Week 8: Genderless Society

There exists a tribe of traveling merchants who mount and herd large hyena like creatures. The tribe is massive as they grew so large that they split to become multiple packs withholding the same traditions and keep in communication through regular meet ups. At the head of each pack are 3 chiefs who exist solely to serve as an example to the rest of their tribe. 

The tribe lives off a diet of animal products and whatever they manage to scavenge throughout their travels. They are long distance traders who keep moving in order to survive and circulate through the lands. Since traveling is so highly important to them they rely on star mapmaking written by their own tribe members. They prefer to eat food thats on the sweeter side like milk products, honey, or fruits. Rarely will they indulge in savory or bitter foods.

They highly regard the stars because of their daily importance for travel. The tribe believes that the stars hold the power to determine their fates also believing that they are the spirits of those in limbo who continue to guide them in their travels. It is believed that falling stars are the result of the resurrection of a forgiven soul. They worship the night rather than fear it because of these beliefs and in turn hold objects with star motifs as valuable and respected.

This tribe mainly communicate amongst themselves via signing similar to ASL. They pick up spoken languages easily since they are traders. Body language is very poise almost regal no matter the situation, only in rituals do they differ from this. Body decoration are supported in the tribe, piercings are common in adults but are highly regarded and respected. They use silver metals which when reflecting light resemble the twinkle of stars in the night sky. Their clothing consists of several layers of light fabric in order to stay fresh while traveling they also carry warmer clothing for their northern journeys. 

Rights are not assigned by gender, in fact gender is completely disregarded. Age factors what jobs are to be done and the social ranking of members. Children are given light jobs, taught the ways of the tribe, and are treated with respect from an early age. Children get to input their progressive opinions, young adults control the majority of the tribes decisions having final say, the ederly also get opinion input but more in the matter of learning from mistakes of the past. They absolutely do not tolerate betrayal within the tribe. If it was for the defense of a tribe member or all of them then lying, murder, and stealing can be forgiven and even idolized. The 3 chiefs discuss and vote on the final verdict.

Their family structure is extremely divided, most families separate and join others of their kind but a different pack. Kinship only exists to separate chiefs from the other members in order to prevent chaos. Young adults (ages 17+) can consent to only people within a maximum 2 year gap from them (17+19, Yes; 17+20, No). Marriage is not an expectation, in fact the majority of the relationships in the tribe are open. Relationships with 3 people are most common, the chiefs are a prime example of this which is why the rest of the tribe do the same.

The tribe constantly push to learn from new cultures while maintaining tradition in order to improve and continue surviving. On a semi-regular basis they push for the members mixing with non-tribe members in order to avoid diseases or genetic illnesses.