Customs of the Mori
Keywords:
MORI-CUSTOMS
Customs
These are verbal, rather than written, handed down through the
generations as part of the tribe's co-existence with the jungle
around them.
Use only what you need. Taking more of anything than you,
your family, or your tribespeople require harms the land and
offends the Earth-mother who gave so generously.
Give thanks for what you have. Give a tithe, and respect the
gods - some fraction of the kill, as little as a flower or
seed when foraging - to remember them so that they remember
you. The land, and the Mori, depend on this.
Uphold your household. Wear your scars and tattoos with
pride; each of them were earned, and are shared with your
kinsfolk. Support and defend your family, and follow the
guidance of your elders.
Falsehood offends the tribe and the gods. Wearing scars or
tattoos for another rank, or wearing the hides of a beast you
did not hunt, would earn the scorn of all the tribe.
Shapechangers are a cause of suspicion, since the Mori (and
swamp dwellers) never contract lycanthropy.
Kill beasts with measure and mercy, not for waste and sport.
Needless slaughter feeds rage, and robs the Earth-mother of
her lesser children.
Fight enemies of the tribe, and the land, with courage and
cunning. But fight to defeat the threat, not for the sake of
war and death. Some beings are always enemies, such as demons
and undead.
Each person's life is sacred. (People means the Mori, and
those who are accepted by them). Mori do not kill one another,
or those who are not enemies. This would bring back the times
of blood, when the gods were angry.
Children must be protected and taught. This duty falls first
to their parents, then their household, then the tribe as a
whole. When a youth reaches the age for testing, though, they
must stand and prove themself alone.
Unchosen females must not cover their breasts. This allows
prospective spouses to recognise them (and perhaps judge
their suitability). Single women, such as priestesses, might
wear garlands but nothing more over the torso. Of course, the
Alaghi are tough and rainforest is warm, if hardly
comfortable.
The Mori and the land are one. The Alaghi were created, they
say, from the forest, live in harmony with it - and return
to the land in time. The dead are left to the elements,
birds and insects, so that the Earth-mother can make life
anew after the spirit has flown. The Alaghi have no concept
of ghosts.