Sefdaanian ethnography Ch. 14, Technology 1

Technology

Mechanics

The six simple machines are available to the Six Loquent Peoples:

1. the lever (ĸosúṙos)
2. the pulley (ðǫṁṙéþos)
3. the screw (ĸ̧uřúṙos)
4. the wheel (ṙéþos) and axle (áƶos)
5. the wedge (ṁeȝ̇úṙos)
6. the inclined plane (dèȝ̇mëlȩ́pos)

The following tools are available:

• Agriculture (þṙèfṁeídas):
  • hoe (saṙúṙos)
  • harrow (šaṙúṙos)
  • planting stick (beṙgúṙos)
  • sickle/scythe (meþúṙos)
  • plow (ȝ̇elúṙos)
  • water wheel (àṁdëṙéþos)
  • swingle/scutch/flail (pisúṙos)
  • winnowing fan (ṁęúṙos)
• Animal husbandry (tasṁóṙtas):
  • shears (pecúṙos)
  • crook (lít̬os)
• Equitation (ècüą́qtas):
  • bit (ðṙèuláṙðos)
  • hackamore (ðṙèulsɔ́ṁos)
  • harness (ðuṙúṙos)
  • bridle (sɔ́ṁos)
  • halter (ƶ̧ulúṙos)
  • headstall ()
  • reins ()
  • saddle (séðlos)
  • whip (lógos)
• Construction (démas):
  • adze (ȝap̌úṙos)
  • hammer (temúṙos)
  • sledge hammer (temúṙƶos)
  • mallet (m̧úxcos)
  • single-bladed ax (áxsos)
  • double-bladed ax (seĸúṙos)
  • saw (pę̀ilúṙos)
  • plane (gelvúṙos)
  • chisel (cąnúṙos)
  • scissors (d̬isį́mos)
  • drill (puṙúṙos)
  • tongs (bą́ĸos)
  • file (ṁṙįnúṙos)
  • trowel (lȩ̀fĸaȝúṙos)
  • shovel (voðúṙos)
• Crafts (ų́ṙas):
  • loom (ṁevúṙos)
  • loom comb (patúṙos)
  • sewing needle (şųúṙos)
  • knitting needle (mezgúṙos)
• Miscellaneous (mèicóes):
  • magnifying glass (meƶúṙos)
• Hunting and fishing (ĸéduĸ̌e peísĸuĸ̌e):
  • bow (lúgos)
  • arrow (íšos)
  • trap (ṙitúṙos)
  • fish lure (acénos)
  • net (tentólos)
  • fishnet (ĸúltos)
  • fishhook (pèisĸúṙos)
  • fishing pole (peísĸëȝ̇ázdos)
  • weir (nádos)
• Boating: (ną́ṁas)
  • anchor (ĸicúṙos)
  • paddle/oar (eṙúṙos)
  • oarpin (t̬élos)
  • boat pole (gaȝúṙos)
  • sail (seĸélos)
• Weapons (càturóes):
  • battle-axe (aǧésos)
  • spear/lance (cunúṙos)
  • sword (ę́nsos)
  • blowpipe (ṁȩcólmos)
  • sling (ĸipúṙos)
  • crossbow (şógos)
  • quarrel (ƶápos)

Food production

• All the Peoples have access to a number of foodstuffs, both animal and vegetable, but each of them specializes in particular foods that characterize their cuisine

The Ethrans

• Specialized food production for the Ethrans consists of the raising of geese and pigeons; the growing of oats, crocuses and roses; and the keeping of bees. Some of the Ethrans also hunt wild fowl.
• Geese are raised for their flesh and their eggs. Goose fat is used for frying and flavoring.
• Wild fowl, such as partridge and pheasant, are hunted for sport with gyrfalcons and their flesh graces the Ethran dinner table.
• Pigeons are raised to be used as carrier pigeons, but they are also eaten, as are their eggs.
• Oats are raised in fields around the citadels.
• Saffron and rose are the Ethrans’ favorite flavors. Some are grown out-of-doors, but the Ethrans maintain greenhouses so that these flavors are available all year long.
• Bee hives are maintained for honey and wax. The bees gather pollen from the crocuses and the roses. The honey is fermented to make mead.
• Various Ethrans are skilled in doing this work: farmers, gardeners, animal keepers, beekeepers, brewers, millers.

