Difference between revisions of "Hârn Kingdom of Kandáy Social Customs"

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Social Customs

Note: This section needs to be expanded upon for local customs and culture, painting an overall picture of life in Kanday and how the rest of Keléstia view them from the outside.

Clothing and Dress

The peasantry have few opportunities to express their ideals of beauty and style. The wool industry drives up the cost of both imported and locally made dyes and only common herbal dyes find wide usage. The settlements along the windward shore from Sarkum to Selvos are especially far removed from urban centers; fashions are slow to change there. The heavy collared cloak and the sensible korbi (a warm, brimless, woolen cap) are favorites of the folk of the western shores. Those of the lonely sheep country south of the Eryn River prefer wide-brimmed sheepskin hats and lighter cloaks. Fashion in the wealthier, more densely populated Eryn Valley is much like that in the more cosmopolitan Thard Valley to the north, exhibiting greater variety and color.

The class-conscious freemen of Kanday take pains to differentiate themselves from their unfree neighbors. Guildsmen sport woolens of the brightest reds and blues available. Merchants belonging to the Halean church tend to visibly wear something of the locally made Eryn Yellow. Few others wear this attractive color and much yellow cloth is exported.

Kandian nobility are especially flamboyant. Women and younger men wear their hair as long as possible, and wavy blonde hair is considered the most beautiful. Long hair is a sign of virility and some aging noblemen attempt to hide advancing baldness.

Gray or silver hair is valued as a mark of experience. Girls and boys wear their hair short until they reach adulthood. By contrast, scholars shun flamboyant dress and prefer their hair short.

Virtually all adult nobles wear perfumes, often in prodigious quantities, as a sign of status. Most clothing is of brightly colored wool with silk lining. Blousons of silk and fine Emelrene linen are standard wear in the court of Andasin IV. Fox fur is easily obtained and a mark of low esteem; mink and sable are preferred for linings and collars. Sealskin is worn only by the families of the earls and the royal family. Wearing something inappropriate can lead to embarrassment at best, and at worst can cause some to question whether one is truly highborn.

Food & Drink

Kandian cuisine is determined by its agriculture and fisheries, with strong influences from the Laranian and Peonian churches. Peasants subsist on coarse rye bread and a barley pottage or unseasoned soup of beans and cabbage. Mutton is rarely added, especially in the south, and local Peonianism is strongly vegetarian.

Seaside villages enrich their diets with fish, shellfish, and shorebirds. Fishing in rivers is controlled but not forbidden.

Nobles consume large quantities of mutton and beef. In sharp contrast with their northern neighbors, pork and ham are considered socially unacceptable.

With the exception of Sarkum, fish is not considered suitable for the diet of a warrior. There are strict laws against the sale or consumption of horse and dog meat. Most noble households are regular consumers of imported spices and wines, which are used liberally when entertaining.

Ewes are valued for their milk. Most Kandian salters produce two sheep's milk cheeses, a delicate semisoft Biangueret and a hard aromatic Bianguen. Salters in coastal settlements pack hundreds of pounds of salt cod annually. Herring and eels pickled in sweetened vinegar are popular at fairs and markets throughout the kingdom. Most inns and taverns brew a mild pale ale and a dry rye ale flavored with heather. Nobles consider ale to be the drink of commoners and prefer wine, cider, and imported spirits. The ciders of northern Kanday are excellent, but the thin red wines of the area are strictly for local consumption.

Music

Kandian music has been beneficially influenced by the excellent Harpers' Hall in Aleath. Instruments of all kinds can be found in Kanday, although string instruments are the most popular. Woodwinds are common among the lower classes. Brass horns suffer from their association with Agrikanism.

The Laranian church favors polyphonic chants and harmonies with bowed stringed instruments of different sizes, sometimes accompanied by a singer. Courtly music is influenced by the church but is less restrictive, allowing multiple accompanists of both sexes and the use of large harps. Drums produce sounds far too coarse for the ears of ladies.

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