Agyon
= Your conculture Ethnographical Questionnaire =
Dr. Zahar’s Ethnographical Questionnaire was compiled by David Zahir to help in the description of concultures, and can be found in the files section of the Conculture group at Yahoo.
Questions of Place
Describe the geography of where your society calls home.
On the island of Meradion, to the north of the continent of Nyeltore. The island is approximately 70,000 square miles in size, covered by mountains, forests of firs, and glaciers.
Describe the climate your society deals with. How severe are their seasons?
Cold. In the summers it raises to a lovely 15 F where in winters it can drop as low as -70 F. Average temperatures are between -30 and -10 F. It snows year-round on the southern half, while the northern edge is actually too dry for snow to occur.
What kinds of natural disasters has this society gotten used to?
Blizzards, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes. The regular earthquakes and eruptions often reach their nearest neighbors, the Coarghydh. Thus they call the island of Meradion "Dreoghendr" - The Door to Hell.
What are the most commonly-grown foods?
A fruit called Burode. It's soft like a peach but it grows to the size of your head. It only grows natively in the tropics (native name Bhoqa). The Agyon grow it by incubation, though not for their own consumption.
What are the most commonly-eaten meats?
The Agyon are obligate carnivores, so the plants grown and harvested are not for their own consumption. Instead they are used to feed the Rondetsunda (Coarghydh: Ygmakl) which is a giant polar-bear like creature that terrorizes human settlements on the main continent, but the variant kept by the Agyon has been bred into more of a giant digestion machine. Sea food is also common, as well as the occasional whale or seal.
What foods are considered exotic or expensive?
Peppers used for seasoning. The Agyon's incubation methods do not grow them well so the good ones have to be imported.
What forms of alcohol are common? Rare?
Agyon do not generally drink alcohol. More common are teas. The most popular is Damodhen, rich with an earthy, fiery flavor. Sugary cocoa from the south is rarer but also generally enjoyed, while the most expensive drink available is called Somen, similar to Absinthe.
Is there usually enough food and water for the population?
Yes. The Agyon's food industry is the most sophisticated and capital-rich on Dinyoran.
What is this place's most abundant resource?
Gold, Silver, and Iron. The crust is also especially aluminum-rich however there are problems with extracting it.
What is its most valuable resource?
A black, lustrous metal they call Zande. It is popular for decorative uses and it also is important catalyst in the incubation process.
What resource is it most lacking?
Usable land. The Agyon's population is very small but even so it is pretty crowded. The majority of their homeland is covered in ice sheets. They also have problems with regulating their body temperature as their internal metabolisms produce too much heat: They need to be in a cold environment to cool off. This makes it a problem to expand southward.
How do people travel from one place to another?
Flying. Average Agyon can fly at a top speed of 150 mph. Strong fliers can reach 180.
Are the borders secure? In what way?
Cold climate + Treacherous waters separating it from the mainland = Natural defenses. There's also the fact that the Agyon are huge (but quite peaceful and gentle unless provoked) "beasts" who could rip you in half quite easily, To top it all off, the neighbors believe the place is the entrance to the underworld so they're scared shitless of it. To sum it all up, you'd have to be completely insane, if not outright suicidal, to try to invade this place.
Not to say nobody has ever tried: General Dozenuioc Imacthua Gareth, having accomplished no major military victories and on the eve of being rotated out of office, decided that launching a successful attack on hell itself would win him a favorable spot in the history books. After (understandably) having problems with getting troops on board with this, he managed to fill up 5 ships and set off. One hit an iceberg. One went down in a storm. The remaining 3 all wrecked upon the rocks of the southern coast (Meradion has no suitable harbors) and were stranded. Two days later the wreckage was found by a small group of 3 Agyon. Gareth and a small group of men decided to attack the "demons." They were slaughtered within minutes. Some others fled for their lives and dove into the water (where they presumably froze to death). The rest surrendered and expected the worst. They were forgiven and taken home.
About 20 years later, one of Gareth's successors and subordinates (who was smart enough not to come along the first time), General Zuantych Moacteang Reaost, decided he'd try again. (Where his previous good judgment went I guess we'll never know!) This time he brought 20 ships and lost not a single one in the journey over. Unfortunately due to a navigation problem they landed on the North side of the island and all froze to death. *sigh*
How many people live here?
