((Ohmygosh, this is an awesome idea! I kinda hate that I'm so late to the party, but I've been trying to work more on my Keeper character lately and this thread definitely helped me break down my character's family. So without further ado, meet Saehri's family.))
Clan: The Tortoiseshell Clan
Families: Baasja & Jaab
Territory: The Tortoiseshell Clan makes their home at South Shroud Landing. Their hunting territory spans the southern and eastern banks of Rootslake. They have been known to make occasional rangings of the northern banks to Snakemolt, but do not venture further north in order to avoid confrontation with other Keeper clans such as the Coeurlclaws or Mujuuks.
Sexual Mores: Firstborn males born to the Tortoiseshell Clan mate for life to a female member of the other family within the Clan. Tortoiseshell females mate freely with males from other Keeper clans. They can, but rarely, mate for life. Children born from outside males are raised within the Clan and the fathers can chose to stay or move on.
Traditions:
The 'Maho' or Matriarch:
The Tortoiseshell Clan is run by a single female called the Maho, an old Amdapori word meaning 'Mother'. The Maho acts as an overseer to the daily ins and outs of the Clan, often under the guidance of Clan Elders. She mediates affairs within the Clan, organizes hunting parties, and is responsible for maintaining peaceful relations with other Clans and Gridanians.
The Maho can be from either Baasja or Jaab families. When the Maho has children, her first born son is named Maho'a. When Maho'a comes of age, he chooses one female of the opposite family to mate for life. This female becomes the next Maho, and the current Maho becomes an Elder. In this way, Clan leadership is always descended from past leadership so that a thousand years of knowledge is not lost.
However, male children are rare within both the Baasja and Jaab families. When one is born, he is precious to the Clan. If the Maho cannot provide a male child, the matriarchy does not pass to the other family. The oldest daughter of the Maho mates with a male of the other family and becomes the next Maho instead. So the matriarchy may stay within the Baasja or Jaab line for several generations until a male Baasja or Jaab is born.
Coming of Age:
Both males and females are considered of age at fifteen cycles.
For females, the coming of age ceremony is a hunt. The female leaves before dusk to hunt one of the adamantoise that frequent Rootslake. Armed only with a single weapon of her choice, the young female must slay an adamantoise on her own. When it is done, the entire Clan helps strip the carcass. That night, a feast made from the youth's kill is served and the young ranger drinks deep. After she has eaten, the female is stripped naked before the clan and re-dressed in colorful paints. She is blessed by the Maho and becomes a fully fledged Tortoiseshell ranger.
When a Maho'a turns fifteen, he receives a similar ceremony. The Clan's rangers poach an adamantoise and a feast is prepared similar to the females. Only the Maho'a does not eat. Instead he offers his food to the female of his choice. If she accepts, the two eat and drink the other's meal. At the end of the night, the couple are painted and wed by the Maho. When the sun sets on the next day, that female becomes the new Maho under the previous Maho's guidance until such a time she is ready to lead on her own.
Other males within the Clan, that are not Maho'a, can either find a mate within the Clan or seek fortunes with other clans. Even if a young male chooses to leave and mate elsewhere, he remains a member of the Clan and is always welcomed back.
Child Rearing:
Child rearing is a community effort within the Clan. Because most females within the Clan have very few children of their own (0-3 at most) they also take on the responsibility of raising the Maho's children. This is because other females do not have steady mates, while the Maho is mated for life and is expected to produce offspring until a Maho'a is born.
Roles:
All Tortoiseshell children are expected to learn how to perform the daily chores and duties of the Clan. Females are taught from an early age to clean and boil tortoiseshells, fish, harvest vegetables and berries from the Rootslake, make bows, and fashion arrow or spear heads from adamantoise shells.
As they grow up, the females of the tribe are taught to hunt the Adamantoise of Rootslake. Over time they become masters of ambushing, killing, and stripping their kills of meat and shell before the God's Quiver are any wiser to the poaching.
Males continue to perform the daily chores about the Landing while the females are away on rangings. Males also train as clan warriors, but do not go out on rangings. They stay and protect the Landing.
History: The Tortoiseshell Clan has existed to some extent since the 5th Astral Era. It is believed they were once Amdaporians who survived the 6th Umbral Flood. Today, the clan boasts between forty or fifty members of Baasja or Jaab descent.
They maintain relatively good standing with the Gridanians and are more or less peaceful with neighboring Keeper Clans. The current and previous Maho are greatly responsible for this peace. Maho Baasja makes trips to the Gridanian Markets and three of her children have joined guilds within the city.
Current Status: The Tortoiseshells were forced to abandoned their territory during the time of the Calamity when Garleans invaded the Black Shroud and began setting the Wood ablaze. The wildfire and the awakened Greenwrath claimed many forest dwellers. The Tortoiseshells fled the Wood and were scattered about Eorzea for a time.
About a year after the Calamity, members of the Baasja and Jaab families began returning to their ancestral home. Many did not return though, and picking up their old way of life was difficult. Five years after the Calamity, the Clan limps on. But food has become more scarce and the Clan has become more territorial.
