The Lands of the Parkik Tribes

The Parkik are tall and lean. They have fine features and fair skin. The coloring of their eyes and hair ranges from blonde and blue eyed to dark brown and browned eyed. Very few of the Parkik have red hair though. Their hair tends to be straight to slightly wavy. I will discuss hairstyles later.

Most of the clans dwell in earthen huts with thatched roofs. The huts hold single families. There is usually a central village where there are more huts and a market place. The craftspersons of the clan live here. If the clan herds sheep or farms, then extended families live around the perimeters of the village. In the case of the fisher folk, everyone lives in the village.

The Parkik people live in large family clans. Each clan identifies itself through the use of tattoos. There is a ritual when a young man or woman reaches fifteen. They are tattooed with the things that they are know for or are skillful at. A fierce young hunter might have a mighty stag tattooed on his chest. As they go on in their lives, they continue to receive tattoos to symbolize the events and celebrations of their lives. It is more common for men than for women to continue to receive more tattoos, though everyone periodically does.

The tattoos are colorful and primal in appearance, but are still stylized works of art. Each clan has an animal that they especially identify with. A small representation of this animal is always tattooed on a child during their maturity celebration. It is always in the same place on the body. The right or left forehead is very common, as is the back of a hand. Each tribe has it's own way.

The Parkik word for clan is "talok". In identifying his or herself to a stranger, a Parkik clan member would say their personal name, clan and then the word talok. For instance, Brenna of clan Dorn, named for the black crows that inhabit their clan lands, would say, "I am Brenna, Talok Dorn. What Talok holds your life?" A child's name will go with him or her throughout his or her life. Only the clan name may change, if another clan takes a girl. An individual banished from a clan carry only their personal name followed by the word "Bedge", which can be translated as "dead to us".

The animal totems of the clan are seen to represent the spirit of the clan. They see them as true soul brothers. These animals are not seen as good spirits or gods themselves, but merely kindred souls. All the clans worship and honor The Great Divine Mother alone. They are one of the few peoples on The World who do not worship a demigod who is the seed of The Mother, but worship her directly. She gave them their animal companions to help her guide them. Frequently a clan's totem animal will deliver spiritually important messages and omens, or even protect clan members in danger.

The clans each have a group of holy women who are set apart due to their great wisdom. They meet together to pray to and worship The Mother. They are the conduits for her love and guiding to the tribe. When they meet for their rituals, their totem animals seem to crowd near in worship also. Often the revelation comes from such an animal.

These women are a set apart lot. They must learn long oral traditions that relay all the myths of their people. Their tattoos are visual aids to the myths and songs. All of their myths can be sung in ancient tunes that have not changed in a thousand years.

The Parkik build ritual stone circles to mark the movements of the sun and the moon. They believe that the sun and moon are the right and left eyes of The Mother. Whether it is day or night, she keeps watch over her people. On the winter and summer solstices, the shortest and longest days of the year, all the peoples gather at the stone rings to be examined by The Great Divine Mother. If she finds them worthy, then they are blessed until she judges again. If not, She punishes them with longer winters or bad harvests.

Sacrifices are given for the transgressions of the people. Animal sacrifices are most common, but if great transgressions have taken place in a clan, a wise woman may choose to sacrifice herself for the good of the people. She must spill her own blood, unto death, upon the altar. To deny this appeasement of life giving fluids will bring the wrath of The Mother on the people. The woman who does this does not think of herself as dying. She is merely merging again with the sacred life fluids of The Divine Mother. She must make this sacrifice voluntarily and without the aid of others. The sacrifice is performed before the entire village. She will take narcotics that will bolster her resolve. If she cannot go through with the sacrifice, someone must take her place, or The Mother will not be pacified for the peoples' terrible transgressions. This sacrifice does not take very often. It is when extreme cases of incest, rape and pedophilia are rampant in a tribe that such a sacrifice is needed.

(Note- Blood is used in many rituals, but not to the extent of the ritual above. The shedding of blood is symbolic of the birth waters of the divine mother. A mother's milk and sexual fluids are also considered sacred. Both sped blood and sexual unions can be used to bless the crops.)

Anyone who is found to have violated one on of those three restrictions must be held captive and put to death on the altar at the solstices. If they kill themselves, someone else kills them, or die of natural causes, before the next solstice, then someone must take their place or the clan will suffer. These kinds of crimes are not common among the Parkik, but in the memory of every generation there is always self-sacrifice.

Whenever a wise woman dies, the next female born alive is seen as bearing her spirit back into the world. This child will be set apart to learn the ways of the wise. She will live only with the wise women. They have their own shelters, set at edge of the villages. Each clan has between five or six to fifteen or twenty wise women, depending on the size of the clan. The needs of these women, for food, shelter, clothing and kindling are meet by the people of the village. The wise women tend to the clan's spiritual needs as well as growing and making healing potions and performing other acts of healing. They also make charms and spells to help with everyday needs, as well as arbitrate in disputes.

