Section 4 - Random Notes

The Auroch Herds

  The Tanagoro are not as animal-driven as the Ethengar or Jennite peoples, but the auroch still plays a prominent role in society.  Many aurochs are specifically trained, sometimes for racing, some for riding, some even for warfare.  They also serve as food, as clothing, as perhaps the most common unit of trade (or wealth for that matter), as entertainment (they are even trained to dance by many clans) even - in other words, they serve many purposes for their Tanagoro keepers.  The head of a clan, and once yearly the king, have the cattle of their underlings driven by for inspection, again demanding master training by the keepers, and great discipline on the part of the aurochs.  Many aurochs are so well-trained they do not even respond to the lightning so common in Tanagoro lands!  The importance of the cattle is evidenced by the need for a miniature kraal just for them inside each Tanagoro village - the outside wall consists of a low barrier of branches and grass with a single gate, barred by either a large pole or a wizard lock spell at night.  This is the area where the ancestral spirits are also believed to live.  A special location is similarly set aside for birthing of the calves.  This is eased by a commonly known 1st-level spell, which also helps ensure healthy auroch infants.  Magic is also used in marking the ears of aurochs, helping identify them individually.

Law

	The Tanagoro system could be considered quite harsh, as capital punishment is fairly common.  They consider jailing to be a sadistic, unacceptable elimination of freedom, preferring the death penalty as a result.  The system is also quite lax in ways - if there is no definitive proof, the suspected criminal is merely warned and released.  If one merely offends another, a peace offering is given to soothe over hurt feelings.  Treachery, disobedience, adultery and cowardice are among the most major sins known to the Tanagoro.  The legal procedure is simple - one swears on the ancestral spirits, states their case and provides witnesses (also sworn in), if any exist, then the other side presents their case with the outcome decided by the head of the clan - perjury, needless to say, is punishable by death.

Etiquette/Custom

	The Tanagoro are very big on etiquette.  They will excuse some errors by foreigners and other ignorant folks, but expect the highest from their own, and don't accept flagrant mistakes by outsiders.  First of all, except on special occasions (rallies, dances, etc.) no two people may speak at the same time.  One must salute the king (with the same type of hand-salute we are all familiar with) but you must not bow to him.  Handshaking is entirely unknown as a form of greeting.  When one receives a gift, they must hold both hands out, with the palms out.  A spoon must be held in the proper manner, as must a pot of beer - the hands must be the right way during a meal.  Needless to say, it is vital that Tanagoro know their etiquette - social deviants who cannot maintain the proper level of civility are shunned.  This could make for a rude shock for ethnocentric folks of other cultures who look down upon the plainsmen and women.
  	Tanagoro tribesmen strongly oppose slavery, as many of their own are forced to serve the Milenians and Nithians as such, depriving them of their freedom.  Like the Jennites, they have a negative view of that amoral tendency.  Also, circumsicion, known in the days of the distant past, well before the Hollow World arrival, is no longer practiced and any who follow this custom are looked down upon as barbaric.

Appearance

	While the Tanagoro get-up is rather simple, it does vary.  For dances and other festive occasions, one often adds ornamental fur ropes for the upper body, feather headdresses of various sorts and the dancing-stick and dancing-shield.  Also, when going to a dance, many males like to tack on an anklet of dried caterpiller cocoons with small stones inside, allowing for an appealing rattling sound during the dance.  For regal ceremonies, one adds even more high-class items: brass arm-rings, necklaces, circlets and whatever other jewelry one prefers.
	Both men and women wear earrings of iron, horn or baked clay.  Plumes and skins are considered very fashionable, especially otter pelts.  Amulets of all sorts are worn - composed of bones, hides, hooves, horns, woods, claws and anything else handy.  For those derived from a creature, the stronger the creature, the more magic the item is supposed to contain.  Most such amulets obviously contain no power, but it is suggested the DM give many various powers, especially if related to the creature they were "constructed" from.  A fair number of these magical amulets function as amulets of protection from evil (as per the spell).
	Men routinely shave their head, except for a ring of hair around the outside.  Children of both genders have their heads totally shaved.  The upper classes prefer to grow their fingernails extremely long.  Upper middle-class women (of course, this is all by Tanagoro standards) grow the fingers on their left hands only to such lengths.  Albinos do exist among the Tanagoro but are heavily looked down upon.  They do not cope well with the constant sun of the Hollow World and are often exiled from their clan of origin.  Cleanliness is important to the Tanagoro, so many enjoy hanging out at the rivers and streams that help fertilize the plains.  Streams and rivers also serve as communal meeting places, playgrounds and dating places.

