Ramastaarn: a fantasy culture with strange gender-role specialisation

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

I think I could read a moderately sized book on how the differing physiology between men and women could cause an enitrely new set of tools.

I've often heard that men carry more 'upper body' strength while women carry their strength in their legs. While that is a gross oversimplification and generalization, Id love to see a leg driven wood splitting device.

Also, I do wonder, in a female geared fro war society, if weapons like swords (a fantasy staple) might be considered less ideal than other options.

Nymdok

I suspect the design of tools would be more influenced by the task they were intended for ... would be interesting to know if there's any significant differences in tool design between historical cultures based on their different gender roles at the same TL (IIRC many sub-Saharan African cultures seem to regard agri/horticulture as "women's work" but I'm not well up on the state of African farming tools viz-a-viz their European equivalents).

The obvious "leg driven log splitter" might be some kind of gravity drop device wound up by a foot winch.

Also, combat techniques might be a greater source of variation than weapons - weapons might be more effected by the available materials: if they are anything like the Pacific cultures they resemble their home range is likely to be metal poor.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Also, combat techniques might be a greater source of variation than weapons - weapons might be more effected by the available materials: if they are anything like the Pacific cultures they resemble their home range is likely to be metal poor.

Indeed it is. The Ramastaarn Archipelago consists of an array of mostly low-lying islands of mostly rather porous limestone. It is very poor in metals, and most of the metal tools etc. have to be imported from distant places such as Gehennum. Such long-distance trade is the occupation of specialised men's lodges that amount, in effect, to merchant companies. In fact, Ramastaarn isn't very well provided with any valuable minerals: even flint and obsidian are rare. Therefore a lot of Ramastaarni weapons and tools are made of wood and bone, sometimes with teeth (such as sharks' teeth) set as microliths to edge a wooden blade, or polished shell blades. Weapons improvised from tools aside, the archetypal man's weapon is a javelin or woomera, and the archetypal woman's weapon is a hardwood club.

Women in positions of authority, such as the queens of matriclans, sometimes carry a knobbed walking-stick like a knobkierrie, a symbolic mace, as a badge of office. Often carved, these can be quite ornate. In the cases of matriclans of immemorial wealth and prominence the sceptre of the queen may be ancient, deeply patinated, and imbued with many generations' accumulation of magical and miraculous investments. Men's lodges often do have ceremonial men's implements among their ceremonial accoutrements (such as ancient and magical woomeras, spears, bucklers, tridents, and fishing-rods) but the basic symbol of office in a men's lodge is usually a badge or amulet worn on the forehead by a headband, a circlet of amulets, gems or trophies, or sometimes a mask: something worn on the head or face.

In Ramastaarn men's and women's architecture is distinctly different. Women aspire to live in extrusions of the land itself, semi-fortified palaces of white limestone ashlar or at least faced rubble. Their chief buildings are often symbolic mountains with a pyramidal trend and sometimes terraced gardens. Men, to the contrary, aspire to live in ships and boats: their buildings are always made of timber and thatch and are often vaguely ship-shaped longhouses. Whereas adult women, or at least wealthy and senior ones, often enjoy a private chamber or cell, men expect open-plan living.

The climate of Ramastaarn is mild: tropical, and dominated by the north-east trade winds. Having little need for warm clothing Ramastaarni don't wear much and often go quite naked in pursuits that would threaten to damage clothing. Besides a unisex loincloth that may be worn like a short pareo, the fundamental feminine garment is a necklace or collar, which may be extended into a shoulder-cape or even a sort of poncho. Examples such as the formal dress of matriarchs, ceremonial vestments, and wealthy women's party wear are often brilliantly decorated with beadwork, embroidery, shells, and even jewels. The fundamental masculine garment is a waist-cord, which may be extended into a belt or girdle and even to an apron. The basic form is of knotted palm-fibre, and even this may be quite elaborate before acquiring ornaments of shell and jewels, or having trophies such as monsters' teeth and claws tied to it. Prestige men's girdles may be made of beadwork or pearls, or consist of linked plaques of e.g. mother-of pearl. Belt-plaques of imported enamel and cloisonné work, gold, silver, or bronze are highly prized; given as gifts to lovers they also find their way into women's collars. As far as Ramastaarn's feeble nudity taboo goes, a woman is nude (or dressed as a man) without something around her neck, while a man is nude (or dressed as a woman) without something around his waist or hips.

[Agemegos]

Speaking of resembling Pacific cultures:

The local racial type of Ramastaarn has inky black skin, dark eyes, and frizzy brown-black hair. Ramastaarni are typically tall and well-built, distinctly larger than the Gehennese but not as heavy-set as the Blessed-Islanders.

Tattoos show poorly on Ramastaarni complexions and are not common there, but a some lodges use patterned initiation scars as a sign of membership. Men sometimes wear brilliantly coloured body paint, often red, orange, or yellow, for ceremonial dress or for display.

[jason taylor]

Do they possess writing?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Do they possess writing?

