Etausi (culture)

Cultural Overview

The Etausi are an indigenous species of intelligent reptilian four-armed bipeds, of which there are five sub-species; The swamp dwelling etausi-boh; The etausi-duat of mountainous regions; The etausi-grat of the plains and deserts; the etausi-mal of forests, and the etausi-rure of of sea-shores. Despite these differences the five groups share a common cultural patterns.

Government

Etausi are quite reclusive, and xeno-phobic. All tribal decisions are arrived at by a communal consensus amongst the available adults, as a result they lead fairly stable lives. They have simple lives where each member contributes according to their abilities.

Commerce

Etausi that have contact with neighbouring rooks, or other sapient peoples, may engage in trade for materials and objects they can't produce themselves.

Agriculture: Very few Etausi tribes engage in agriculture, although a few early efforts have arisen in scattered colonies.

Crops: Fruits, root, and vegetable crops.

Herds: Only a few tribes have any form of domestic animal keeping for food or other uses. Generally limited to a few preferred food stock species.

Secondary Agricultural Resources

Hunting: Hunting of small game is the primary source of protein in the etausi diet. Other crafting materials such as leather, antler and bone are also obtained in such a manner.

Fishing: For those more amphibious tribes living in and near water fishing often replacing hunting in importance for meat, and other materials like shells and coral.

Gathering: For tribes not yet practising agriculture or not completely converted to planting their own crops, gathering of vegetable food sources, roots, nuts, berries and herbs is common practice.

Industry

Resource Extraction: The etausi do not engage in much resource extraction beyond simple placer mines, or gathering clay and wood from readily available sources.

Manufacturing: Etausi do not engage in any large scale manufacturing, instead they will craft tools and other items to met their needs as they come up. In a few cases where a trade option exists, they may craft some objects expectant of being able to exchange them for other desired items.

Trade

Imports / Exports

Transportation

Methods: Any transport of goods would be carried in packs on foot, as the Etausi do not have vehicles, or domesticated pack animals.

Trade Routes: Any trade routes employed by etausi would generally not extend beyond the edge of their own territory, or into a neighbours territory. meeting at the edges to exchange goods and materials with amicable trading partners.

Currency: The Etausi do not have a concept of currency, or even tokens. Any trade they engage in is strictly barter.

Military

Controlling Body: The etausi have no organized military, being such small tribes. Instead all those capable with hunting weapons will double as warriors in defense of the colony when required.

Religion

The Etausi religious belief is centralized around the belief that they are the chosen people of the great dragon. They believe themselves to be the mates of the dragon, whom guides and protects his chosen to exist in harmony with the planet.

Primary Beliefs

When the world ended, the dragon king gathered all the females of etausi-kind together and protected them from the fires, poisonous smoke, and diseases ravaging the world. After the dying times he returned them to the world reborn in small clutches scattered throughout the lands. The etausi believe they must live their lives as is proper, and pay homage to their divine protector, so that should another end times come, they may once again be gathered up and sheltered from the apocalypse.

The Etausi are all female, however males will still rarely hatch, about one out of every thousand eggs. These male offspring are sacrificed to the dragon king out of respect for his divine role as father/husband to the entirety of etausi-kind.

Religious Figures

Great Dragon: The singular masculine god-king of the etausi. This great winged beast is the benevolent and guiding force behind the entire etausi culture. He is responsible for the protection and guidance of his chosen people through his lesser dragons and the tribal shamans.

Lesser Dragons: Material agents of The Great Dragon these beasts carry out his wise administration upon the world. They will often be tasked with great quests or duties to protect certain tribes or individuals from evil forces acting against The Great Dragons wishes.

List of Religious Observances

Hatching
Hatching of a male: In the rare (one in a million) chance that a male hatches in an Etausi brood. The mewling infant male is sacrificed to the god-deity

Sacrifice of a male

The method of sacrifice is particular to each tribe, some examples include:

The entire rook in gathered and the male hatchling is placed upon a stone altar then stoned to death by the gathered adults, whom shout prayers seeking forgiveness and mercy to their god. The resulting corpse is left to decay or be eaten by scavengers; further interaction with the dead male hatchling would anger their god.
The hatchling is cut open upon an alter and his organs are fed into the flames of a ceremonial fire. The body will be disposed of in a manner befitting any other member of the tribe.
The hatchling is butchered and eaten by the tribe in a communal meal without a single piece left over.

