Avoliondionia

Avoliondionia

A large river divides your territory down its length. It floods at the end of the cool season. There is some rain along the west coast, but rainfall diminishes as one goes inland until there is dry savanna to the east of the river. The ocean drops off sharply along the coast. The land is relatively flat and grassy. It is hot and dry to the east with temperatures reaching 35C. The interior generally stays around 25C, and the coastal region ranges in temperature from 30C in the south to 25C in the north. Name your homeland. Avoliondionia Name your people(s). Avoliondionians Name the prominent geographic features of your homeland. Northern end includes grasslands from marshs near the ocean coast to a dry savana in the far east. The Southern sector contains a small area of lush rainforest which develops into mangrove forests along the coast. Populate your homeland. Roughly 100,000 There are 3 large communities: 2 along the west shore of the river and 1 in the northwest along the coast. The rest of the population is spread out with many small villages residing in the rainforest, but there are communities found throughout. What biota exist in your homeland? The Northeastern sector contains large herds of grazing mammals including including wildebeest, elephants, hippos, zebras, and antelopes, with predatory animals that follow such as hyenas and wild dogs, leopards, and lions. Kangaroo as well as smaller predators including venomous snakes like black mambas, rattle snakes, and cobras, but scorpions, camel spiders, etc. dwell in the far east. The vegetation here consists of mainly grasslands and shrub-lands, with areas merely consisting of widely spaced trees with open canopies. The Northwestern sector includes dominant large flocks of migratory heron and permanent wetland dwelling birds including ducks, storks, flamingos. Predators such as alligators, diamond python (and other various snakes) dwell here but this area is also visited by migratory mammals seasonally. The vegetation here consists mainly of papyrus swamps, fresh water reeds, and areas of dense tall grass. The Southern end includes a small area of tropical rainforest which has an incredibly diverse ecosystem including... What natural resources are available? Water, medicine, sugar, rice, bamboo, fresh water and saltwater fish, What natural resources are needed? Wood, various mineral deposits such as iron, lime, and salt,

SUBSISTENCE

1. What pattern(s) of subsistence will your culture follow? There are some smaller scale agriculture along the coastal areas and also along the river. The main form of subsistence is horticulture. The flooding of the river brings added nutrients to the area for agriculture to succeed there. These agricultural areas provide ample food for the population and is also helped out by the horticultural programs. The main crop in the inland area is predominantly rice, sugar cane, and a variety of vegetables, whereas the coastal and southern regions provide fruit and wineries may also be found along the coast in some areas. foraging pastoralism horticulture Small scale agriculture 2. What resources does your territory have to support your subsistence pattern(s)? The river which flows through the country provides water for the agriculture and horticulture which the residents are employed at. The river also provides for the use of irrigation systems to bring water to the areas which recieve the least amount of rainfall such as east of the river. There is an abundance of sustainable fruit and small, but recognizable quantities of small game such as boar in rainforest where foraging and horticulture is the most common and resources such as bamboo and broadleaf plants which are used to create shelters for the for dwellers here. 3. How do the climate and seasons in your territory affect your subsistence pattern(s)? In the Northeast, the annual flooding brings game from hundreds of miles as well as seasonal floodplain crops such as rice and foraging temporarily becomes a dominant means of collecting food. 4. How will your subsistence pattern(s) relate to your population size and location? We have a relatively small population and only the larger communities import various minerals and metals and wood and export sugar and rice. Most of the land consists of communities that are self sufficient and use subsistance patterns of foraging, horticulture, and pastoralism depending on the location. 5. How will the labour involved in subsistence be distributed among your people? In the South: The men do the heavier labour such as hunting, cleaning, and preparing of mainly boar and gathering of wood and bamboo for shelters. The women harvest the vast majority of fruit and vegetables as well In the North 6. What technology do your people use for subsistence purposes? 7. What impact does your subsistence have on the environment? 8. How do your people clothe themselves? 9. What type of shelter(s) do your people live in? The main form of shelter are concrete buildings in the Northern cities that are constructed from materials which are found in places along the river and huts for shelter for the villages in the south. 10. Do your people have material goods? What kinds? Where do they come from? 11. What is your people’s diet? How do they prepare food? What is a typical meal? Vegetables, fruit, seafood (as well as the ocational boar and other small mammals), and agricultural crops grown to the west of the river. In the south, food is prepared by ... 12. Are there any celebrations centred on subsistence issues e.g. a harvest celebration? Are there special ceremonial or ritual foods? In the south, tarantulas are considered a delicacy in most tribes and during special events including rights of passage and marriage bonds this is harvested. In the northeast, snails are not overlooked and during the flood season escargot becomes a temporary staple in the diets of the smaller communities for a few weeks. The tarantulas are believed to possess spirits of dominance and independence, which when consumed, become embodied. The snails are locally known to contain extremely high levels of protein, which is in low supply for most of the year. Note: depending on your choice of subsistence pattern(s), you may have to do some reseearch to fully answer these questions. For example, if you chose ‘horticulture,’ you should know something about how to grow food and/or raise animals. If you chose ‘foraging,’ you should know something about wild foods. And so on.