These women do not take husbands, but are not chaste. When a family receives a special blessing from The Mother, a wife might send her husband off to the wise women for a night or two. She sacrifices her right to him to honor The Mother. The blessing the family received is given back to The Mother in the form of the children the wise women may bear. It is thought that a woman who refuses to share her man for such a short time, in thanksgiving, shows that she is not grateful for the blessing she received. The Mother may snub such a one, who would snub her gifts.

In the spring, between the two solstices, the celebration of the transition to adulthood takes place. During the week before the celebration, the boys and girls who will make their passage wear feathers in their hair and special ceremonial clothing. The clan is on high alert. The clans raid each other to steal away the prospective females. There are not usually to many taken, but it happens every year. These girls are then inducted into their new clan and never get to live by their fathers' hearths again. There is visiting between the clans though, so they do visit.

The men who steal the girls are always unmarried. They take these girls, who are soon women, as wives. There are ritualized forms of these raids within each clan. The new women must run and hide from the new men. If they can stay hidden until sunrise, then they will not be married until the next year. If they are caught, then they must marry their captor. Many young people in love arrange for one to catch the other, but sometimes hearts are broken and men kill other men who stole their lover. The girl who is caught has adult possessions, such as clothing, jewelry, sowing tools and small household goods. The rest the husband must provide.

Women and men continue to participate in this game each year until they find a mate, or grow tired of trying. Women of thirty five have been know to run ten years after they gave up, because a widower has been flirting and hinting with them. Such a woman is brought to great shame if he does not follow through and catch her. Most widows and widowers make such arrangements. Occasionally an older widower will catch a young lady more than half his age. This union is legal, but can lead to very great trouble in the clan.

The Parkik are a fierce and proud people, but they love their families and treat their children well. No child has to wonder if it is loved. The whole village takes a part in raising a child. The children hear tales of their people from the wise women and from their parents. The fathers have the most influence over their sons, as the mothers have over the daughters. The families of the village work together to herd sheep, or fish, or harvest crops, or hunt and prepare animals.

There is a division of labor between the sexes that is very strict, but no one sexes' work is seen as more important. The men generally procure crops, or fish, or animals, or wool and meat from sheep. The women prepare these things, as well as making clothing and growing vegetables and herbs.

The men tend to have a bit more free time. They spend this time wrestling, fighting and drinking. There are frequent clashes with other clans. Blood feuds are common and whole clans have been wiped of the face of The World. Generally they try to take their aggressions out playing a violent game in which they use the head of a sheep and large wooden clubs. They try to get the sheep's head across a meadow to their own side, while the other side does the same. The game results in many broken bones and sometimes death, but is better than outright slaughter.

If a blood feud goes on to long, and can not be resolved, the wise women of the villages may call for one big game between the men of the two clans. The game lasts all afternoon. The winning clan is declared in the right and can carry off female children of near adult age as their spoils.

The women do not have a lot of free time for recreation. They are to busy working. If the women of a clan live close enough to other families, they will share their work and share in watching the children. This time together is full of tales of what is going on in the clan and tales of the foolish things their men folk are up to. When the men have such talks, it usually is about their latest kill, or how hard they lay with their wife the night before.

The girls work right along with their mothers and are great helps from an early age. The boys stay and help also, until they turn five. When they turn five, the fathers start to train them to fight, to drink and to do men's work. By the time a boy is seven years old, he spends all of his time doing the work his father does.

The men of the clans wield short, heavy bronze blades, which are inscribed with runes and spells of protection. The blades are useful tools for a variety of herding tasks, as well as being weapons. They often wield a blade in either hand or carry a small leather bound wooden shield. Their style of fighting is short and direct. A fight between two men does not last long. Boys are taught the art of blade fighting through the use of clubs. These clubs are the ones used to play the Hit The Sheep's Head Game. These games take on strong elements of training in warfare.

There is a special, set apart class of warriors called the Taken Ones. They are possessed, or taken over by the can totem's spirit during battle. They never carry a shield or wear a helmet. Many don't even wear their leather kilt, but run into battle naked. They frequently paint themselves to look like their animal totem. These warriors weild long, two-handed swords. They go into a berserk rage. They care only about killing. They are not concerned for their own safety. Such a man is seen to be what he is almost from birth. The wise women act as oracles and instruct that he be raised as a Taken One.

The Take Ones must each live apart from the tribe. They live alone at least a half mile from the village. Groups of warriors bring them their food and other needs. They are with the group during rituals and are free to come and go, but it is considered to dangerous for them to live within the tribe.