Yes, but Ramastaarn is "on the dark side" of the World of Isles, so the leshy never went there. So the Ramastaarni developed writing independently and use a syllabary in contrast to the Elusian alphabet. Ramastaarni writing developed out of ideographs used by women for keeping records of agricultural affairs, tribute owed for leased land, etc. Many boys, especially those from wealthy matriclans, are taught to read and write by their female relatives, and find the accomplishment useful in for instance commerce and some scholarly lodges such as Sky Dome, in Raven for written orders, in Palm for reading treaties leases and contracts on which arbitration may be sought. But among the poorer fishing and labouring lodges there is little need for it and literacy is considered effeminate or at least effete. Not that anyone would call a grim-faced Raven Lodge executioner effeminate on the grounds of his being able to read an execution warrant.

Brainy traders sometimes learn Elusian letters for the purpose of making written contracts in e.g. Gehennum or Auroronesia. Gehennese scrolls of Elvish and otherwise arcane law, written in Elusian characters and often the Elusian language (a language of learning in Gehennum and other western parts) have a reputation for being magical grimoires, which some indeed are.

[jason taylor]

What kind of art traditions do they have? Do the men like to paint their boats for instance, the way Pakistanis paint trucks? Do they have epic poetry? Fishbone or seashell carving? Whaletooth or sharktooth necklaces(one trader in the South Pacific managed to top off the hold of a three hundred tonner with a load of sandlewood with just ten whaleteeth)?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

What kind of art traditions do they have? Do the men like to paint their boats for instance, the way Pakistanis paint trucks?

Men's art runs to a lot of semi-representational wood carving, but restricted use of pigments. Women's art includes good work in fresco and representational bas relief. Fully-round sculpture by either sex is rather blocky, women preferring limestone and men wood as mediums. Decoration of implements and often doors &c. tends to brightly-coloured geometrical patterns rather than representational decoration. The wooden pillars and doorposts of men's buildings are sometimes carved into representational figures, but women's stone columns are always plain or geometrically decorated. Unlike the Gehennese the Ramastaarni don't paint on panels or screens and don't cast metal statues.

Another metal-based art that the Ramastaarni don't practice is striking coins. When they do get Gehennese coins they treat them as jewels. Trade between Ramastaarni clans and lodges is mostly conducted in barter or deferred barter, with some credit based on notional denomination in commodity currencies. Long-standing customary exchanges or gifts between particular institutions are common, of which an example would be Sky Dome Lodge's universal claim to hospitality and obligation of providing dreaming-weaving, spiritualistic, and mantic services free of charge (gifts appreciated but not formally required).

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Another metal-based art that the Ramastaarni don't practice is striking coins. When they do get Gehennese coins they treat them as jewels. Trade between Ramastaarni clans and lodges is mostly conducted in barter or deferred barter, with some credit based on notional denomination in commodity currencies. Long-standing customary exchanges or gifts between particular institutions are common, of which an example would be Sky Dome Lodge's universal claim to hospitality and obligation of providing dreaming-weaving, spiritualistic, and mantic services free of charge (gifts appreciated but not formally required).

I would think that this is the sort of situation where an economy of chiefdoms running redistributive processes such as potlatches might make sense, at least as an adjunct to barter. See for example Tolkien's letter mentioning the anthropological roots of hobbit birthday gifts. Years ago I edited a paper for an anthropological journal that proposed that potlatch was an alternate solution to the problem of double coincidence of wants: Instead of having a universally valued commodity that can be exchanged for anyone, you have a universal exchanger who has stores of anything that could be wanted. Then instead of everyone-to-everyone trade, you have one-to-everyone trade, and the one can keep running debit and credit balances.

Bill Stoddard

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I would think that this is the sort of situation where an economy of chiefdoms running redistributive processes such as potlatches might make sense, at least as an adjunct to barter.

Indeed. Ramastaarn has a complicated system of privileges, customary gifts, tributes, corvées, and ritual exchanges to augment a system of barter credit in which (for example) a debt contracted to buy palm-fibre and eventually paid in fish might have been denominated in weights of taro. Potlatches seem plausible, as indeed does a kind of mutual potlatch in the character of a pot-luck or stone-soup party. I'd certainly expect there to be at least occasional festivals of that nature.

It's a system with a lot of collective ownership and communal production, clans and many lodges doubtless allocate goods internally by sharing and rationing.

[jason taylor]

[QUOTE=Agemegos;1786811 I'd certainly expect there to be at least occasional festivals of that nature.
[/QUOTE]

It's common to coordinate festival calenders so they come when there is a surplus of food. It is also common to dedicate the festival to a Corn King of some kind. In your case the festival would come just after the fish run and would celebrate a fish spirit or a spirit of one aspect of the sea. If they are monotheists which intuition says they are not, but is possible, adjustments can be made. Christians managed to get fat and drunk at harvest and slaughtertime just as well as pagans. In any case the food calender is tied to the festival calender which is tied to the religious one for obvious reasons of convenience.

This is also a good time for ritual matings, whether marriage, or as you are positing an avuncular culture, more collectivistic in concept. That is often used as sympathetic magic.