First Hunt

First Mating

First Clutch

Death

Remembrance After Death

Funeral ceremonies vary between tribes, a few possible examples:

The departed remains are buried under a stone cairn marked with fuery staffs decorated with tokens and charms to aid the spirit until she can join the Great Dragon.
The corpse not longer houses the spirit and is placed upon a stone or wooden structure for carrion eaters to consume, thus returning her flesh to the cycle of life.
The dead tribe member is eaten entirely, or choice parts of the fallen. The strengthens the tribe as a whole, allowing the departed to continue as part of the tribe for future generations. Adults that are not currently in brood will engage in sexual coupling believed to spread the departed ones spirit amongst potential future offspring.

Structure

Tribal Shamans: A singular etausi of each tribe will be the revered holder of the stories. This member of the community does not hunt, or work beyond their capacity as the observer of the heavens and recorder of all the tribes history. This individual will tend to the spiritual needs of the tribe while also recounting the history in story and song. The shaman will train/educate several apprentices to continue the tradition when the time comes to leave the world of the material and enter the grand caves of the dragon king. This tribe member is often, but not always the matriarch of the tribe.

Matriarch: The eldest member of the tribe is seen as mother figure to all other members that were not direct brood mates. This position is one of great respect.

Importance: To the Etausi their very existence is attributed to the actions of their god. this is ingrained to their very biology.

Integration with Civil: The religious observances of the Etausi, and their beliefs in their saviour, are so integrated into their daily lives, that they do not see their religion as a separate thing.

Family

Structure / Size: Etausi tribes typically number around forty individuals, of which fully two thirds will be adults. Only a few members will be in brood at a given time guarding a communal clutch of about a dozen eggs.

Roles of Family Members: Eggs are laid in group nests and brooded by several females in rotation. The hatchlings are considered children of that brood circle. So they have several mothers.

Importance: Given how closely related all members of the tribe are, their is no real distinction of family. The tribe is family, and they are all mothers, sisters, and daughters of each other.

Influence: The all are family attitude is reflected in relationships between tribal members as well as relations between neighbouring tribes. Relations may not always be smooth, even sisters fight from time to time, but in the end they are all part of the larger family.

Diet

Food

Cultural Dishes
Spice / Flavours

Drink

Non-Alcoholic
Alcohol

Health

Disease and Pestilence
Medicine
Doctors

Education

Levels

Schools
Tutors / Teachers
Sages / Scholars

Literacy

Languages)
Scripts)

Numeracy
Philosophy

Fashion

Textiles

Dyes
Embellishments

Outfits

Daily by Class
Worker / Professional
Cermemonial
Costumes

Jewelry
Makeup

Arts

Music

Voice / Singing
Percussion
Strings
Wind

Poetry / Writing
Dance
Acting
Painting
Sculpture

Leisure Activities

Sports / Competition

Games

Gambling

Social Gatherings

Architecture

Materials: Etausi are almost exclusively cave dwelling, sometimes living in dug hovels.

Designs: When natural caves are not available, etausi may dig hovels into soil and using branches vines, or whatever other material is on hand to build a roof structure, which is then covered with the excavated soil and sod.; The etausi do not have specialized buildings by function, but instead segregate areas within their homes to various purposes such as brood chambers, sleeping areas, meal preparation, storage, workshops, and the like.

Time

Hours / Watches

Daily Routine

Calendar

Key Dates

Timeline

Founding
Dynastic Timelines
Key Events

External Relations

Etausi are seen as primitive and territorial, while they do not generally encroach on others if left to themselves, however if pressed, they will defend their own territory

Etausi have had little contact with Tre-Ahni. Those encounters, and the results, have yet to be known across the whole species. So there is no general collective attitude towards them. New encounters are approached with curiosity, following those the reaction depends on the experience of that first time.

The Etausi are possessed of an alien artistry, which is most evident in the design of their tools. The best example being the Ky-min (throwing wedge), a three bladed star weighing roughly 2 lbs. The weapon is used with great effect as a tool for downing small animals.

Ky-min (Ky-min skill group), SB 1, Str+Dex+Eye, -20 SE) Wt: 2 Quality: 13 A/D: 1/0 B: - E: 3 P: 2

Culturally they are similar to the other Etausi tribes, living in colonies as primitive hunter gatherers. The Etausi-Rure follow a similar religion to their sisters, and practice the same sacrificial offering of male hatchlings to their god-king.

