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| Tramps and Tinkers; the Highland People | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 7 2010, 06:51 AM (18 Views) | |
| The Storyteller | Apr 7 2010, 06:51 AM Post #1 |
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Diet The food in the Highlands is like the weather; heavy, dull and unchanging. Sheep meat is a staple of the country, while national dishes consist of mutton, haggis, and lamb chops. Vegetable growth is root-based, so most meals include potatoes, carrots, turnips and the like. Boiling is a favourite method of meal preparation, and is easy to conduct in the wild countryside. Most Highlanders prefer stews and other mixed dishes, which are simple and add a little variety to the cuisine. They disdain the fanciful preparations of other countries as wasteful. "It's all the same when it's in your belly," is a common saying among the Highlanders. Clothing The natives' clothing reflects the practical necessities of their land, designed for warmth and comfort rather than display. Men traditionally wear kilts, woven from wool and decorated in the tartan colours of their ancestral family or Clan. The kilts for a sash which is worn over the shoulder and can be unpinned to cover the entire body in a sort of blanket. The nobility eschews rapiers and other weapons in favour of the great claymores of their past, an intimidating sight within the halls of Parliament. The remainder of their clothing is similar to Avalon's nobles, with buttoned waistcoats and buckled shoes. Customs Clan identity is very important to the Highlanders. While their sense of nationhood and allegiance with Avalon keeps the Clans from having much political effort beyond the Highland shores, they have come to dominate the cultural and social scene. Highlanders prefer wearing their ancestral Clan tartans in public, and dances and folk songs spring from the regional allegiances of time immemorial. While similar in nature (such that foreigners traveling in the Marches would be hard-pressed to tell them apart), the natives can differentiate such songs easily. Many commoners separate counties and fiefdoms by the kind of shanties sung at bars, or the particular steps in a May Day dance. One might ask how the Highlanders can flaunt such affiliations without falling back onto old rivalries and reigniting civil war. To the Highlanders, there is a difference between their cultural identity and their national pride. Six hundred years of common subjugation under the Montaignes have limited Clan rivalries to verbal arenas, and the occasional barroom brawl. Highland Women On the surface, women are second-class citizens in the Highlands. They cannot own property, hold political office, or otherwise carry themselves in public as equals. No women sit in the national Parliament and the idea of a female Clan head is unheard of. From a practical standpoint, however, things are much different. Most Highland houses depend upon the wife or eldest woman to run them and much of the country's day-to-day business would not be completed without them. Financial matters are also the domain of the fairer sex, and banks and other institutions usually address bills to 'the lady of the household'. Noblemen often defer to their wives' counsel over the advice of others, and when none hold elected office, many are respected as informal leaders in their local communities. The national army admits women as soldiers (although their numbers are tiny in comparison to men), and some of the country's most famous heroes have come from their ranks. One of Queen Elaine's most notorious privateers, "Bloody" Bonnie McGee, originally hails from the Highlands. Noble Life The Highland nobility has begun a slow process of integration with its counterpart in Avalon, as the two kingdoms come closer together. Most of the aristocrats from the Marches hail from large agrarian estates, dominated by civilized gardens and wild, untamed moors. Noble children are educated by tutors or governesses at home, although a few emigrate to Avalon for schooling in a proper institution. While they embrace the sophisticated trappings of culture and enjoy the refined subtleties of hunting, philosophical debate and so on, many Highland nobles eschew such passive practices for immersion in national politics. The well-being of their nation is paramount in many of their minds and they usually work to better those under them or further their own ends rather than fritter away the time in mindless diversions. Their counterparts in other countries consider them quaint and a little backward, as is typical for such an isolated nation. Peasant Life Peasant life in the Highland Marches is hard, but the emergence of a middle class has alleviated things somewhat. The majority of the peasantry work on farms owned by the nobility or nouveau riche landlords. As education flourishes and the advances of science make their way inland, their lot has begun to improve. More and more of them have begun leaving the countryside to seek their fortunes in urban centres, and a class of merchants and shopkeepers has slowly taken hold. For the most part, Highland peasants keep to themselves, respect their betters, and try to make the most of the opportunities life gives them. For all that, they can be very cheerful; they love songs and their beer, and conduct social gatherings with boisterous joie de vivre. Etiquette Honesty is very important among the Highlanders. Opposition to another is not a sin as long as it is openly stated, and the concept of 'a good clean fight' dominates most political arguments. Promises are rarely given, but when they are, they are sacred; a Highlander considers his oath essential to his good name, and will never consciously break his word. This honesty, however, rarely spreads beyond the Avalon kingdoms. Foreigners can be deceived with impunity, and often are, much to the chagrin of visiting dignitaries. More than a few foreign politicians have been lulled into believing a Highlander's solemn word...only to have that word be broken at the worst possible moment. Other points of etiquette are similar to Avalon's. One always tips one's hat to a lady, and pays proper deference to those of higher standing. While the national penchant for honesty has made manner coarser here than elsewhere, the Highlanders still expect a modicum of politeness for their fellows and won't tolerate crude behaviour without a good explanation. They are also quicker to come to blows than other countries, duels among the nobility are considered appropriate ways to end disputes. |
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7:20 PM Jul 11