The Pyrans

• The major source of food for the Pyrans comes from the goat. Although cheviot is eaten, the goats are used mainly as a source of milk for making cheese and butter. Several types of cheese are made. If rennet is not available, vinegar is used to curdle the milk. The butter is clarified to make it imperishable.
• In their home gardens they grow, among other things, the fennel and the horseradish which characterize Pyran cuisine.
• Chickpeas are grown on communal land. Everyone lends a hand to care for the crop and the produce is divided among all the families.
• Everyone has at least one sloe tree on his property, the creamy white blossoms of which beautify the dábos street in the spring. The berries are used to make jam and the juice is fermented into a wine and a liqueur.

The Hydorans

• There is very little food production among the Hydorans. Most of what they eat is provided by nature.
• The primary source of the Hydorans’ protein is what they catch in the water: fish, frogs, crayfish, eels to name a few. These are eaten either raw or grilled over peat coals. Fish are caught with either hook and line are in throw nets. If the lake on which they live is large enough, they often fish from some type of water craft. Their otter companions also do some fishing for them.
• Their ponies are free range but come when called. The mares are milked on occasion to provide milk for drinking and for fermenting. Fermenting to make an alcoholic drink is the only food process in which the Hydorans engage, other than cooking.
• Much of the Hydoran culture revolves around the cattail (Typha latifolia). As food from bottom to top:
  • the roots are cooked and eaten like potatoes, or they may be crushed and boiled to make a sweet syrup, or they are ground into a powder and used like flour (although there is no gluten). This is done when the weather becomes cold when they are richest in starch.
  • the young shoots and stems can be eaten raw or cooked rather like asparagus.
  • the immature spike can be cooked are eaten rather like corn on the cob.
  • the seed also can be eaten either raw or cooked or pressed to yield its oil in which the Hydorans do their frying.
  • and the pollen can be eaten.
• Other water plants harvested in the wild are a food source for the Hydorans. Watercress and water mint are the characteristic spices in Hydoran cuisine. And the cranberry is used as is, but sweetened, and is make a fermented wine.

The Humans

• The horse is the center of the Human culture and, on occasion, horsemeat is eaten. However, most of the protein in their diet is gotten from wild game. Smaller game, such as antelope, is hunted on horseback with eagles. Larger game, such as aurochs and giant deer, is also hunted on horseback, but with bow and arrow.
• Lentils are grown in gardens around the ceímos and tended by the women.
• The corn poppy grows wild on the steppes and the seeds are harvested in the fall. The seeds are used to flavor their cuisine or are ground for their oil. The leaves are not eaten since it is more important to await the seeds. The petals also to produce a flavored syrup.
• The cherry plum grows along the rivers that flow through the steppes. In the fall the fruit is picked and either eaten raw or made into jam. The juice is made into a fermented beverage.
• Wild basil is grown in the family gardens and used to flavor Human cuisine. It is able to be dried and thus available throughout the winter. If the harvest is plentiful enough, the leaves can be cooked and served like spinach.

The Xylans

• The Xylans eat much of their food raw although, given enough time and desire, they do sometimes cook their food.
• The Xylans are vegetarians and eat various kinds of nuts, especially the acorn, as their primary source of protein. The bitter taste of acorns, due to tannins, do not bother the Xylans and they seldom leach the acorns. The time necessary to leach the acorns also interferes with their roving life style.
• A number of wild fruits are available in the forests, but the Xylans are partial to the wild cherry. The sap yields an edible gum, but the Xylans would not wound the bark to obtain it, gathering it only from trees naturally wounded.
• The Xylans enjoy chewing wild angelica for its licorice-like flavor.

