The Tiger Prince and the Lantern-maker

A bunch of head worlds

[foalofthewind]

Gender in Khita

The functioning of Khitan society is heavily based on their conceptions of gender, which dictate the social roles and responsibilities of an individual and serve to uphold its matriarchal structure. These conceptions are related to anatomical sex, but are separate to Khitan views of sexuality.

Three genders are recognised:

1) The ‘intellectual’ gender - Comprised of cis women. These individuals hold political power and make all decisions. They are the only parent formally recognised by a child, as evidenced by the matronymic naming system, and only their offspring of the same gender can legally inherit land/titles/money. Women are viewed as the most ‘cerebral’ gender, in that their emotion/passion is channelled towards the intellectual (rather than the physical or spiritual), and hence are the ‘default’ gender. The first people to inhabit the world were thought to be women. Gods and spirits associated with women, and to whom women pray, are those representative of order, creation and knowledge. Traditional clothing tends to be fairly simple and modest - the skin that is shown is not viewed sexually, and is simply a matter of physical convenience. All positions of power that are not religious are held exclusively by women.

2) The ‘emotional’ gender - Comprised of cis men. These individuals hold power only in relation to women, and are associated with instinctual, primal living. Thus, men are viewed as fundamentally emotional, aggressive, and sexual, and are valued for their contributions to the arts (particularly dance and story-telling - theatre is almost entirely male), historiography, warfare, and hunting/land management. Their spiritual realm consists of gods/spirits associated with such areas. However, they are seen as too impulsive and irrational to hold positions or make decisions that are independent to the other genders. They live heavily ritualised and communal lives with little control over their future, and have no official parental role as they are viewed as concubines of women (although it is common for fathers to interact with their offspring). They are expected to submit personal goals/desires to their assigned social role and craft. The traditional dress of men is highly decorative, promiscuous, and prioritises physique, and also involves specific application of facial/body cosmetics. 

3) The ‘celestial’ gender - Comprised of two types of individuals - those who possess a strong affinity towards the gender role not assigned to them according to physical sex, and those who possess intersex features. The former are thought to have received direct access to the spiritual world, which has allowed them to transcend the defined sex-gender association. This access can be granted at any age, and destines the individual for a rigorous spiritual journey involving defined periods of living as both genders, and without gender. This is combined with the learning of sacred knowledge and skills to refine their spiritual access. Such individuals make up the religious class of Khitan society. The journey is long and few individuals complete the full cycle, however this is expected and forms the basis of the religious hierarchy. Traditional dress is dependent on their status and journey-stage, and includes both female and male elements. They are the only gender able to hold power apart from women. 

In contrast, intersex individuals are viewed as entirely holy - the mortal vessels/aspects of true spirits, possessed of a deep connection to the natural world of the region they are born in. Their lives are highly variable, with some individuals living almost-normally as whichever gender (or none) they choose, and others existing as hermits in the wild or sacred beings within dedicated temples. They are thought to be the only individuals capable of truly navigating/interpreting the future, and thus all soothsaying or predictive roles are held by them. Hence, some extremely important government positions are occupied by this class of the celestial gender. 

Note: The social roles of the third gender were inspired by the conceptions of gender amongst the Bugis, an ethnic group native to South Sulawesi. 

[foalofthewind]

The Archipelago

Rough idea for a fantasy world based on the Indonesian Archipelago, i.e. A collection of extremely diverse ethnic/cultural groups inhabiting a string of tropical islands. Each island is home to several groups, which may either be dominated by a single majority group, or contain several minority groups living semi-harmoniously. The islands are connected by a long history of trade, warfare, and migration, created a an ever-shifting map of alliances between the various factions who currently hold power. These may be headed by monarchs whose royal lineage is traced directly from the gods, or by merchant councils seeking favourable winds and new markets, or by warlords, shamans, or complicated networks of tribal leaders. The political landscape of the Archipelago is thus dynamic, complex, and unpredictable. Despite their history of interaction, the islanders view themselves as distinct peoples, rather than constituents of a greater nation. This may be unsurprising, given the variety of their cultural interpretations regarding politics, religion, spirituality, social structure, economics, nationality, family, gender, and sexuality. 

The largest island is known as Khita, and is currently ruled by the Khitanese - a highly sophisticated ethno-cultural group characterised by its emphasis on formality and hierarchy. Khitan society is matriarchal, in that only women hold positions of power and can pass power down to their female offspring, and its well-defined gender roles are key to Khitan societal structure and Khitan political dominance in the region.