Culture Thread

>The Jats are divided into 12 chief clans and about 230 minor gotras. Though the origin of the Jat tribe is shrouded in mystery, but the Jats betray tribal traits. Agriculture has always been the main occupation of the Jats, but they also form the bulk of the military and the police. The Jats are brave and hardworking who possess both the desire and ability to rule. Many Jats were recruited into the Indian Army during World War I. Before that, they served as fighters in the Persian army. The Jats form the largest ethnic groups in the army.

>The Jats occupy their own niche in the mosaic of stereotypes in the Indian consciousness, and the stereotype can turn out to be startlingly alive: a marshal race, patriarchal, brawny, artless, proud, phlegmatic, blunt, impetuous, fight-ready. The Jat reputation for aggression comes from a frustration that other people are unwilling to listen to the truth.

>Historian Irfan Habib once quoted Huein Tsang’s 7th century account of encountering what Habib speculates were the Jats, where Tsang says these people “have no masters” and mentions their “unfeeling temper” and “hasty disposition”. These stereotypes have lent to many sayings about them:
>(One can't be sure a Jat's dead until the fourth day).
>(The elephant is just a large donkey to a Jat)

Exactly my point, should have specified as Ango Saxon/Nordic

I try to keep in mind that people are people everywhere and extreme difference in culture are largely only a thing on paper or as a result of exoticism.

That said, this is really interesting stuff.

>largely only a thing on paper or as a result of exoticism
Hmm. Could you elaborate?

>When all the guests have gathered at the bride’s village, the Tuareg ritual called Tendi begins. Seated in a small circle, women chant songs on the pursuit of love, while clapping, ululating, and beating the Tendi drum. The men mount their camels & circle around the singers. Proud of their fierce warrior heritage, Tuareg men from Niger like nothing more than to show off their handsomeness & that of their animals.

>The Tuareg are best known for the men's practice of veiling their faces with a blue cloth dyed with indigo. Early travelers' accounts often referred to them as the "Blue Men" of the Sahara Desert, the region where many Tuareg live. It is believed that the Tuareg are descendants of the North African Berbers, and that they originated in the Fezzan region of Libya. They later expanded into regions bordering the Sahara, bringing local farming peoples into their own society.

I mean, partly superficial differences in culture exist. Different ceremonies, foods, and games. But stuff like leaves me kinda incredulous. Not to say the Pashtun aren't a little more welcoming than most peoples, but I highly doubt it's as extreme as those quotes make it seem. In war time, they almost certainly wouldn't harbour active fighters for their enemies cause.

There's a reason stuff like the Art of War is still applicable thousands of years later and all around the world. People behave the same in most places.

You'd be surprised. Look up Albanian blood feuds.

>Unlike women in many other Islamic societies, most Tuareg women do not wear veils in public. They may also independently inherit property and begin the process leading to a divorce.

>Tuareg men begin to wear a veil over the face at approximately eighteen years of age. This signifies that they are adults and are ready to marry. The first veiling is performed in a special ritual by a marabout. He recites verses from the Koran as he wraps the veil around the young man's head.

>The veil that Tuareg men wear on their faces has several meanings. It is, first of all, a symbol of male identity. It is also thought to protect the wearer from evil spirits. In addition, it is considered an attractive adornment and can be worn in various styles. The face veil is worn differently in different social situations. It is worn highest (covering the nose and mouth) to express respect in the presence of chiefs, older persons, and in-laws.

>Bedouins, as nomads, do not have the concept of incarceration. Petty crimes, and some major ones, are typically settled by fines, and grievous crimes by corporal or capital punishment. Bedouin tribes are typically held responsible for the action of their members; if the accused fails to pay a fine, the accused's tribe is expected to pay and becomes obligated to the tribe.

>A widely-quoted Bedouin saying is: I against my brothers, I and my brothers against my cousins, I and my brothers and my cousins against the world

>Protocols regarding blood feuds often override court decisions and may vary from tribe to tribe Punishment for murder is harsher than punishment meted out to acts of disturbing the assahiya (tribal solidarity), and is usually capital punishment, but in some tribes a blood vengeance fee may be extracted instead. The general governing principle is that of Dum butlab dum ("blood begets blood"), which may be compared to the lex talionis. In many tribes, the first five levels of male cousins (Khamsa) are obligated to seek out and kill the murderer. If not found, another male member of the murderer's tribe would have to die in the retaliatory killing.