To ensure further favour for the all female species. They worship a male god who they are married spiritually. Another male would be a challenge to his divine god hood, so the abominations are killed to appease their deity, and avoid his wrath.

Alien vocal language for the Etausi. Naturally evolved independent of Tre-ahni languages. Limited social contact between the Etausi and Tre-ahni has kept inter-lingual influence to a minimum.

"Life and death are natural and cyclical. All living things need living things, or their remains to survive. This is a sacred truth of the world. No individual life is sacred on it's own, but as part of the larger cycle, yes. The cycle itself must continue, and death is a necessary part of that cycle. All living things - plants, animals, etausi, treahni - feed other life after dying. How can you preserve life without death?" - Sishala

"There was once a holy man, called Jodam after a prophet of his Goddess. He came to us and tried to change our beliefs about the Dragon King. While we had many interesting discourses on the nature of gods and worship, ultimately I could not accept his teachings as the only truth. The Goddess he followed is certainly powerful, and a key figure in the lives of his people, but we are content in the protections promised to us by the Dragon King." - Sishala

Etausi - Reptilian natives of planet (not Earth), so six-limbs, egg-laying, scales etc. 99.99% of all hatchlings are female - species reproduces through parthenogenesis. Worship a god-king figure whom they believe they are all mates too, and practice infanticide as a holy ritual when males are born. Do not see family structure in the same human way, eggs are communal, belonging to the whole community, therefore children are everyone's to raise. The species reproduces via Parthenogenesis. Also male/female is determined by environmental factors while developing in the egg, and not sex-linked genes.

Etausi The Etausi follow religions appropriate to their primative nature, generally

The Etausi have not reached the level of cultural sophistication yet to engage in trade or economics beyond simple barter between individuals or small groups, therefore see no value in a currency system.

It came to be some time after the "God Wars" as the planet was recovering from a massive scorched earth retreat by two transstellar empires. It seems that dragonkind took a certain liking to the early sapient primatives of their world and worked to protect and nurture them during this calamitous period. The religion developed in response, and is an attempt to explain changes in the reproductive physiology which occurred as a result of the nuclear/biological fallout (things beyond the understanding of the Etausi). Did they have prior cultures that had actual mortal harems to give them idea of a divine harem? The Etausi are at a stone-age tech level, they haven't really much of a culture to speak of. The early species had a male dominant polygamous breeding pattern. Are there any males that somehow survived? I'll say maybe. I have no idea about the individual fate of every last sapient creature on Entorais, and have only detailed two Etausi characters to date. The best estimates for global population is somewhere about two-hundred million Etausi scattered in small pockets globally. Was asking because it seemed like a cool idea for a character that's a male survivor. To speculate it might be possible. This could include a social change in a single colony that breaks away from the religion. As a people the Etausi have many cultural groups/tribes scattered everywhere. These diverse groups are subject to change and growth in any direction. Perhaps he is from a clutch of eggs that survived to hatch and were raised in isolation/left to themselves. In this case the whole clutch would be Etausi in genetics only, and completely lacking any nurture in the cultural norms of their kind. The difficulty here being that the eggs are normally brooded by one or more adults in a communal setting, not simply laid and forgotten like many Earth reptiles. A rare genetic mutation could subdue the physical male sexual characteristics from manifesting. Such an asexual appearance could delay or prevent identification of the male, and thus preserve his life. As a side note the Etausi perplex me from a world building standpoint. Originally they were a mono-cultural lizard people filling a role for an rpg. However the geo-political reality of the planet has them spread out and sometimes isolated from each other by the invasive species/cultures of the Treahni. So it is more likely that they have multiple proto-cultural groupings. I have them separated into a handful of subspecies based on biomes by habitat preference (Arid, Wetlands, Forest/Jungle, Sea, Rocky/Mountainous), but even these groups are discontiguous in distribution.

Etausi - dragon scales are consider lucky charms

My lizard-folk are spread all over the world from before "humans" arrived and should have 1000's of distinct tribes with separate cultures... I accidentally lumped them all together. Of course I could just leave it as humans seeing them as one homogeneous species, and overlooking the differences out of ignorance

Actually the Etausi as a culture have yet to advance beyond stone age technology... except what they might acquire through trade or pillage. Having four limbs with workable hands does make many crafting task easier; notably weaving, and woodcarving, so forging would probably be easier if one worked with two hammers for example.

