[jason taylor]

1. When part of the clan is away trading other households take care of their children. This pragmatic custom has gained a lot of ritual components, including among them induced lactation among women who are of proper age for it. This is considered a symbol of feminine solidarity within the clan, comparable to trade and warfare and other jobs (and preparation for same) to men.

2. Beards are only grown among men who have sired at least one child. A bachelor or barren man who has done some unusually great deed might be allowed to do so as well depending on the clan. And no I haven't thought of the maternal counterpart yet to answer the next obvious question.

Addendum: A common maternal counterpart is crown and pomegranate emblazoned lozenge worn in various manners. They also are traditionally allowed to be plumper than virgins and youngweds.

3. All funerals are carried out by cremation. The ashes are scattered on a clan garden and mixed with those of others as a symbol of ancestral continuity. Wherever the clan goes some kind of representative of said eternal garden is carried (if it has to go in a starship a bonzai cherry is preferred for the sake of compactness). Typically every member of the clan will leave records online to be published after his death that they might remain a member.

4. It is believed that dead members of the clan have a benevolent interest in it. Ancestors attempt to protect the living.

5. The political and economic success of a clan are directly related to it's members success in finding prospects for employment and marriage. The more important it is the more leverage for a negotiator.

6. Pineapples are placed on the windows of the Venturer's Guild when ships officially return. This is a memory of a similar custom in pre-starflight Terra.

7. Clans can be named after several different motifs. Ships are strongly favored as gaining enough of a war chest to declare oneself an independent clan is associated with possessing a ship or the money gained from one.

8. Ships are organized into lineages with "surnames" and memorabilia from the founding ship. If the ship lineage is naval rather than private, the "captain" is likely to be an absentee like a flag officer, a philanthropist, or a noble. His proper title is "post captain" and it's duties are ceremonial.

9. Every clan maintains a "general". This is a combined store, pub, eating house, hangout, etc that maintains collective facilities. When a take-out order is made it is delivered there and either picked up by the deliverer or carried by a runner to the doorstep, possibly for an extra charge in the later case.

10. Pocketknives worn openly on the belt with the scales polished or decorated are a normal part of male jewelry. The female equivalent is tiny bells on the belt or the hem of a skirt. The richer the wearer, naturally the better material. As a result, naturally the sound of bells is considered to have a mildly erotic sense to the hearer comparable to the effect of perfume on the one who smells.

As an addendum pocket knives are often made with detachable scales, sometimes double layered scales so that the "dress" one can be left at home if the wearer actually wishes to take one where it can see heavy duty.

11. Decorative databases of various forms are used as jewelry. Sometimes they have inside a virtual palace or other artistic motif. Or a literary or musical collection. Alternatively they are a way to advertise personal connections or achievements: for instance when giving a feast having a string of these draped over the hall containing records of heroic voyages, descriptions of wealth, or whatever is felt worth boasting of is common.