All colors can be divided into two classes: dark (bema) and light (ka'ino). Those words can also be used as synonyms for black and white. All bema colors that are not black are keeka. Ka'ino colors that are not white are either omi or efe.
The basic color system covers most of the important differences in color (aka ritual importance, women's/men's clothing differences ecs.), but some colors are very specific. You can think of these in the same vain as 'turquoise'.
Fyme and emi are both dyes extracted from water-dwelling invertebrates, and are highly priced trade-goods.
Baadi (lit. wattle tree) is another staple dye.
Beko is a dye color derived from many indigo species, though no plant is actually called this in modern day.
Akefaba (lit. copper colored) is a wide term that carries temperature connotations as well, but mostly refers to a variety of paler browns and oranges.
Fowaaki is an animal coloration specific term, similar to bay or russet.
Aekani omi is the red of the waterstar flower, though any dye made of it does not retain the iconic hue.
Bawa is a very close equivelant to 'leaf green'.
Aeadyaa is most often recognised as a desturated purple-green gradient, though it is considered the single color of a slugroot's leaf.
Various feminine cloth patterns. The top row features waterstar and slugroot inspired patterns, the bottom row has repeating cat and cow motifs as well as a cute scene of a cat brooding an egg.
In a society where gender is entirely performative, a person's sexuality is by necessity outside the strict definitions of our modern society. Gemaani have no link between sex assigned at birth and societal gender. However, people generally consider themselves as being attracted to masculinity, femininity, both or neither. It may affect their decision on how they present their gender, but not always.
Being attracted to a specific sex is seen more as a fetish and a little weird to build your life or identity around.
Men having sex with men fits into the societal norm and isn’t considered weird in any way. As men will move into the household of their wives, they have to find ways of coexisting peacefully among a pair or possibly a group of other men. Sex is seen as a perfectly valid way to build and strengthen this bond and maintain a healthy and happy family unit.
There is also an undercurrent of fetishisation, where young men especially will advertise themselves together, so to say, to prospective brides. It’d make sense for these women to pick “amiable” husbands, so wealthy women or sisters can pick up pairs of husbands at a time.
Gayness not linked to courting, or gayness outside your married household is seen as a little childish, for a lack of a better word. Something that you do as a teenager or unwed youth, but not as a respectable, settled man. A man should, at some point in his life, be married into a household, which means having at least one woman as a wife. Best case scenario for a gay person, this doesn’t actually involve much intimacy (if the woman already has a lot of husbands/the marriage is entirely political). The man, even without having sex with his wife, is considered the father of her children and they will inherit his cattle wealth upon marrying out or upon his death.
Lesbianism (to contrast from gayness) is regarded with some social stigma. There is a hint of incest in the idea of sleeping in the bed of another woman (as women belonging to the same household are more often than not related), even if it happens outside marriage.
If two young women are found to be flirting excessively with each other, their families will usually settle to have one of them become the other's husband. However, this can sometimes cause a lot of friction between the families, as the family of the husband has to give up part of their cattle wealth as a dowry. Two older (and already married) women carrying on an affair with each other is seen as morally incorrect to the point of taboo. As turning one into the other's husband would cause all of her already existing husbands to also transfer over as co-husbands, it is often a legal clusterfuck and a social disgrace.
Of course, this also means there's a counterculture movement that advocates for the validity of relationships that exclude men entirely. At time of present, it is all the rage among young married women in urban centers where households of different families butt up against each other and there's plenty of third locations for unrelated people to congregate in. 9/10 grandmothers disapprove!
The akefabateta or 'fieldcat' (lit. fire-colored cat), which is the name-animal of the current King. They are often just called teta (cat), as they are the kind of cat people are most familiar with. They are welcome at farms to control pests, but aren't domesticated in the true sense. They are liked and considered good luck culturally by the Gemani.
The other is the foawoyaa or 'panther' (lit. the one that captures). They live away from human habitation, but occasionally may visit farms to raid paddocks for livestock. Though they can't fly, their powerful build and huge claws can carry off even an adult cow. They are feared and respected and often the target of hunters seeking to prove themselves.
Gender-roles among Gemaani are feminine and masculine, and take heavy precedence over sex assigned at birth.
A person performing a feminine role, a woman: 'wane', or more formally 'ha btaga damo' (lit. the one from among (their) family). The latter is to be used in context of courting and ritualistic roles, and communicates a certain level of respect. The former is much more casual and a homonym with the word for 'servant' or 'laborer'.