If one is born with two sets of arms then coordinating them in activities is a matter of natural development. Interestingly Etausi do show a handedness preference like the treahni, favouring one hand and side over the others for basic tasks. If one didn't know, there are few noticeable differences. The Etausi have an alien artistry to their work, which is notable over treahni craftsmanship, but having more hands isn't required to reproduce similar results. Not so interesting... even earth animals show appendage dominance, just ask a dog ti shake a paw, they will prefer one over another, it's an evolutionary thing, not cultural/human thing. Actually I haven't decided. So... as the Etausi hail from a separate genetic/planetary stock than Earth origin species, their nervous systems are different, showing a preference for the lower left hand/left side over the right.

Etausi would be the most unusual. Being adopted by stone aged lizard-women would be a challenging upbringing. They are not mammals so a pre-solid food diet baby would likely die an agonizing death of starvation. A child capable of eating solid food may still have dietary issues as the Etausi diet is higher in meat sourced protein. Despite this a child could survive. There would be difficulties surrounding the slower development of the mammal child, milestones such as walking and talking, maturation into adulthood taking about three times as long. Lacking tails, and having two less arms/hands would require some effort to keep up with swimming, and menial tasks. The child would be considered part of the rook, with all the rights and responsibilities of membership. The neurological imprinting etausi experience forming a nurturing bond with their mothers (plural group of mutual brooders) would be different for this child, but mimicking the behaviour of one's adoptive siblings could pass. Having external genitalia wouldn't be an issue (nakedness taboos/clothing isn't an etausi thing) and they wouldn't consider the gender of the adopted child as important. They are neither male or female in the eyes of the etausi (as they cannot engage in the same physical copulation, nor lay eggs). Good for males, as etausi males are blood sacrificed shortly after hatching, and a non etausi male isn't considered in their religion as a threat. The gender/biological sex of non-etausi is irrelevant to their religious views that male etausi will make their god-king jealous. The species reproduces parthenogenicaly, so males are not strictly needed, and killed before they can become breeding adults. That’s one petty god. Maybe... or the followers have warped their natural shift to parthenogenic reproduction into a religion. Perhaps a bit of both? There is some real thing that they worship, isn’t there? Maybe? They seem particularly reverential towards dragons. The real mystery is how this religiously justified behaviour is prevalent across all pockets of the species culture despite having no means of global communication

Within single colonies of Etausi there is very little genetic or physical variation, due to them reproducing through parthenogenesis. Disparate colonies have changed over time, showing extreme differences in morphology, to the extent of them appearing to be distinct species.

When first discovered, Etausi were protected by a non-interference policy, and a large portion of the planet (all but one continent) was reserved for them as first contact protocol. They were to be studied, but not uplifted.

Etausi continued along their slow plodding course to true civilization, but also suffered from the ravaging of the biosphere. They did however adopt a religion during the aftermath, and now universally worship a dragon god-king figure despite not being connected geographically this religion is present in all Etausi whether settled or nomadic tribes. They seem to believe that this god will continue to protect them. The Etausi also suffered a fertility crisis and have switched to a version of parthenogenesis, sacrificing what male hatchlings are produced to their god to appease his potential jealousy.

The Etausi of Entorais, are consider primitive and bestial by most "civilized" people, mostly because they have less advanced technology. They live off the land, in small tribal communities, not forming nations, and seemingly not connected to each other beyond their physiology, and religion (which is strangely the same despite vast geographic separation between groups). One on one they would be able to hold their own against other races, if they had equal quality and material for weapons and armour. Etausi would have eventually reached advance technology and society, being the indigenous sapient species of Entorais before outsiders came and messed everything up with there cataclysmic war.

Has the lack of genetic mixing caused any problems for the Etausi? Not as a whole yet. There may well be some alien biology factors preventing genetic bottlenecks from occurring within the species.

Does an Etausi egg have a good chance of eventually being a full-grown Etausi? Typically, if sufficient numbers of adults are in the colony, then the eggs will be well cared for, and some 97-99% of them will hatch. Of those hatchlings, infant mortality (disease, accidents, depredation) takes out another 25% so from Egg to adult (9-12 years before reliable egg laying) is about 73% survival. The average life expectancy of Etausi, is around 25 years, due to their primitive lifestyle, and lack of advance medical care. In ideal conditions an Etausi could live an extremely long time compared to Tre-ahni.