>Hospitality (diyafa) is the highest Bedouin virtue. Any stranger can approach a tent and be sure of three days board, lodging and protection after which he may leave in peace. A complex code of manners regulates this and all other relationships.

>The main ritual of Bedouin hospitality is the preparation of coffee. Coffee making is an art, and Beduin women (and men) are proud of their skill in it.

>Bedouin will offer their guests a rich meal, even if they have to slaughter their last sheep, or borrow from their neighbours to do it. Their honour is bound to their hospitality and lavish generosity.

>The Bedouin people are bound by a strict code of honour. This is the central focus to their society and dictates all law and custom within the tribes. Honour is gained through heroic deeds. Due to the harshness of the desert, good grazing and watering grounds were strictly protected by those who were able to maintain their hold on the land. This usually meant that different tribes were raided because of this need for resources. However, the Bedouin’s strict code of honour made him bound to protect the women and children, and ensure that they had enough food and transport to survive.

>It is said that the Western Worlds ideals of chivalry and honour were bought back from the knights of the Crusades, who admired the Bedouin code of honour and adapted it to their own code of ethics.

>The Bedouin are true nomads, meaning that they move horizontally from one district to another in search of pasture (another form of nomadism, transhumance, is practiced in mountain areas by Kurds, Berbers and others who move from lower to higher altitudes in the different seasons).

>During their winter and spring migrations some Bedouin tribes travel 4000 km and more. The camel owning tribes travel the greatest distances, the sheep and goat herders are limited by the sheep who need water frequently. Camels can go seven to ten days without water, sheep four, cattle only two.

There's overall themes which are constant in all cultures, but you are certainly wrong that cultures don't give different ways of thinking. As someone who grew up in two different cultures, I'd say the main part of a culture is the non-superficial stuff, like mindset, values, etc.

Nah. I'd rather not play a game where you beat the shit out of unmarried couples for standing too close to each other.

>The Camel breeders are regarded as the noblest tribes. They occupy huge territories, travel great distances, and are organised in large tribes and tribal confederations in the Sahara, Syrian and Arabian deserts. Lower in rank are the sheep and goat breeders who stay mainly near the cultivated regions of Jordan, Israel, Syria and Iraq. Cattle breeding Bedouins are found mainly in South Arabia and in the Sudan. The Marsh Bedouin are a unique group adapted to life in the swamps of southern Iraq where they herd water buffaloes.

>The camel enables the Bedouin to move far away from water sources (it can drink 150 litres and then go for ten days without further watering). Bedouins can survive for months on its milk and if necessary slaughter it for meat. It also provides hair for tent cloth and clothes, fuel (dung), transportation (it can carry up to 180 kg) and power for drawing water or for ploughing.

>Camels were obviously the Bedouin's best investment and trading commodity. They are called "God's gift", and the Bedouin will cater to their need before taking care of their own. The best breeds of the one-humped Arabian camel were bred in Oman.

>infected with Christian morality
Kill yourself, Christian morality may not be perfect, but it's about as good as it gets.
Arabs are fucking shit.

> it's about as good as it gets
No. Anyway, my point was that there can be a different morality system which makes players think in new and interesting ways about characters and the world, that doesn't mean that I consider one to be better than the other.

>Gurkhas are closely associated with the Khukuri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife and have a well known reputation for their fearless military prowess. The former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, once stated that "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha."

He's not saying its bad, is he? AFAICT he's just saying that he wants to flesh out cultures not based on that. Do you just ignore non-christian cultures in a historical game? lmao.

Also, there are christian arabs m8.

How do they eat? Do they have a diet strictly based on dairy (and possibly fallen fruit) or what?

If you think about it, most of the fantasy settings people write stem from the fact that the first few were based in, yes you guessed it, Europe.

To truly innovate and create a new setting would take more work than most are willing to put into their setting, and having parts familiar to their audience helps their appeal. So unless you've got something established, going outside the norm is a risk.

That being said, there's a lot of untapped lore out in Arabia and Central Asia for making fictional civilizations and such, but it doesn't help that such cultures aren't, how shall I say it... well received at this time. When they are used and done well, it always seems like a mystical adventure for the players, as the go into the unknown.

I'll take how to spot stupid Americans for 100

Agricultural produce and dairy

> Bedouin have a love of freedom and not being tied down. Explaining the appeal of the nomadic life, one Bedouin nomad told National Geographic: You are free. You have a relationship only with your animals. The only relationship more important is with Allah. Calmness and patience are valued traits in the desert. Bedouin submission to fate has been a cornerstone of the Muslim faith. The Bedouin term "green hearted" describes the act of being lighthearted and unconcerned about mundane matters and preferring adventure and danger.

