Irekei: Culture
Irekei: Culture
Hey there again!
Sorry fot the delay in following up my first response, but we've had an explosive burst of activity around here, especially as regards world building. The questions have kept rolling in since the Jan 12 gathering, and I'm doing my best to give them the answers they deserve. Anyway, here goes...
About Plants and Water: Water, its use and its "waste" are a bit of a grey area culturally for Irekei, and open to interpretation. While it is true that to waste water is an amazingly heinous crime by Irekei standards (think full on Fremen here), there is a place in this world for beauty - and most Irekei will acknowledge that plants are incredibly important too, and not just for decoration. (I expect they eat some of them, and weave their clothes and tents out of cactus husk fibers) The whole inference that they waste NO effort at all, ever, is a little extreme - they do decorate their buildings and weave very ornamental rugs, tapestries, and baskets. Their tents sport beautiful designs (they're so cool! I've seen them! soon you will too!) - so they obviously have more energy/time/whatever than the bare minimum to get by. The way I see it, as long as an Irekei is pulling his weight in the Virakt (and again, not every Irekei need be a hunter - the tent maker who weaves his virakt's shelter or the rug weaver who makes their Blood Bord the envy of every other are important too), they can shave a little water off their share to grow some plants and beautify their dwelling. Irekei aren't mindless savages, and they're not Terminator robots either. They have a rich culture, and they love it. Of course, if an Irekei grows too many plants, or starts weakening because he's feeding his plants instead of himself, that's another matter... There's precious little margin for error in a Virakt. You're either in or you're dead meat, and the line they walk is very narrow.
Strength is, in the end, very relative. Most Irekei warriors focus on it above all things, while others might ascribe more to the quality than simply "strength in combat." I think the slaient point here might be the whole issue of the individual vs the group - extravagance is in theory tolerable, so long as you can still pull your weight. Irekei will cooperate with each other too, mind you - the tribe lives or dies together. But if you don't meet the minimum standard (and how exacting that standard may be will vary from zVirakt to Virakt) you're out, and the desert will take you. Things that might seem like weaknesses will ultimately be judged by results - survival and success. Going and picking fights sure looks like strength, but biting off more than you can chew in terms of feuds and wars is the pinnacle of weakness, and nearly destroyed the race. The line between strength and weakness is fuzzy - it's subjective, and probably reached through a non-verbal group consensus.
Irekei definitely experience love - a fierce, fiery (what'd you expect?), passionate love. I imagine that like other races, two Irekei might marry for all sorts of reasons - politics and arranged marriages are probably pretty common, as they serve as a good means of strengthening the bloodline and cementing alliances. Within a Vriakt, Irekei can be more likely to marry for love.
Pecific rituals and such have come to me yet, although the idea of bonded Khar'ika is really cool.
I don't think Irekei would ever set up multiple spouse type arrangements - I imagine they're a bit like wolves, mating for life. For two Irekei to get married, they would definitely need the approval of their family units, and likely at least the nod of a Prophet or Chieftain. I think it would be totally likely for Irekei women to court as aggressively as the men do. The amount of outside interference a couple might have to overcome is probably directly related to the status within the Virakt of the two Irekei themselves. Eloping or marrying in defiance of one's Virakt or family is a horrifying sin to the Irekei, and yet I expect many of their best-loved ballads and sagas are about just that sort of thing, tragic stories of passion and loss.
There, at last I made it through your list.
I hope these help!
M