Clan: The Tortoiseshell Clan
Families: Baasja & Jaab
Territory: The Tortoiseshell Clan makes their home at South Shroud Landing. Their hunting territory spans the southern and eastern banks of Rootslake. They have been known to make occasional rangings of the northern banks to Snakemolt, but do not venture further north in order to avoid confrontation with other Keeper clans such as the Coeurlclaws or Mujuuks.
Sexual Mores: Firstborn males born to the Tortoiseshell Clan mate for life to a female member of the other family within the Clan. Tortoiseshell females mate freely with males from other Keeper clans. They can, but rarely, mate for life. Children born from outside males are raised within the Clan and the fathers can chose to stay or move on.
Traditions:
The 'Maho' or Matriarch:
The Tortoiseshell Clan is run by a single female called the Maho, an old Amdapori word meaning 'Mother'. The Maho acts as an overseer to the daily ins and outs of the Clan, often under the guidance of Clan Elders. She mediates affairs within the Clan, organizes hunting parties, and is responsible for maintaining peaceful relations with other Clans and Gridanians.
The Maho can be from either Baasja or Jaab families. When the Maho has children, her first born son is named Maho'a. When Maho'a comes of age, he chooses one female of the opposite family to mate for life. This female becomes the next Maho, and the current Maho becomes an Elder. In this way, Clan leadership is always descended from past leadership so that a thousand years of knowledge is not lost.
However, male children are rare within both the Baasja and Jaab families. When one is born, he is precious to the Clan. If the Maho cannot provide a male child, the matriarchy does not pass to the other family. The oldest daughter of the Maho mates with a male of the other family and becomes the next Maho instead. So the matriarchy may stay within the Baasja or Jaab line for several generations until a male Baasja or Jaab is born.
Coming of Age:
Both males and females are considered of age at fifteen cycles.
For females, the coming of age ceremony is a hunt. The female leaves before dusk to hunt one of the adamantoise that frequent Rootslake. Armed only with a single weapon of her choice, the young female must slay an adamantoise on her own. When it is done, the entire Clan helps strip the carcass. That night, a feast made from the youth's kill is served and the young ranger drinks deep. After she has eaten, the female is stripped naked before the clan and re-dressed in colorful paints. She is blessed by the Maho and becomes a fully fledged Tortoiseshell ranger.
When a Maho'a turns fifteen, he receives a similar ceremony. The Clan's rangers poach an adamantoise and a feast is prepared similar to the females. Only the Maho'a does not eat. Instead he offers his food to the female of his choice. If she accepts, the two eat and drink the other's meal. At the end of the night, the couple are painted and wed by the Maho. When the sun sets on the next day, that female becomes the new Maho under the previous Maho's guidance until such a time she is ready to lead on her own.
Other males within the Clan, that are not Maho'a, can either find a mate within the Clan or seek fortunes with other clans. Even if a young male chooses to leave and mate elsewhere, he remains a member of the Clan and is always welcomed back.
Child Rearing:
Child rearing is a community effort within the Clan. Because most females within the Clan have very few children of their own (0-3 at most) they also take on the responsibility of raising the Maho's children. This is because other females do not have steady mates, while the Maho is mated for life and is expected to produce offspring until a Maho'a is born.
Roles:
All Tortoiseshell children are expected to learn how to perform the daily chores and duties of the Clan. Females are taught from an early age to clean and boil tortoiseshells, fish, harvest vegetables and berries from the Rootslake, make bows, and fashion arrow or spear heads from adamantoise shells.
As they grow up, the females of the tribe are taught to hunt the Adamantoise of Rootslake. Over time they become masters of ambushing, killing, and stripping their kills of meat and shell before the God's Quiver are any wiser to the poaching.
Males continue to perform the daily chores about the Landing while the females are away on rangings. Males also train as clan warriors, but do not go out on rangings. They stay and protect the Landing.
History: The Tortoiseshell Clan has existed to some extent since the 5th Astral Era. It is believed they were once Amdaporians who survived the 6th Umbral Flood. Today, the clan boasts between forty or fifty members of Baasja or Jaab descent.
They maintain relatively good standing with the Gridanians and are more or less peaceful with neighboring Keeper Clans. The current and previous Maho are greatly responsible for this peace. Maho Baasja makes trips to the Gridanian Markets and three of her children have joined guilds within the city.
Current Status: The Tortoiseshells were forced to abandoned their territory during the time of the Calamity when Garleans invaded the Black Shroud and began setting the Wood ablaze. The wildfire and the awakened Greenwrath claimed many forest dwellers. The Tortoiseshells fled the Wood and were scattered about Eorzea for a time.
About a year after the Calamity, members of the Baasja and Jaab families began returning to their ancestral home. Many did not return though, and picking up their old way of life was difficult. Five years after the Calamity, the Clan limps on. But food has become more scarce and the Clan has become more territorial.