> National Geographic photographer Reza said, I have been shooting pictures for 35 years and have traveled in 107 different countries, but nowhere have I enjoyed greater warmth that I experience among the Bedouin. Exhausted after a long day driving...youd approach a tent, and suddenly someone would appear with a coffee and a beautiful carpet to sit onyet theyd never ask you who you were or where youre from. I sometimes wonder if the rest of us have forgotten such values.

>Bishnois
they can still farm, and eat stuff like lentils for protein.

>Bedouin
>You have a relationship only with your animals.
ayyyyy

You can literally make tons of settings in just India because of how crazy diverse the place is. I went backpacking there and the cultures and languages change from state to state. You have deserts, mountains, plains and coastal communities.

Plus they have been in contact with almost all the civilizations of the world including Chinese, Greek, African, Roman and South east Asia. India is really an underrated setting

> Bedouins are expected boil their last rice and kill their last sheep for feed a stranger. Whenever an animal is slaughtered for a guest it is ritually sacrificed in accordance with Islamic law. It is customary in some Bedouin tribes for a host to smear blood from a slaughtered animal onto of the mounth of his guest in a show of hospitality.

>Hospitality is regarded as an honor and a scared duty. Visitors who happen by are usually invited to sit and share a cup of thick, gritty coffee. Guest are ritually absorbed into the household by the host. If a conflict occurs the host is expected to defend the guest as if he were a member of his family. One Bedouin told National Geographic, "Even if my enemy appears at this tent, I am bound to feast him and protect him with my life

Which places did you go to?

What are your impressions of the Indian people?

> Some Bedouins families are quite large. "We have many children," a Bedouin told journalist Harvey Ardent, "I myself have 17 by my two wives. What else can you do in the desert?"

The degree of contact is pretty variable. South East Asia was basically an extension of Indic society while the others you mention are more or less just expected for a nation with trade connections in the area.

Also yes languages do change, so do cultures, but their histories are very much tied to the nearby states. As in, you can't have a medieval England without France. So idk if 'tons of settings' is really true.
t. Indian

>What else can you do in the desert?
Heh

I traveled the whole length and breadth of the country with the exception of a few states because of a bad experience in one of them.

>I started my trip in the northern most part of the region and went all the way down. My first week was in Ladakh, it's in Jammu & Kashmir, the northern most state of India and shares a lot of common culture with Tibet. It's one of the most serene places on the planet with huge expanses of mountains and cold empty plains, dotted with Buddhist monasteries. You do need permits to visit certain places as an international tourist so i skipped a few places but overall its 8/10.

>Rest Jammu and Kashmir didnt really spend much time here. But some of the regions are very beautiful

>New Delhi and the surrounding area the capital and meme center of India. There are lots of historical monuments and their architecture and design is breath taking,most of them are Mughal built so if you are expecting large temples then you should visit South India. Apart from the historical buildings there is nothing much to see here and really hated the people in this city. You will be hounded by shopkeepers and beggars( a common occurrence across India but the ones in Delhi are literally the worst). 5/10 wouldnt visit if it weren't for the buildings

Will continue if you guys are interested dont want to derail the thread too much. I'll post pics when i get home, don't have any right now

Are Indians the same all over, or did you notice a difference in attitude? What were the people of Kashmir like? Those guys are trying to separate from India for decades now.

How many days did you spend in Ladakh?

>As is true with all Arabs, Bedouins live in patrilineal societies. Most are members of large patrilineal descent groups, which are linked by agnation to larger lineage groups, tribes and even confederations of tribes. Bedouins frequently name more than five generations of patrilineal ancestors and conceptualize relations among descent groups in terms of a segmentary genealogical model, with each group nested in a larger patrilineal group. Within this structure is a framework for forging marriage alliances, and settling disputes and administering justice.