The Lithans

• The Lithans grow buckwheat on their valley floors and in terraces.
• Their main source of protein is mushrooms, many varieties of which they grow in their mountain caves.
• A supplementary source of protein is wild game. With the help of their domesticated foxes, the Lithans hunt small game such as rabbits, hares, and groundhogs.
• The black elderberry tree is grown in their valleys for their fruit which is made into jams and chutneys and can baked in pies. The five-petaled white blossoms are made into an infusion for drinking or a syrup for flavoring. Elderberry wine is very popular.
• In their gardens they grow lemon balm and parsley to flavor their cuisine. Parsley root is a favorite vegetable.

Leathermaking

• Three of the Peoples tan (ǧíína) leather (léþṙos). The Pyrans tan the hides (ǧíínos) of their goats; the Humans, of their horses and of wisent, aurochs, etc.; and the Lithans, of their argalis and donkeys. The dressing is done by an emulsion of animal brains. Because of the odor, the tannery (ǧiindáṙos) is placed outside the settlement and downwind from the prevailing winds.

Architecture

Dwellings

The Ethrans

• The Ethrans live in great stone edifices known as citadels (ðúnos) consisting of dormitories (šefdáṙos), offices, refectory (eðcélnos) and kitchen (pèĸücélnos), a worship room (tozcélnos), a meeting room (ĸàntïcélnos), a recreation room (nųvcélnos), observation towers (gèþqǫṙdémos), dovecotes (κòlombéðlos), hothouses (ȝ̇èlnëmųldémos), and extensive gardens. The citadels cannot be seen as they are made invisible by the séfƶas (“magic” energy). Outsiders can gain access only through an archway made visible when necessary.
• The main entrance leads into a large rotunda (ǧeþcélnos), the ceiling of which is painted a light blue. On it in gold are painted the stars visible from that location at midnight on the winter solstice. Against the walls to either side, following the curve of the wall, are staircases leading up to the second floor. The second floor landing is a balcony about 12 feet long. In the center of the rotunda is a fountain of a different design in each citadel.
• Straight ahead there is a door leading into the worship room. All doors are high enough to permit the comfortable entrance of a Xylan. This circular room is painted all in white. The center point is surrounded by six sections of seating, one for each of the Loquent Peoples who may be in attendance.
• There are four two-story wings of the citadel, one to the right upon entering the rotunda, one to the left, and one to either side between the front wings and the worship room. The wing to the left contains the refectory and the kitchen. The wing to the right contains offices. The second floors of these wings and the two other wings contain dormitories, male on the left side, female on the right. Through the combined use of magic and mechanics there is indoor plumbing. All of the wings have glass windows.
• Above the rotunda rises a tower on the top of which are the accomodations of the archimage of that citadel: private quarters, office, laboratories, observation decks.
• Outside the building, both between the wings and scattered over the estate are various workshops, gardens and greenhouses.

The Pyrans

• The Pyrans live in a settlement called a dábos. The dábos consists of the street and the houses (ṁȩ́sos) on either side of it. In the center of the dábos on one side of the street (gíṙos) is the community house (ĸàntïdémos) where the people meet for town meetings and worship. In front of the ĸàntïdémos is a wooden pole from which flies the dábos’ standard.
• Opposite the community house is the bath house (dálos). The bath house will have several guest rooms for travelers passing through. The traveler will be invited to eat with one of the families, usually that of the headwoman (davnį́ȝus).
• In either direction along the street from the dábos are the pasture lands (léšos).
• The Pyran family lives in an adobe (càlmëðeíȝ̇os) house with a wooden roof. The adobe is made from the clay (ðeíȝ̇os) of the river banks. The typical gų́ḷos contains three rooms. Entrance is into the center room which is the living area/kitchen (žįȝcélnos). To either side is a bedroom (šefcélnos), one for the parents and one for the children. These bedrooms extend out toward the street farther than the living area providing a covered porch (pųséðos) for protected entry and for relaxation. The dirt floor is covered with rush mats, which the homemaker (nomt̬ę́us) will strew with her favorite strewing herb (xèndëmų́los). An adobe oven (aúĸ̌os) in a front corner of the living room provides heat for warmth and cooking The fuel is wood and dung. Windows in the three rooms are covered with oiled parchment. The windows are protected on the outside by wooden shutters. Tapestries woven from goat hair are hung wherever there is a need to prevent a draft. Candles provide needed light.
• There is a door in the center of the rear wall which leads, via a short passage, to an outhouse (cèĸüdémos). Strewing herbs are used in the outhouse as well.
• Along the length of the house on the back are two large rooms separated from each other by the outhouse. These are the stables (qómos). The bucks and wethers are kept in one, the does in another.
• Behind the house are any necessary outbuildings for the occupants: smithy (ĸoṁdáṙos), weaving shed (ṁevánδos), shearing room (pesvánðas), chandlery (ȝą́xdáros), etc.