'Bout 60,000.
Where in this place to they congregate?
Several population centers (though they aren't quite "cities") are on the southern coast.
What part of this place do they avoid? Why?
The northern ice sheets for obvious reasons as there's really nothing out there. The volcanoes and hot earthquake zones are rarely built on but are popularly traveled to for the hot springs.
What are the most common domesticated animals here? And what are they domesticated for?
Rondetsunda for food, as well as small penguins and snow leopards (Tsandaion and Tyosone) as pets.
What are the most common wild animals?
Not many animals out there on the tundra. You see elk, wild horses, as well as wild variants of the Rondetsunda, penguins, snow leopards, and arctic foxes kept as pets. You also see walruses come up onto the beaches from time to time. There are also wild Drakes out and about though not as many as there are on the mainland. The Agyon consider drakes pests.
(Drakes are basically smaller dragons, though aside from the basic shape their physical forms hold a lot of differences between the Agyon, such as frills and odd colors and designs the Agyon lack. Drakes are also non-sentient and lack the ability to transform.)
Which animals are likely to be pets? Which ones won't be?
Penguins, Snow Leopards, and occasionally Arctic Foxes. Also, once in a great while an Agyon may keep a "pet" human. The designation of "pet" isn't how the human or the "owner" view it but it is how the relationship is viewed by the other Agyon.
Questions of Time
How far back does this society's written history go?
Approximately 150,000 years but this is really stretching the definition: Almost all of the writings still around are from the past 11,000 years. Only a few written fragments from that ancient past are still around, and it wouldn't be completely wrong to consider the authors of another civilization entirely. However the Agyon consider Meradion to still be this ancient civilization.
How far back do its people believe it goes?
Back to the beginning of time itself.
What is the worst disaster they believe they've faced?
They were created by the goddess Gyorozi, and for a long time lived with her and inhabited the whole planet. But everything changed when another god, Eamina, came around and took the planet for himself, changing it into its (mostly) current state. Meradion was the only place left untouched. Eamina ruled over the world for a long time until he was eventually defeated by the heroine Deomaia.
What was the best thing that every happened to them?
They've been doing pretty well since then.
What in their past makes them feel ashamed?
It's important to note the Agyon do not really have a collective mentality. Agyon have done some nasty things in the past. One example is Silaion's infamous raid of Zenithar. But the shame of this act is on Silaion, not on the rest of the species.
(Zenithar is the Agyon name for a human-populated city with relatively close proximity to Meradion. Silaion and a few of her friends decided to raid the merchant ships there and make off with the loot. This was one of the big events that cemented the human mentality of Agyons as being demonic monsters.)
What in their past makes them proud?
Just as bad acts bring no shame upon the species, good acts bring no glory. Every person should be judged by their own merits, not by the merits of their associates.
What are they afraid of happening again?
Nothing that all of them are afraid of in particular,
What are they hoping will happen? Do they think it likely?
They all have different plans for the future.
What do they assume the future will hold?
Like I said. All of them have different conceptions. Listing them all would take all day.
How has this society changed? Do its current members realize this?
Thanks to farming and cattle-raising methods the population now is actually larger than it's ever been. None of them would believe that though. They have the unfortunate idea stuck in their heads that the "creation age" was some unreachable glory.
What are the most popular stories about the past?
The story of Lyetomane, who invented steam power but only after dealing with a lot of her contemporaries trying to shut her down, never gets old.
Who in the past is the greatest hero? The worst villain?
Already said.
Do people think the present better or worse than the past?
Worse. Like I said, weird "Golden Age" fetish going on here.
Do people believe the future will be better or worse than the present or past?
Uncertain.
Questions of Sex and Family
How many spouses may a man or woman have?
Who decides on a marriage?
Can a marriage end in divorce? How?
Who usually takes custody of children if a marriage ends for some reason?
How is adultery defined? What (if any) is the punishment? Who decides?
How are families named?(g) What happens to orphans?
How are boy and girl children treated differently?
Are premarital relations allowed?
How does your society define incest? Rape? How do people react to these?
What, if anything, is considered a good marriage gift?
What secret vice is believed to be widely practiced?
What secret vice actually is practiced?
What sexual habits are widely believed common among foriegners?