Magic items

	In addition to others mentioned throughout the HWR, there are two worth pointing out.  The imBangayiya of Sikuni is a famed item, of near-artifact status.  It is a blue-crane head-plume whose exact powers are the stuff of legend.  The problem is that no two Tanagoro agree exactly on what these powers are, and the item has been lost for a couple centuries.  Hunting down this item could well be the goal of many a Tanagoro adventurer.
	A "common" magical item is the UnNembe shell - when worn on a string as a wristlet, one's ability to throw an assegai improves vastly.  A +2 is added to to-hit and to-damage rolls, with double damage inflicted upon a natural 20 when worn.

The Land of Strange Magicks

	This area has never quite functioned "right" in terms of obeying the laws of the Hollow World, or of any other, due to the influence of Nyx at the time of the formation of the Hollow World.  As a result all forms of chaos thrive here.  Storms rage when there are no clouds in the sky.  Mutated animals roam free, terrorizing any who wander in.  Madmen and women seek refuge here, amassing vast powers unto themselves should they survive - some even tame dinosaurs as pets!  Gates open to other realms.  Spells unknown of in the rest of the Hollow World get wielded by beings of considerable power.  Witches often live within this realm, gaining more power from the chaotic environment to spread the cause of entropy. Ghosts roam free.  Suffice to say, it is not a place a sane person wants to go, but is popular with adventurers.  After all, who knows what can be gained should one make it out alive?

Festivities

	As one may have surmised, dancing is quite popular among the Tanagoro.  For them, this is a public, and not a private, mode of entertainment.  Much information related to it has been scattered throughout the HWR - the only thing left to note is that dances are often used as a way to meet that special someone.  Many clans organized love-dances (amaJadu) between one another, allowing those of one clan to meet another, important in an exogamous society.  These are often conducted in the summertime, but are obviously popular all year round.  Good dancers are prized as much as skilled warriors, druids or any other talent in Tanagoro culture, and these meets allow prospective loved ones to show off their skills in this area.
	It is also done for non-pleasurable reasons - often Tanagoro dance on thorns to strengthen their feet, the true reasons they don't need sandals or footwear, regardless of the terrority.
	The only holiday of the Tanagoro year is the Festival of the First Fruits.  This usually occurs in the beginning of January.  The king of all the land must eat the first ripe corn of the season in this gathering of all the clans.  Dances are obviously performed, with several days of entertainments of various sorts.  Special songs exist solely for this holiday, one of the most joyous times for the people of the plains.

Trades

	The Tanagoro perform fairly typical jobs for an agricultural civilization.  Skills and trades include shield-making, leatherworking, wood-carving, divining and the other magical arts, metal-working, courier duties, et cetera...in other words, basically what one would expect from such a culture.  All people start age specifically at age 6.  There are some gender differences in work, discussed in brief earlier - in addition to other differences mentioned, men are the artisans of the Tanagoro.  Women are responsible for all related to the earth and thus are more likely to become druids - this goes as far as even carrying wood, deemed a feminine task.  All families have a specific plot of the land for themselves to care for, garden and maintain.  Older women no longer work the land but rather retain the folklore, oral traditions and history of the Tanagoro.
  One profession unique to the Tanagoro not described earlier is that of praise-giver.  There is just one at a time, serving the king.  His duties consist of keeping history of the king's deeds and those of his ancestors and to relate these in song daily.  He is not supposed to tide over the bad things, but be an unbiased source of information.  A praise-giver will dress in all sorts of skins, horns and feathers to make themselves stand out.

Miscellaneous Notes

	There is no commerce as such among the Tanagoro.  They do not trade with one another nor with neighboring nations, though they have some concept of wealth.  They do not make use of coinage, and therefore wealth accumulated in neighboring lands serves little purpose for an adventurer returning home.
	The Tanagoro are an accepting people.  If any Jennite, Nithian or Milenian person defies the Spell of Preservation and adheres to Tanagoro culture, they are no longer deemed as outsiders.