KINSHIP

Bearing your subsistence strategy in mind, consider what kind of kinship system, descent rules, and marriage rules your culture will have.

Nuclear family is the most prevalent of household systems throughout the land and extended families are predominant in most households. These households consist primarily consanguines, but there are no laws prohibiting affines, and they do exist here. The men here do all the heavy labour including, fishing, hunting game and collecting of wood and bamboo for creating and managing shelters. They also assist in the gathering of wild food. The women spend most of their time managing small community gardens, and taking care/ raising children and preparing food. Once boys reach 12 years they join the males (usually a member of their kin) in the labour, beginning with lighter tasks. Girls follow after their mothers from an early age. Societies in the north and the south are kindreds, tracing relationships bilaterally through both their mother and father and strong social ethics, such as cooperation, generosity, and gender equality (for the most part) are enforced in turn. There are some lineages that trace back up to 8 generations of patriline decent, but most lineages only go back a few generations. There are between 6 and 18 families per lineage, including descendants that are alive and dead. The coporate powers are held by seniors who have developed social prestige overtime. Each lineage has a special set of skills/ traditions that have remained in the family through time and passed down through generation to generation. Clans do exist in our culture in the more populated communities amd are named after animals that are symbolic of mythical apical ancestors. Totems mark this. Each clan has a series of chiefs that pay reverence to this tradition. There are no moieties. Our culture has a Hawaiian-type of kinship system where there is only distinction made between sex and generation. There is no distinction is between matrilineal and patrilineal relatives or siblings, cousins, sons, daughters, nephews, or nieces, in an ambilineal decent group where people freely choose between joining either their father's or their mother's kinship group. Exogamy is practiced throughout as their is a strong incest taboo to marry inside ones group, but marriage of cross cousins, although not ideal, is still practiced occasionally. Neither polygamy nor polyandry are practiced, marriages are monogamous, but cases of the death of a spouse serial monogamy is not prohibited. Same sex marriages do not exist in any of the communities. The spouse is selected by the parents of the individuals in arranged marriages and period of courtship for a few weeks before the marriage takes place. The marriage ceremonies are celebrated with a large feast and a covenant is formed between both families and include both bride wealth and dowry. The wedding takes place over one day and is usually attended by the entire community. Bride service is strongly enforced for roughly two years after marriage where the husband contributes labour in tasks including contributing to construction of the parents in law's dwelling, helping in the garden, and doing heavier labour (eg. transporting water, hunting wild animals, planting and harvesting of crops). The married couples reside patrilocally.