An unmarried person performing a masculine role, a teenage boy: 'nemaati' (lit. dancer)
A married person performing a masculine role, a man: 'b'edawane' (lit. man of vibrant colors)
Marriage roles are the second most important gender-adjacent determiner in a Gemaani person's life. Women are expected to live with their family for their whole lives, whereas men who are married to those women move from their family-homes to their new marriage-homes.
Wife: 'titooaamati' (lit. the connection). The or one of the people who connect a husband to their marriage-home. It is considered highly unusual for a wife to take a masculine role, as part of masculinity is detaching yourself from your birth-home. However, there have been cases of wife-husband couples leaving their family to become co-husbands married to a third family.
Husband: 'timaati'. The word is completely unrelated to the gender-presentation or sex of the person involved, but generally communicates that they have married into the family they currently live with. Can be used interchangeably with 'b'edawane' for married men.
The male-female biological split is less important socially, only coming into play in certain rituals and in matchmaking. It could be considered a little like someone's horoscope. Having a equal numbers of both sexes in the family is considered to be adhering to the virtue of balance.
Female: 'waa'anoowane' (lit. one who is cut)
Male: 'waakiwane' (lit. one with a purse)
Being a child is considered a genderless state (all children have she/her pronouns), from which people mature into women first, then (optionally) into men. Their sex is usually not revealed to people outside the family before they start courting a marriage partner, as it is seen as trivial.
i just wanted to say i love your worldbuilding project. birdworld is such a fun idea and the posts youve made so far are really interesting and well crafted C: keep up the good work!!!
Thank you so much!! It's been something I really enjoy and I look forward to getting back to it as soon as I can some free time again!
Slug's root or, a little more appetizingly, water-root, is a shrub that grows on the edges of ponds or in shallow agricultural pools. It can be eaten as-is, but most people process it by chopping and then frying, steaming or fermenting it. It often represents the masculine energy in art or folk-tales.
Waterstar, the other one is the second-most common source of carbohydrates in the Gemāni diet. It grows in slightly deeper water and spreads a thick, sprawling root-system that can be dug up as the agricultural pools are drained. As Slug's root is seen as masculine, Waterstar is seen as representing feminine energy.
Bumblebee wattle, used as medicine to soothe stomach-issues and yellow dye. It grows at higher elevations of the Gemāni kingdom and the year's harvest is dried and transported down along the many rivers that run the course of the kingdom.
King's indigo, a plant cultivated on a large scale to produce a deep blue-purple dye. The name references the dye itself being historically restricted for the clothing of upper-class men, but nowadays the separation is no longer enforced by law.
Owl-foot, a tree that is widely considered both beautiful and useful. The flowers and unripe fruit can be collected, ground and smoked for a pleasant energizing effect. The bark of the tree can be used as medicine to treat unwanted pregnancy or for intestinal parasite infections. It's effects are quite harsh but effective.
And finally, martyr's wound on the bottom right. A perennial flower that grows waist-high, often used in brewing a medicine for pain-relief and to fight infection. A more concentrated form can be recreational, but the use is not as widespread as that of owl-foot. In famine-years, the use of this drug can explode, as it decreases the feeling of hunger.
One of the Gemāni holy animals, the protector of the heavenly wellspring and enemy of venomous serpents.
They can often be spotted wading in fields in search of prey (mostly snakes, mollusks and crustaceans) and get along with most domestic animals. Because of their status as holy and their black-and-white coloration, they are considered unclean for people to eat, and those that try find that they taste quite bad anyway. Bothering them at their nests is strictly forbidden by both law and custom, as it's believed to cause any nearby wells to sour.
The Gemāni don't consider writing to be an appropriate way to keep track of the many stories they pass from generation to generation via oral storytelling. That is not to say they don't depict the events of their stories in painting, weaving and other forms, far from it! Most family homes are full of these works of art, which the older generations recount many times over to the younger. Each house itself has a lineage of stories, passed down through the line of women who live there. The versions between households can vary wildly, though the pictured motifs stay roughly similar through reference from public works.
There is a very popular myth, originally told by the farmer families of the eastern areas, that then migrated into the larger cities and more affluent merchant families. It's changed a lot on the way, of course, and there is particular disagreement on the identity of the 'God of the Waters' character's identity. Some recognize it as an older, eastern sea god trying to reunite with it's lover, a pond goddess. Others argue it's more likely that it actually is the reflection of the sun or moon god, the maintainer of balance, that is aware of the incomplete state of cosmic order. The mountain's name is also often debated, ranging from the tallest to the one with caves filled with fresh water.