> Bedouins have nasty blood feuds that sometimes end in murder. Describing a revenge killing in southern Arabia in 1946, Wilfred Thesiger wrote: "Bin Mautlauq spoke of the raid in which young Sahail was killed. He and fourteen companions had surprised a small herd of Saar camels. The herdsmen had fired two shots at them before escaping, on the fastest of his camels, and one of these shots hit Sihail in the chest. Bakhit held his dying son in his arms as they rode across the plain with the seven captured camels. It was late in the morning when Sahail was wounded, and he lived till nearly sunset, begging for water which they had no t got." "

>Are Indians the same all over, or did you notice a difference in attitude?
Think if it like Europe. They share a common culture but the people do change from region to region. The north and central parts the people are more well raw for the lack of a better word whereas the ones in the south and north east are milder. It's really hard to explain what Indians are like, so ill use the word Indianess. The people in the region have an indianess to them

>What were the people of Kashmir like?
Decent blokes

>Those guys are trying to separate from India for decades now.
I actually had a conversation with a guy in ladakh about this and the gist of it is that only the people in the valley region(majority Muslim) want to separate whereas the others don't want to especially the ladakhis(?) because they know they'll get fc=ucked over by China and Pakistan if that happens.

How many days did you spend in Ladakh, where did you stay?

> "They rode all night to a small Saar encampment under a tree in a shallow valley. A woman was churning butter in a skin, and a boy and girl were milking the goats. Some small children sat under a tree. The boy saw them first and tried to escape but they corned him against a low cliff. He was about fourteen years old, a little younger than Sahail, and unarmed. When they surrounded him he put his thumbs in his mouth as a sign of surrender, and asked for mercy. No one answered him."

>Bakhit slipped own off his camel, drew his dagger, and drove it into the boy's ribs. The boy collapsed at his feet, moaning, 'Oh, my father! Oh, my father!' and Bakhit stood over him till he died. He then climbed back into his saddle, his grief a little soothed by the murder...The small, long-haired figure, in white loincloth, crumpled on the ground, the spreading pool of blood, the avid clustering flies, the frantic wailing of the dark-clad women, the terrified children, the shrill incessant screaming of a small baby."

Have a Yemeni witch.

Have another.

As far as I'm aware this is the standard dress for women shepherds in rural Yemen.

>Explaining the appeal of the nomadic life, one Bedouin nomad told National Geographic: You are free. You have a relationship only with your animals. The only relationship more important is with Allah. Otherwise it is a tough life. T.E. Lawrence once wrote that nomadism was the most deeply biting of all social disciplines...a life too hard for all but the strongest and most determined.

>Bedouins often travel at night because it easier navigate under the stars People looking for Bedouins sometimes have to spend several weeks to locate them wandering in the desert. "For us the desert is neither fearsome nor mysterious," a Bedouin desert policeman told Abercrombie. "It is home. We know the barren hills, each bitter stretch between wells. We understand its signs and its people.

>what else can you do in the desert
ayy

>I'll take how to spot stupid Americans for 100

You've got a point, but this kind of xenophobia can be applied to most countries in Europe and the Anglosphere. Hell, the Aussies and Britbongs have rhetoric that is indistinguishable from shit you see in the States.

We're not even that bad about it relatively speaking. I don't know why we always get singled out whenever someone wants to bitch about literally any problem in the modern West.

That's probably because nobody gives much of a shit about these cultures.

> With water in short supply, Bedouins do't take many baths. Before prayers they often wash with sand rather than scarce water. Bedouins wash their hair with powdered leaves of the sidr tree, a thorny fruit tree also know as Christ's thorn because it believed to have been used to make Christ's crown of thorns. The leaves are dried and pounded and mixed with water to make a lather.

Sorry was doing some coding. Anywho... I was staying in The grand dragon hotel and the last few days in Sarahi in Ladakh and hired a guide through the hotels for trekking and other stuff, I was there for about 3 weeks ( I think this was the longest time i spent in any single place).

ALso for aussies pls make sure you extend your visa if you are staying for a long period of time as it can be a huge headache later on.

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For the dark serpent!

>The Maasai live in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya & Tanzania. Maasai men move from one stage of life to another with elaborate ceremonies marking each passage. The ritual cycle extends over more than 25 years, beginning with circumcision.

Those beautiful people and their unsullied tribal values. If only western "civilization" (sic) could return to those innocent ways.

The reason why Hitler is so reviled and hated in the West is because he did to the white man what until then had only been reserved for the niggers, the muslims and the natives.

You're completely right.For all the Jews were hated, they still had a 'whiteness' about them that made the genocide shocking in a way starving Africans and butchered Chinese did not.

Yeah. That's also probably why literally no one cares about the 2.5 million gypsies killed in the Porajmos.

>The most demanding test that a Maasai warrior can face is the stalking & killing of a lion. Tradition dictates that at least once during his waarriorhood he must take on this formidable challenge armed with only his wits & a spear. Should he be successful, he will fashion the animal’s mane into a headdress & wear it on ceremonial occasions.

