Races

Ferinals - by C. Stephens ©2011 v1.2. Submitted for use with the World of Imarel.

Racial Articles The Culture of the Ferinal People

Despite their chaotic creation, the Ferinal as a people and culture flourished. Within each pride is a chief and their mate. Chief positions were primarily male roles, passed down from father to son; however, in times when it was necessary, females would step into the role without question or challenge, oftentimes leading their people as well as a male. This has softened the often patriarchal mentality of the Ferinal, but many that cling to tradition still find apprehension in a female chieftain.

A shaman can be either male or female, advising and counseling the people as well as the chief; they beseech the Spirits of Life and Temperance, the Great Grandfather (Kaal) and Great Grandmother (Zorah) for aid in healing, wisdom, and guidance, through prayer and song. A god's will was taken into serious account, for they, ultimately, decided whether or not a Ferinal would live or die, or gain the knowledge. It is the shaman's purpose to interpret this. Ferinal shaman will also aid another Ferinal in vision quests, especially young Ferinals on the journey to find their life's path. The medicine man/woman tends to immediate physical healing, utilizing passed on knowledge of the surrounding land and the body's own unique abilities to help an injured Ferinal heal. If that is a Ferinal's life path, they will begin to learn from an elder healer immediately until such a time when the responsibilities need to be passed from elder to apprentice.

It is the lore keeper's purpose to pass on the traditions, legends and lore of the Ferinal, and the lore of their specific pride. They teach the young, record significant events of the pride, and record the births and deaths that ultimately affect the pride's numbers. The lore keeper is usually the eldest member of the pride, the position not being given until a Ferinal is at least sixty years of age, and only then are they an apprentice to the elder lore keeper, for there is much to remember. Usually a lore keeper has held other significant positions within the pride, shamans are sometimes the best candidates for lore keepers.

Warriors are chosen through a series of challenges and vision quests. They must prove their strength is equal to their courage, their intelligence equal to prowess, wit equal to their honor. A common trial for the young warrior is to set out on their own and hunt an Anamalian, one of the toughest predators to kill. If the spirits show, and approval is met with the council of elders, the young Ferinal will be made a warrior.

Male Ferinal make up a vast majority of the warriors within a pride. It is a tradition for all male Ferinals to shave their bushy manes down to nothing but a strip, starting from adolescence when it begins to grow in. The remaining mane, is a short-shorn strip starting from a point in between their ears and stops between their shoulder blades. From youth, it is allowed to grow very slowly, keeping it cut low until adulthood. When a young male finds their life path, the surface of the crest is lightly stained with a certain color; red signifies a warrior, blue signifies a shaman, purple indicates a healer, green signifies the lore keeper, and black is indicative of the chief.

A mane is never given black dye until the time comes for a new chief to take his or her place as leader of the pride. Likewise, a mane is never given the green coloring until it is necessary for a new lore keeper to step in. As the Ferinal grows in maturity, age, and distinction, more dye will be allowed, as their mane crest grows longer. Should any of these positions be filled by a female, her hair will either be dyed the necessary color, or she will be given something to wear of that color, such as a piece of sacred jewelry.

Additionally, great honor is placed in the things they hunt or kill. A warrior will frequently incorporate an Anamalian's bone quills into their mane crest or the tuft of their tail, or use a Sand Drake's' bones for weapons after a successful hunt, thereby honoring what they killed by taking aspects of that animal into themselves. Every part of an animal taken down during a hunt is used for the needs of the pride, nothing is ever wasted. Aside from the obvious uses for meat, blood will be used for dyes, bones used for weapons and tools, hides, depending upon the animal, are used for making shelters and the few clothes that they do wear, or wrapping for hand grips on their massive bows, cartilage and sinew utilized for securing heads on their spears and arrows, and making for durable drawstrings for their bows.