They do not marry. They are forbidden casual lovers, upon pain of banishment. Such a union would likely result in their lovers accidental death. They are "serviced" by wise women who come to them once per week. First a group of warriors must bind the Taken One hand and food and burry his sword a foot down. Then the wise woman services him, while the warriors stand around with clubs, ready to beat him into submission if he goes into a rage while laying with the wise woman.

A girl child can not become a warrior, BUT she can be set apart as a Taken One. She must live as they do. She is not seen as female any more. She is simply a vessel of the Totem. Such a female Taken One lives the same as a male Choosen One, including never marrying or having children and only being "serviced" by the wise women.

Men generally dress in short, leather skirts called a "yet" or "yeth" for the plural form. A man's yet will have decorative metal plates sown on it bearing images of the clan's totem animals. The decorations are more elaborate during festivals and warfare. The men wear wool jackets and cotton shirts in cold weather, but go shirtless in good weather, to show off their tattoos.

The women wear skirts of woven cloth that are knee length, in good weather. In cold weather they wear full-length skirts. These skirts can be plain and functional, or ornate and beautiful, depending on the situations they will be worn in. They also wear wool jackets and shirts in cold weather. In warm weather they often go shirtless as well, when doing their daily work, so as to show off their tattoos. A clan member's tattoos tell much about the life she has lead. Some older or more modest women wear midriff level, sleeveless, thick woven bindings when the weather is extremely hot and humid, rather than going topless.

The Parkik do not see anything wrong with upper body nudity. It is not a social stigma. The body below the waist and above the knees is another story. Except during certain fertility rituals, a clansperson will not expose him or herself to a member of the opposite sex who is not their mate. Members of the same sex will go off together to swim though.

The wise women dress in pure white for ceremonies and brown the rest of the time. They wear full-length habits in cold weather and full-length skirts in warm. Their clothing is never ornamented and they do not wear the jewelry that is common for other clanspersons of both sections, except during ceremonies. Where as women of age bind their hair in braids, the wise women let their hair flow free, as if they were still children. Unlike children though, their hair hangs long.

When a boy becomes of age be will also start to braid his hair. The style of braiding varies by clan and is often different for the two sexes. Children always wear their hair free, though their hair is chopped short until they are around twelve summers old and then it is never cut again until after it reaches an adult length.

The strongest of the men is the Ratgar, or War Father. He leads the men in raids on other villages and initiates the actions to take blood revenge. He also carries out executions and other sentences of the wise women, such as sacrificing rapists and the like on the solstices. Any man can become the War Father, if he can beat the current one. The form of combat is chosen by the War Father and can go from wrestling, to clubs to blades. The challenges do not always lead to death but can. The Ratgar does hold some sway over the women of a clan, but not over the wise women. They are the ultimate authority.

Taka- Butter Fly-extinct
Hedrin- Sea Bass- large
Hedmet- Dolphin- small
Hedka- Shark- medium
Hedat- Whale- small
Salde- Fox- small
Salma- Weasel- medium
Saltar- Rat- small
Salfen- Rabbit- large
Salhobin- Field Mouse- medium
Salham- Skunk- small
Saltro- Otter- large
Salket- Beaver- large
Beret- Deer- large
Berma- Moose- medium
Berser- Horse- large
Talka- Black Bear- small
Talok- Badger- small
Talrem- Wolf
Dorn- Black Crow- large
Dorlin- Robin- medium
Dortit- Sparrow- tiny
Dorret- Kestrel- small
Dorum- Hummingbird- tiny
Dorta- Owl- large
Dormena- Hawk- medium
Dorra- Eagle- medium
Dorhan- Sea Gull- small

The Sharlot Talok (The Badger Clan) is the most vicious of the clans. They do not trade with other clans or work farm. They get everything they need to survive through hunting and raiding. They have no set village, but keep on the move through the forests.

The Sharlot Talok goes into battle naked. Their women fight as well. They are fierce some to behold, with their stark, black tattoos that cover their bodies. They tattoo their faces to look like badgers. Their wear the skulls and teeth of their enemies, and of badgers, around their necks, and waists, as well. The adults cut their hair short and bristly and dye it to match that of a badger.

Children as young as ten are involved in raiding other clans. The moment a child draws first breath, it is in a struggle to survive. The mortality rate of children under five is fifty percent or less. There is also rampant sexual abuse by all the adults against the children.

The Sharlot Talok does not worship The Mother. They worship a powerful evil entity that has presented himself to them as one who can free themselves from the moral restraints of The Mother. He appears in the form of a giant badger and frequently culls the weakest of the clan. His whole philosophy is that strength justifies any action one might take and the weak do not deserve to survive, accept to serve the strong.

Almost all of this clan exhibit, to some degree, the nature of a Taken One. If they did not, they would not survive. They do not set themselves apart though. Life is short and brutal.