>A Rashaida wedding guest from Eritrea arrives on camelback accompanied by his three wives. Rashaida wedding rites take place over a period of up to 7 days in a lrage tent decorated by the bride during the days before the wedding. Festivities begin with the slaughter of a camel by the groom, and continue with feasting, dancing, & camel racing to entertain the guests.

That pic just makes me sad to look at

>The long narrow tunics worn by Wodaabe dancers from Niger have been elaborately embroidered by female relatives: each design has a name & tells a story. The men also wear leather talismans containing both writings from the Koran for protection from evil spirits, and secret herbal potions to increase the power of their performance.

I would blame it on there just not being a whole lot of fantasy media starring these cultures. Bwetween movies, games, books, etc western fantasy is a huge media and marketing empire and has been for a long time. No one really writes a whole lot about various near eastern cultures or makes to many movies about them except their being bomb wielding mooks for the action hero to kill.

Same thing with China and Japan churning out tons of mass market media glorifying their mythogized past with so much fantasy stuff added in.

Middle Eastern countries don't do that, and neither does anyone else much at all outside the random exotic locations sourcebook.

If Ye don't mind spilling how much did that set Ye back m8 would love to do something like that. Bloody stereotype you are as well, Aussie backpackers may as well be their own nomad tribe.

Extremely cute. I'm stealing this.

Tholse guys look like Fulani. Nice takouba/kaskara sword too.

They are in fact a Fulani ethnic group.

It was that or an East African tribe. Fulani are the cutest Sub-Saharan African along Amharas and Afar to me.

Liking this, OP! I think I might use various clans as my main political system in my next fantasy game. Having about 5 clans with a number of sub-clans owning fealty to them is an interesting system, especially if religious lines muddy the waters a bit.
Maybe even have race be a third axis of loyalty! You're a Blue Moon clan member and you worship Pelor, but you're also a dwarf. Or would that maybe be too complicated?

>and Pashtun

Boy sex, guns and Hijabs, they're basically typical flyover state redneck pervs.

Spectacular hats.

That's amazing.

>white man
>Jews and Slavs

Shuuu.

Also don't knock off Yurop mate, we have plenty of untaped potential for traditional games than are very far from your tipical anglo fantasy setting.

>middle east is completely racist ethnocentrist shithole
>meh, it's there cultural differences :^)
>Westerner criticises regressive religion
>fuggin ragist amerigan, flipping redneks >:(
stop

They don't hop on Veeky Forums and try to tell you about it, user.
They can feel however they want in their own countries, I take offense at someone blaring their opinion at me and expecting me to agree with them as though they are factually correct.

Damn, that man is good looking

Stop, the both of you. Post something cool at least.
A typical festivity in Spain is the Moros y Cristianos or Moors and Christians, to remember the fights we had for the control of the peninsula. Anything to do with actual fighting gear of the times is pure coincidence, but is a good way to get fantasy costumes or inspiration, lot's of those costumes could do as haradrim for example.

Colourful robes and extravaganza> Costume appropiate for the times of the reconquista. But it's fun as fuck to look at.

>Boy shoots my son
>Stab him for it
>This is bad for some reason

Doesn't your paladin use slime mouthwash?

It's time to prep the bull, Sven.

>actually being this cucked
kill yourself my man

tooth paste is haram my boy

So, basically Conan.

...unless you suggest playing as someone from those cultures but as a white european male, I prefer playing something similar to who I am.

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>s a white european male, I prefer playing something similar to who I am
This is the most false flagging post I have ever seen on this board.
Go back to /v/.

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/pol/ pls go and stay go.

nice quads

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check em you cuck

Saudi Arabians and other Americans? They're pretty nice. Spend millions and GTFO afterwards.

>our alimony baby will lead us to glorious revolution

>beheading someone because of their religious views and denouncing someone for said beheading is morally equatable
shiggy diggy my brain dead niggy, perhaps you should consider kill yourself

>mfw i'm the only one contributing at this point

Some cool pics.

You've triggered the /pol/ migrants because they detected something vaguely related to their particular social crusade. The thread will now descend into a cesspool.

If it helps, I found the Bedouin stuff particularly interesting and will probably use it as one of the desert tribes I'm making in my DnD game.

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/pol/ declaring themselves Veeky Forums police is one of the less fun cultural changes.

Are you perhaps arguing that cultural relativism is wrong and creates only strife when parasitic cultures are introduced ? :^)