Even the two main characters are ambiguous. Taae, the Snail Woman, and Begekagowaa, the giant ibis, the guardian against creeping danger. Both show morally good, rewardable behavior (diligence, fulfillment of duty to their people), but also commit actions for which punishment is the logical consequence (laziness, pride, stealing).
The tale is popular with many thanks to its many possible readings, and pictures of snails and giant ibises often appear on wells, public fountains and water pitchers.
~~
The story begins like this: A grandmother and grandchild sit on a terrace in the light of the afternoon sun, preparing roots for dinner, peeling them and washing them in a bowl of water. The child, their mind wandering off the task, asks their grandmother how come animals are so different from people. The grandmother, seizing on the opportunity to educate, tell them that they did not used to be quite so different, until Taae sought to make them more like the gods.
In the beginning, after the creation, there was the Land and the Sea. The humans would travel over the land and eat the plentiful fish of the sea, but they did not have fresh water to drink. They would lick dew off of leaves to survive, but they never had enough to sate their thirst.
One day, a girl named Taae was licking the morning dew off of the plants by the water’s edge.
In her reflection, Taae saw the God of the Waters. It was weeping, knowing the balance of the world was unjust, as the salty seas and mashes had no companion or counterpart in the fresh. In its unhappiness, it told her where the gods’ secret pitchers were hidden inside the great mountain. The gods would come down from the heavens and all drink until they had had their fill, and the pitchers were the reason they did not bend towards the ground when they ate and drank, like the animals did. If the pitchers could be freed, there would come balance in the world. So, Taae set out in search of the pitchers to sate her people’s thirst.
For a long time she traveled, climbing up the slopes of the great mountain. When she reached the top she met the guardian set there by the gods, Begekagowaa the pincer-bill, the watchful, the enemy of all creeping things.
Now, Begekagowaa had grown very bored, standing up on the high peaks by himself. He did not send Taae away, especially not after she began to tell him of her travels. She had a way with words, an ability to make them stretch and meander slow as clouds in the sky. Of every little thing she'd seen she spoke a night and a day, until the Watchman was lulled to sleep.
After Begekagowaa's head was covered by his great wing, Taae dug down into the earth and uncovered the two pitchers. They were of great size and overflowing with fresh, sweet water, just as the God of the Waters had said. She reached down and lifted them onto her shoulders to carry down to her people. As she struggled to keep her balance under the great weight, some of the water spilled out and flowed down the mountain ahead of her, creating many brooks and streams.
Her going was slow and her steps were weighed down by the pitchers. As she finally sighted her people, still by the shore licking leaves, she started congratulating herself loudly. What a boon she’d brought to them, how they would all soon praise her for her long journey. So great was the volume of her words that they carried all the way up to Begekagowaa, the guardian of the pitchers, and awoke him from his sleep. Enraged, he raced down from the mountaintop to steal back the sweet water from Taae’s hands.
Taae heard him coming and, with alarm, managed to bury one of the pitchers in the ground to hide it from him and keep it safe. However, as she was burying the second, Begekagowaa’s talons came upon her. Her people rushed out to help her, but the great guardian had already taken both her and the remaining pitcher into the sky.
When faced with the judgment of the gods whose pitchers she had stolen, Taae pleaded for her life to be spared. In truth the gods had grown tired of lifting the great pitchers to their lips, and they marveled at Taae's great strength. One of them suggested they keep the girl as their cupbearer, letting her keep her life but only in service to those she’d wronged. Taae accepted this judgement, and from then on, she lifted the remaining great pitcher above her head and poured the gods sweet water to drink.
However, on days when the gods were quenched and inattentive from feasting, she poured the water down from the sky for her people and their animals and crops.
Thus is the river’s origin at the tops of mountains, from which they creep along winding trails down to the sea. And the people know to dig wells, and sacrifice fragrant wine and meats to receive the rains.
From the terrace, the grandmother points out to the edge of the field, where a tall bird wades with its beak in the muddy water. Look there, she says, there goes old Begekagowaa now, searching for the lost pitcher and setting on Taae's children whenever he finds them, so they might never trick him again.
Various common cow colors and activities in the Gemāni Kingdom.
Solid Gold: As a combination of two recessive traits, this color usually only appears in diligently herded cattle, as a result of selective breeding. They are considered by some to be the most beautiful color variant, and are kept for aesthetic value by the wealthy.