What is Etausi society doing to try to progress, if anything? The idea of social, technological or other "progress" isn't yet part of their culture. So at present Etausi are just existing and doing what they do. Occasionally, one might make a small improvement to some aspect of their colony's daily life, but there is not any sharing of ideas between disparate groups, so very little progress occurs as a species.

Can you give me some examples of these occasional, small improvements? The Rook of Singing Water - This colony is practising a form of animal husbandry, and basic agriculture using floating lodge lizard rafts to form "gardens". The Sand Cliffs Rook - This colony has begun simple forging of natural copper nuggets to make basic tools, and decorative jewellery. The Golden Reef Rook - This colony has started harvesting the poisonous gel from Golus snails to coat tridents used against larger marine predators and prey animals. The Rook of Black Sand - This colony has begun to design atlatl-like spear and arrow launchers for use in hunting.

Can you tell me about fashion among the Etausi? Generally they do not exhibit any modesty taboos, so their clothing is limited to harnesses, pouches, and the like. They may add small totems or charms to their tools. Some ornamentation with simple jewelry, usually bracelets, rings, ankles, necklaces or the like. Materials, design and techniques vary widely between individual rooks. Does the poison pose any danger to the Etausi, in their food, or do they just cook the meat well enough to get rid of the poison? It would, but it breaks down fairly quickly after absorbed into a creatures tissues, so is usually inert by the time they consume the meat. That particular poison is a mild paralytic, that can be absorbed through skin contact.

Is there any spiritual meaning for certain types of totems/charms? Possibly; it would depend on the individual, and their reasons for decorating their tools. There is no specific reason or need to decorate tools in such a manner. Have any species been more resistant to the paralytic poison? Parvil, a common predator fish similar to a pike or barracuda, are completely immune to the toxins. The golus snails are most often found amongst the spawning beds of these fish, whose eggs will often be covered in the toxic secretions. The snails are not eaten by these fish, whom seem to live in a symbiotic relationship. the snails protect the fish spawn, and eat algae and other zooplankton which might damage the young fry. The presence of the Parvil keeps other predators, that might eat the golus snails at bay.

Etausi live scattered all across Entorais' three continents, but most tribal groups are not in regular contact with others of their kind. Being at the near end of the stone age technologically, they have been forced out of areas where tre-ahni (phenotypical humans) claim land. That being said there are some salt water estuaries where both sub-species would find suitable living conditions. Etausi tribes that do meet will trade or fight as the encounter dictates. This is similar to the pattern when they encounter non-etausi. Etausi of the different sub-species view each other as sisters, belonging to the same species, but even sisters don't get along all the time. They share a similar languages and universally follow the exact same religion despite being spread out globally. With little or no communication between tribal groups globally.

Entorais doesn't have any exclusively aquatic sapient species, but the Etausi, reptilian bi-peds with 6 limbs, have subspecies with varying degrees of amphibious lifestyle. Swamp dwelling Etausi Boh, and the marine/coastal Etausi Rure, in particular can and do spend significant amounts of time in and underwater in the hunting and gathering activities. They can hold their breath three or four times longer than a tre-ahni, and with 6 limbs and tails to propel them, are quite fast and agile in aquatic environs. Boh of these groups still maintain dwelling places on dry land for brooding, and raising their young.

The Etausi, my reptilian race, lack the human range of facial pliability; they have some frills and crests they can raise lower, or flush with blood (colour), and having twice as many arms/hands which vary position to indicate moods and such, in addition to head nods, tilts, and directing their gaze, They also vary the tone of their voices to convey emotional details beyond the meaning of the words they speak.

The Etausi species are primitive compared to treahni, and often suffer either genocide or enslavement when the two species encroach on each other's territory.

Actually the Etausi as a culture have yet to advance beyond stone age technology... except what they might acquire through trade or pillage. Having four limbs with workable hands does make many crafting task easier; noteably weaving, and woodcraving, so forging would probably be easier if one worked with two hammers for example.

The deceased body is placed on a platform of stones or wood and left for the scavengers to pick over.

Do not see family structure in the same human way, eggs are communal, belonging to the whole community, therefore children are everyone's to raise.