How do people react to homosexuality?
How do the genders dress?
Is prostitution legal? How are prostitutes viewed? Is this accurate?
What professions or activities are considered masculine?
What professions or activities are viewed as feminine?
What inanimate or sexless things are considered male or female?
What is the biggest sexual taboo?
Does this society connect the ideas of marriage with love?
What does this society mean by the word "virgin" and how important it it?
Questions of Manners
Who speaks first at a formal gathering?
What kinds of gifts are considered in extremely bad taste?
How do younger adults address their elders?
What colors are associated with power? With virtue? With death?
If two men get into a fight, how is this supposed to be resolved?
If two women get into a fight, how should that be resolved?
When is it rude to laugh at something funny?
What kinds of questions cannot be asked in public? In private? At all?
How do people demonstrate grief?
What does this society do with their corpses?
What kinds of jewelry do people where? And when?
Who inheirits property? Titles? Position?
What happens to those suffering from extreme mental illness?
What are the most popular games? How important are they?
What parts of the body are routinely covered?
How private are bodily functions like bathing or defecating?
How do people react to physical deformity?
When and how does someone go from child to adult?
Questions of Faith
Is there a formal clergy? How are they organized?
What do people believe happens to them after death? How, if at all, can they influence this?
What happens to those who disagree with the majority on questions of religion?
Are there any particular places considered special or holy? What are they like?
What are the most popular rituals or festivals?
What do people want from the god or gods? How do they try and get it?
How do their religious practices differ from their neighbours?
What is the most commonly broken religious rule?(i) What is the least-violated religious rule?
What factions exist within the dominant religious institutions? How do they compete?
Are there monastic groups? What do they do and how are they organized? How do you join one?
How are those who follow different faiths treated?
What relationship do religious and political leaders have?
What superstitions are common? What kinds of supernatural
events/beings do people fear?
Questions of Government
Who decides whether someone has broken a law? How?
What kinds of punishments are meted out? By whom? Why?
How are new laws created or old ones changed?
Is there some form of clemency or pardon? What is involved?
Who has the right to give orders, and why?
What titles do various officials have?
How are the rules different for officials as opposed to the common person?
How do government officials dress?
Is the law written down? Who interprets it?
Once accused, what recourse does someone have?
Is torture allowed? What kinds?
How are people executed?
Who cannot rise to positions of leadership?
Is bribery allowed? Under what circumstances?
What makes someone a bad ruler in this society? What can be done about it?
What are the most common or dangerous forms of criminal?
Questions of War
Who declares war?
Who has the power to declare conditions of peace?
What happens to prisoners taken in battle?
What form of warfare does this society use?
Who are the Elite warriors? What distinguishes them?
How does someone get command of troops?
Where do the loyalties of military units lie?
Are there professional soldiers? Do they make up the bulk of the military?
Has this society ever attacked another? Do they want to? What would make them do so?
Who are their enemies? Who's winning?
What do soldiers do when there's no war?
Questions of Education
Does this society have its own language? Its own writing?
How common is literacy? How is literacy viewed?
What form and value are books?
Who teaches others? How do they teach?
Who decides who learns to read or write?(f) Who teaches professions, like carpenter or scribe?
Are foreigners ever brought in to teach new skills? Who does that?
How do this society's doctors try to treat wounds and sickness?
Which medical assumtions of this society are wrong?
Questions of Art
What are the favorite artforms?
Paint and drawing are popular, but the most popular form of artwork is intricately designed machinery, with all the cogs, springs, and gears exposed. Many devices have uses things on the outside just for show, but if the elegantly-designed machine does something practical that's all the better.
What are the least-favorite?
Music. Especially lyrical music. The delicate, smooth sounds woodwinds and strings are more acceptable but anything like a drum or a guitar is out of the question. They'd absolutely hate rock music.
How respected are artists?
No more and no less than any other profession. They provide a valuable service and those who value their work pay for it.
Do artists require official or unofficial protection?
Nope. Copyright is unheard of among the Agyon.
What kinds of trouble are artists in particular likely to find themselves in?
None in particular. (This isn't really a very good question anyway. Did whoever made this expect every conculture to hate artists like the ancient chinese did?)
How might a very successful artist live?
Same as any other successful person.