The Hydorans

• The Hydoran family lives in a one-room thatch house (càlmëvánδos) with a wooden floor built on stilts over the water. Although there are no windows, there are two doors which admit some light in the warmer weather. Rope ladders (şàcüṙeníȝos) hang from the deck (b̧ásos) to allow access. Rope bridges (şàcüvṙę́ṁos) give access from one house to another, although, if the water is deep enough and warm enough, the Hydorans readily swim from one place to another. The family sleeps on rush mats on the floor. If the house becomes too small to accommodate the family, it is dismantled and a larger one built.
• A firepan (p̌ónësĸóṙðos) in the center under a smoke hole (ṙápos) provides heat for warmth and cooking. The fuel is peat (talóngos).

The Humans

• The Humans live in a settlement called a ceímos, each of which has a distinctive name. The ceímos is laid out as a large hexagon. At each point is the underground dwelling, the aṙgéļos, with its entrance facing to the center of the hexagon. On the perimeter of the hexagon there is a hedge of hawthorn (Crataeus monogyna) (sx̌oȝátis) to protect the Humans from predators.
• One of the six sides is on the eastern side. This side has the entrance to the ceímos. On either side of this entrance the hedge turns inward to form a short passageway (leȝĸę́dos) into the ceímos. At the end of this passageway is a wooden gate which is closed at sunset. To the right, as one enters, is a wooden pole from which flies the standard (pádos) of the ceímos.
• Between each of the aṙgeļóes are the communal gardens where the women grow their lentils, basil and other vegetables.. On the outside of the hedge, at each of the points is planted a cherry plum tree (Prunus cerasifera) (slí̧ṁis).
• The horses are kept hobbled inside the ceímos during the night. Every day the children gather the manure and take it outside the ceímos to be dried out for use as fuel and fertilizer.
• The family lives in a partially underground dwelling (aṙgéļos), which consists of a large pit (xános). The part of the house above ground and the roof are made of sod. This sod wall (sį̀paṙgámos) and a roof of wooden latticework (ṙácos), covered with horsehide or wisenthide, are constructed over the pit. The hide is then covered with sod upon which grass is allowed to grow. At various places on the sod roof the homemaker will plant patches of herbs.
• Several holes are dug into the walls for cold storage. Along the wall are sleeping platforms (inléqos) with storage space underneath. There is a staircase (ṙeníȝos), parallel to the wall, going down to the entrance. The walls may be hung with hide, reed mats or even tapestries acquired in trade from the Pyrans.
• A high sill ('p̓ósos) at the door helps prevent rainwater from entering the house, although the entrance to the staircase can be covered with horsehide to eliminate a lot of the rainwater. The wooden door is often covered on the inside with a horse hide hanging to prevent drafts.
• A firehole (p̌ónësĸóṙðos) in the center under the smoke hole (sáṙmos) provides heat for warmth and cooking. The fuel is dung, either horse or wild cattle. A hardened leather canopy (p̌onúngos) and chimney (ĸóqlos) help direct the smoke up and out the smokehole.
• In good weather the door is left open for light; otherwise the only source of light is that from fat lamps (pį̀mleúĸos).
• While on the steppes, pasturing the horses, the men build temporary horsehide shelters (coqómos).

The Xylans

• Each Xylan builds for himself a log cabin (ṙąþṁȩ́sos) in his personal territory in the forest. It is here that he keeps his supplies and personal items, but he is seldom in his cabin. The Xylans roam freely across the land.
• The Xylans are impervious to the heat and the cold, but having a place to call one’s own is a good thing. It is a place for storing food, supplies and equipment and a fire, even though not needed, is pleasant. The cabin has a fireplace which is also used for cooking, although Xylans eat a lot of their food raw. The fuel is deadfall (fǫldéřos), as the Xylans never cut down a living tree.