Economic System

1. Taking your subsistence into account, what resources are needed and how will they be allocated in your culture? e.g. land tenure, access to raw materials 2. What labour is involved in your subsistence? Who does what? 3. Are people compensated for their labour? If so, how? 4. What goods are produced in your culture? Is it through households or occupations? Small-scale handicrafts or large-scale industrialized products? 5. What rituals or ceremonies are the basis for generalized reciprocity? balanced reciprocity? What gift giving is involved? 6. Is there trade within your culture? With another culture? What is the basis of the transaction? (i.e. barter? money? some other medium of exchange?) 7. Is there any form of redistribution of goods and services? 8. If you decide on a market-based economy, describe the allocation of labour, the means of production, the products, who are the consumers, etc. 9. Does your group trade with another group? What is traded? How is trade incorporated into the economic system? 10. Is the distribution of wealth equitable in your culture or are there differences in social status, wealth, and prestige? How is wealth achieved? maintained? displayed?

POLITICAL SYSTEM

When considering these following questions, keep in mind the subsistence strategy/strategies and economic system you have developed so far. Population size is also a factor. Later, religion may also be a consideration.

1. What kind of political organization(s) will your culture have? • uncentralized bands • uncentralized tribes • centralized chiefdoms • centralized states 2. If your culture has a leader, how does a person acquire this status? What are his/her responsibilities to the community? 3. If your culture has a centralized leader, what is his/her title? What social stratification is in place to support the political system? What bureaucracy and institutions are needed? 4. How does a leader maintain influence/authority/power? Can the leader be replaced? If so, how? 5. How does your culture deal with conflict and disagreement among its people? (Consider how you answered this in the very first exercise we did). 6. How does your culture make decisions that affect the whole community? 7. How does your culture deal with inappropriate social behaviour and crime? 8. What are typical negative social sanctions in your culture? Typical positive social sanctions? 9. Is there internal strife within your culture? Describe how it occurs, why it occurs, and how it is resolved (if it is). 10. Is there external strife between your culture and another culture? Describe how/why it occurs. How is peace achieved/achievable?

RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM The religious group of the country are called the Alfisti, and the head of this group is the Halidon. Under the Halidon is the group of elders which will work with the Halidon on religious and phlosophical questions. It will take a person about 20 years of training to become fully inducted into the Alfisti, with another 15-20 years to reach the group of elders. The main belief is centered around animism, with everything having a soul or spirit. Some spirits such as the Earth spirit and Rain spirit are seen as to be benevolent spirits bringing life to the country. Other spirits such as the spirit of Thunder and Lightning are seen to be a more malevolent spirit. The ceremonies and rituals are conducted solely by the Halidon and the other members of the Alfisti, however the ceremonies are attende by the common people of the country. The commoners will also give offerings at home to help keep the spirits happy. The Alfisti are often feared and misunderstood by outsiders, mainly because of their wearing long robes and the ceremonies and rituals being largely conducted at night. The Avoliondionians and the Alfisti believe that the start of the day is at night fall and therefore the majority of the ceremonies are at night. The Avoliondionians have a tremendous amount of respect for all human life as well as the rest of the natural world. The only major change to the belief system is a change in the ritual sacrifice, moving from human and animal sacrifice to one of purely symbolism. The Alfisti and Avoliondionians have a belief that the soul does not die, but will pass from one body to another at the time of death. It is therefore very important that there be someone present at the time of death in order for the soul to pass successfully. A ritual is to be performed at the time of death by either a member of the group of elders or at least to regular members of the Alfisti. The importance of the ritual is to ensure that the soul is successful in transfering from the dying body to another living person, without the spirit of the underworld coming t steal it and take it underground.

GENDER QUESTIONS

1. How is gender identity reflected in differernces in clothing, behaviour, speech, etc.? 2. What are the gender roles of men and women, boys and girls in the domestic sphere and in subsistence labour? 3. What gender roles are apparent in economic activities, political organization, and religion? 4. What gender status differences are there between men and women? 5. What control do women have over divorcing their husbands?