Gold Pied: Somewhat rare, considered as one of the least valuable patterns. If poor families own cattle, it is likely the majority of the flock is pied. Some people think their meat retains the splotchy coloration, making it look spoiled and thus less desirable.
Solid White: Most common color variant in the Kingdom, generally seen as mild-tempered and good milk-producers. However, they often make for bad parents, getting up from their nests too early or being careless when incubating, ending up trampling their own young. As a result, most farmers collect and hand-raise eggs, resulting in calm and human-friendly cows.
Wildtype Speckled: While speckled itself is a fairly common patterning, the wildtype colors are hardly ever seen outside places where domestic and wild populations interbreed. They are considered to be violent and problematic to tend, as they are likely to attack people while defending their offspring. Given this reputation, this color variant is outright banned in the larger cities, and getting permits to herd flocks through popular canals can be a nightmare.
A huge staple in the Gemāni diet and culture are their cattle. These 'cows' are large waterbirds, easily holding their heads at level with a man's. They've been selectively bred from the local wild ancestors, inspired by similar domestication elsewhere on the continent.
Gemāni cows come in a few different colors, pictured here is the most common variation. The pure white color is associated with good milk-yield and a pleasant temperament. They feed on aquatic plants, but their soft bills cannot do damage to the tough 'snail roots' that many people make into a nutritious and sustaining fufu-like food. Thus, they are often allowed into the ponds where it is grown, to weed and fertilize the bottom.
They are harvested for their meat, which while not as fatty as certain other domesticated animals', is considered valuable and a rare treat for the poorer classes.
However, by far the most important thing cows provide is milk!
The Gemāni cow, like its relatives produces crop milk in the upper parts of of its digestive tract that it uses to feed its young. In ancient times, people used to hunt them to obtain this nutritious liquid, but that put severe strain on the populations of cows all over the continent. After domestication, however, the cows have been bred to produce an excess whenever they are brooding offspring or human-made egg-substitutes. Farmers use a pair of wooden clackers to encourage the cows to give up the extra milk (some legendary cow breeders can even do it bare-handed). It can then be used as a high-fat high-protein addition to soups or sauces, or be made into cheese to preserve it.
Cow cheese is highly popular and is considered the common man's delicacy! It can be mixed with herbs, baked, fried in fat, the methods are endless. It is often exported from the Kingdom, as foreigners seem to also prize it for its unique flavor.
Some pak-pak sketches. The fella on the right there is a trader who specializes in bartering with humans. Note their stylish feather crest and mustache, reminiscent of human head-fur.
He's saying:
"Na̰hna̰h macnaccáqmac mǎr. Ná• na̰cma̰nnacma̰n n'a̰mn^ ǎqqǎ hà•nac? •ã cá ra•."
Literally translated: "Pelts (amount) is twelve. You have grains that have been roasted? I like those."
Our tradesman here is a savvy one from the Southern parts of their lands. They're using language that is intentionally vague and full of implication the other party needs to decipher to get the best deal possible. They are not suggesting if they have 12 full sized pelts (ana̰hna̰h) or 12 small pieces of pelt (a̰n'na̰hna̰h). They're also not saying if the toasted grains are a payment or just something nice he'd like to have while they barter.
Other Southern pak-pak (or people used to trading with them) would respond with an elaborate song-and-dance of how their pelts are probably not even that good, small and rotten. They would much rather keep their delicious wheat to themselves to trade later.
Then the tradesman would reply how lovely and big and golden brown their pelts actually are, and how the wheat looks small grained and tough anyway.
Then, after thus bargaining down the prices, both parties agree to a deal that's fair, but seems like both are doing a favour for each other.
Most Gemāni get very uncomfortable with this, fast. In their customs, belittling the other man's merchandise is very rude, especially if you're not good friends already.
Pak-pak thus tend to scam the hell out of Gemāni by their metric. However, to the Gemāni, what the pak-pak offer are luxury items and are worth paying for, so they don't tend to get too mad about all that.
Humans are not alone on the continent that includes the Gemāni territories. To the immediate North, there are vast temperate forests and scrublands where occationally warring polities of 'pak-pak' live and conduct business.
("Pak-pak" is an exonym for the species by humans, derived from their manner of articulating speech. They, of course, prefer to identify with a wide litany of their own languages' definitions. In this case I will use pak-pak to refer to the group of three cultures that are the neighbors of the Gemāni. If I feel the need to specify the whole species, their scientific name will be Sapioavus huginn.)