The Lithans

• The Lithans live in a settlement called a ĸílos. Their stone houses (gų́los) are scattered randomly across the floor of the valley. *In a central location is the village green (ĸuntáṙƶos) where the great lithophone (òndëĸumúṙos) occupies a central position. On one side of the ĸuntáṙƶos is the community house (ĸàntïdémos) where the people meet for town meetings and worship. In front of the ĸàntïdémos is a wooden pole from which flies the ĸílos’ standard. To one side of the community house is the bath house (dálos).
• The gų́los has a metal, stone or thatch roof. The metal and the stone are mined from their mountains. The houses are similar to those of the Pyrans but, whereas the Pyran house is long with the three rooms in a row, the Lithan house is narrower with the two bedrooms behind the living room. Oiled parchment covers the windows and there are metal shutters on the outside. The outhouse is entered from the side of the living room. The house may be the dwelling of a nuclear family or of an extended family.
• A metal oven stands against the back wall for heating and cooking. The fuel is dung from the donkeys and argalis.
• The stable is separate from the house and the donkeys and argalis are stabled together.
• Work buildings are built in a common area separate from the houses. These include smithies (ĸoṁdáṙos), chandleries (ȝąxdáros), tannries (ǧįndémos), etc.

Caravansaries

• A caravansary (sàṙþëdáṙos) is a fortified building at river crossings to assist travelers (séntus) and caravans (sáṙþos) with lodging and in crossing the rivers of Sefdaania. It is staffed by members of the Peoples who devote their lives to prayer and the care of travelers.
• All of the caravansaries are of the same design, but all are not of the same size. All of them are square with 18-foot (5.5 m.) defensive walls. In the beginning, these walls were to protect the travelers from predators, but, since the Great Sundering, they also protect the travelers from the slaves of Tselus, the renegade archimage. These walls are built of stone, either native or brought in from the nearest source. There are no openings to the outside. Sloe bushes (Prunus spinosa) are planted around the caravansaries forming a well-nigh impenetrable hedge at the base of the walls.
• The caravansaries are located at fords (ṁą́ðos) where a river’s current is most amenable to crossing. A few of the crossing are done by means of rope bridges (ðǫṁëvṙę́ṁos).
• On one wall (ṁòrtaṙgámos) there is the gate (ṁòrtos), which is the only entrance into the courtyard (aúlos). The wall to the right (àmsaṙgámos), as one enters the gate, is a casemate wall (cèlnaṙgámos), the rooms of which are for the lodging of the travelers (àmsëcèlnos). The wall to the left (qòmaṙgámos) is a casemate wall also, the rooms of which are stables (qómos) for any livestock, most commonly the donkeys of the Lithans. The rooms and stables have 12-foot (3.6 m.) ceilings. At each of the four corners there is a staircase (ṙeníȝos) for access to the area over the rooms (gǫlb̧ásos) for purposes of storage or defense.
• Depending on the size of the courtyard, there will be one or two wells (núȝos). The livestock is not permitted to drink from these wells. Instead, along the stable wall are located troughs (álðos) which the owner fills from the wells for his livestock.
• In each of the back corners is a bathing room (t̬axcélnos); no hot water! The room also has several toilets (dųṙsédos). As needed, the pits (cèĸüxános) are emptied and the manure (ĸǫ́ṙos) scattered on the fields. There are also several urinals (cįxdáṙos) which, by way of underground pipes, empty into the river.
• The back wall is the monastery proper (qòstënómos) in the center of which is a hexagonal worship room (tozcélnos). To either side of the worship room are the monastery’s dormitories and other rooms. The six-foot (1.8 m.) storage area continues over the monastery proper.
• In front of all four walls is a portico (teqf̧ǫ́los) for sleeping in the warm weather or for shelter from the weather.
• Unknown to the travelers is a concealed door (ląðd̬óṙos) in the monastery proper, in case the caravansary has to be evacuated should the defenses be breached.