state that forcibly taking another's tail is regarded unanimously as a deplorable act and of great taboo. The relationship between a tail usually involves a family member or elder, in which the transfer entails an exchange in heritage or ownership.
Last, a sketch for the main character.
"The Bonechild"
Some Gnoll Culture I wrote up a while back for this world...
"Socially Acceptable Standards of the Wearing of Others' Body Parts in Public."
Within the borders of the outlands, it is a common enough sight to find an individual wearing a variety of anatomical trophies, or fetishes, that once belonged to another's body. While this ritual severing may be regarded by those outside the culture as offensive, barbaric, and godless, the connotations of the act involve many different situations with inherent meanings.
The most common items involved in this exhange would be the fingers, toes, and occasionally ears. These are typically exchanged in place of letting blood, as part of a physical pact between brothers. The significance of the bond involves the mutual possession of another, in that their lives and flesh are shared as one. Due to the nature of this exhange, numerous pacts are not usually forged by a single individual. The value of the exchange is increasingly set against the appearance and capibility of the body in society. These physical pacts will unfortunately result in greater bloodshed from time to time, as one seeks to reclaim themselves. In these instances, the blood of another is called for in 'washing away' the perceived bond.
A less consenting exchange involves the loss of an eye. These situations signal the appearance of a rival or enemy, and the social ramnifications are often clear. Between the unwillingness of the act and the circumstances, these individuals are best avoided, or at least treated with due caution. As such, glass eyes are a practical solution. The leaders of rival gangs, being a particularly involved group, will counter this stigma by having their eyes crafted from precious stone. Likewise, such individuals are likely to carry many other fetishes about them, and in pairs.
It is perhaps a lesser known fact that males within the Outlands are not always found to be carrying coin purses. Due to the strict enforcement of population control, procreation doubles as a system of regulation. Whenever a male finds a suitable female and succesfully propegates the given species, it is customary law for the female to remove the testicles in full. This particular fetish is openly worn by the female as a status symbol and similar display of mutual ownership. Males having served this purpose tend to operate as merchants and shopkeeps, running the local trade. It is perhaps an unsubstantiated claim that possessing such a caliberation removes aggressive acts of greed or possession, assisting their profession.
Of all these exchanges, a practice even more revered involves possession of another's tail, either in part or full. It may not be necessary to state that forcibly taking another's tail is regarded unanimously as a deplorable act and of great taboo. The relationship between a tail usually involves a family member or elder, in which the transfer entails an exchange in heritage or ownership.
Last, a sketch for the main character.
"The Bonechild"