King of the Gemāni: Wakafaoo Akefabateta Kbawa (Keb for short)
The King of the Gemāni is, at least in theory, supposed to be the best businessman in the nation. Originally, in the mythic past, they voted for their king from among the aristocracy, but a series of charismatic but foolish picks culminated in a coup by a prominent merchant family. Keb and all kings in the last 300 years claim lineage from this bloodline.
Keb himself is considered a good and just King. Some of his more famous accomplishments are public works, investing in the growth of the outer cities and the opening of trade routes to the North after years of unease. Still, there are people who say he's a bit too pampered to be considered a well-established ruler, citing his touch immature way of openly flirting with other men.
Land wealth is, put simply, all the assets that are directly tied to the property the family inhabits. This can be land, buildings, crops (still growing), fruit trees, fences and heavy furniture.
Land ownership and land wealth is passed down in the maternal line. All children of a mother have claim, until they cement their status as men and become husbands in another family. At that point, they and their children will be living with their wives' families, and they have no claim over their birth family's land.
Cattle wealth consists of not only livestock, but all goods that are able to be transported from one location to another with relative ease (this wording has lead to many lawsuits in the past). Included in most cases are: livestock, jewelry, clothing, trade goods and indentured servants.
These goods are apportioned to every man leaving their home to become a husband to take with them, as well as any children they may have afterwards. Women are expected to combine theirs with their husband's when they get married, and give the whole to him to manage. Unwed daughters, however, retain equal control of their father's cattle wealth as their brothers.
Crucially, most business monetary transactions are conducted by men, as they have final say over things that can easily be removed from the property. Any party assuming the role of a man can therefore conduct business on behalf of their family. However! As buildings are the property of women, any family member assuming the role of a woman can also veto a business transaction by siting the ownership of the storehouse door. In such a case, opening it without permission would be seen as unlawful entry if not theft.
If two parties within the family disagree on matters of tending property, they can take the matter to court (not often encouraged and seen as escalating things) or settle the dispute in front of the matriarch of the family, who will have final say. This power is based on her ancestral control of the property, from which she could, if she really wanted to, evict any member of her family. Getting thrown out like this would be a great shame on the individual, as well as seriously hampering their ability to make a living or retain legal rights.
Modern trends in clothing on the streets of the Gemāni capital.
The climate along the entire country is hot and humid, and to deal with that, most clothing is very airy and breathable. Men's* fashion consists of large quantities of fabric, dyed extravagant colors and patterned with limited geometric themes. An emphasis on the waist is seen as very attractive, as is variation in texture. Many men achieve this effect by layering one long cut of accent fabric over a sleeker, more form fitting ensemble.
Women's* clothing is less often dyed, consisting of one or two simple cuts of fabric arranged and pinned practically. Red is considered exceedingly feminine, and features as the most prominent accent color. To contrast the somewhat monotonous colors scheme, these clothes are often embroidered with complex plant- or animal patterns. The more detailed the design, the more coveted the clothes. Exposed breasts are not seen as improper, but generally denote a lower class of woman (the general implication being you cannot afford enough cloth for a full body outfit, though that may not be the case).
(More on fashion-movements, subcultures and occupational clothing later.)
Briefly on men* and women*:
Gemāni culture has binary and somewhat rigid gender roles, but they are enforced in the order of: role performed -> role assigned. So if a person of any sex or sexuality wears bright, colorful clothing, they are seen not only as acting masculine, but as being a man. Thus, Gemāni society consists at an extreme majority of people who switch genders based on social or calendar context. It is especially common for all members of a household doing manual labor to be women, until the appointed festival season begins and physical labor is put aside in favor of rituals and spirituality.
'Year-men' are a subclass of man who remain in their fancy-dress year-round. They are considered desirable but highly costly in upkeep by most, and families with multiple year-men are always affluent in their communities.
In a world of bipeds, only a select few are featherless.
This is a worldbuilding blog for Birdworld a planet where evolution took a slightly wonky trajectory and landed humans in a world of birds. The human spirit perseveres, though! On our focus-continent, the Gemāni people are enjoying a period of prosperity and rounding the corner towards iron age. They've domesticated many animals, built large stone palaces and temples, and established far-reaching trade-routes. I'll mostly be looking at them and their neighbors' cultural practices and relationships, as well as a couple of select individuals.
For fun!
