Post by Angel on Oct 8, 2009 21:56:37 GMT -8
General Planet Climate: Varied. This planet has many climates.
Population Levels: The planet is sparsely inhabited.
Standard of Living: The communities are small and there is not much of a difference between the well off and the poor. No one starves and no one lives a life of complete luxury.
Main Export: This planet is purposefully self sufficient. They don't accept exports from the Core planets and so don't need to offer many trade goods in return. The one thing they excel at is technological development. They don't mind taking commissions from the United Interplanetary Republic, of which they are a member and all they ask for in return is a strict enforcement of their self imposed blockade. Takatifu also has an exotic pet trade but it is limited and strictly controlled by the rulers of the houses. People do not travel to Takatifu and the inhabitants are not allowed to leave.
Relation to the Central Government: The policy of isolationism has caused problems in the past. Many see it as a violation of human rights and freedoms. Women's rights activists are especially eager to get on the planet and oversee policy change because of some of the reports they've heard on the culture. But it has always been more profitable for the Republic to maintain peaceful relations with Takatifu.
Religion: There is no religion on Takatifu. But there is a deep spirituality that is encouraged which includes a high emphasis on the honoring of one's ancestors and loyalty to one's people.
Other History: Takatifu was originally meant to be a wild life preserve. A lot of money went into terraforming the planet to resemble Earth as much as possible. There were vast DNA banks that took up whole ships in orbit around Takatifu long before it was inhabitable.
Government: The planetary government is loose and is meant to be that way. It is ruled by the Cabri. He (and it is always a he) is a man that controls the Planetary Guard of 600. To become the Cabri you have to kill your predecessor. Challengers often come from within the PG but not always. Anyone that can take the seat of the Cabri is free to have it.
To become one of the PG you have to take the place of someone. These replacements are not as lethal. A member of the PG can choose to hand over their commission to someone though it can also be taken in combat.
The Cabri and the PG have the responsibility of enforcing the planetary blockade. They are the only Safi in possession of Space capable ships though they are not jump capable (or however we are achieving interstellar travel). The PG shoot first and ask questions later. Any unauthorized ships that jump into Takatifu space are shot down.
With that type of fire power you would think the Cabri could take over the planet. But he can't. The one time, in the history of Takatifu, that a Cabri tried his ships were shot down by the ground-to-space defense grids of the Ten Houses. The Houses didn't appreciate the Cabri's attempt to subvert their sovereignty.
There are seven major Houses on Takatifu and three minor ones. The minor Houses are minor only in size since they are newer. Each House is sovereign and independent of the others though there are alliances between them.
A House is really an extended family. Everyone in a House is related. They are about four to five thousand members big and are all concentrated in one place (except for Jackal that has chosen a nomad lifestyle but they are considered eccentric).
A House is ruled by a matriarch who is entrusted with the continuing the House's bloodline. She has to have as many children as possible and normally has many husbands. The Matriarch can have as many husbands as they want by Safi law but it as become traditional to have at least three and no more than seven. (All other marriages of the Safi only include two people.)
The Matriarch of a House is chosen by, as always with the Safi, competition. Though how women are allowed to compete and how men are allowed to compete are very different. The Matriarch officially chooses a successor at the age of thirty in case of sudden death but that does not always guarantee the succession. She can change her mind at any time before she dies and often does.
Culture: Safi culture highly emphasizes breeding. Because of this the culture is highly competitive and winning is prized above all. To win is to prove oneself a worthy specimen who has a right, more, a duty to pass on your genes. Everything in a Safi's life is a competition and the only thing important is that you win, however you manage to accomplish that.
Their lives are very harsh and demanding. Men must always compete in ways that can often be lethal and/or cause permanent injury. Women must never be seen to compete. This is the cross they bear. For this reason their competitions can be more vicious and damaging than a man's in many ways.
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Safi children are taken from their parents at the age of 7. Female and male children are kept apart and this does not change with time. It is unseemly for a man to be alone with a woman who is not his wife, his mother or his sister and vice versa.
Kai (unmarried young men) are taken from their families and put into an atmosphere where they must compete to live. They live in barracks and are never given enough to eat. Those that can get food live, those that can't are considered defective. Fights are encouraged and winning is rewarded in all sorts of ways.
They begin to learn how to use close combat weapons at age 10. It is at this point that fights begin to become lethal. Killing one's brothers is not encouraged by any means. Deaths are rare but they do happen and are not illegal.
As they get older unprovoked violence is frowned on. It is now seen as weak to be unable to control one's temper. And when fights do happen deaths are very rare since it is weak and clumsy to be unable to control one's attacks.
If there is one word that sums up what a Safi man should strive for it is Strength.
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For Safi women it is different. Their ideal is not strength but Grace.
Female Safi children are also taken at age 7 and are sent to learn the womanly arts. This includes the sciences (some men train in this area as well but they are highly outnumbered by women). Control of a family's bloodline is entrusted to women and so the brunt of handling genetics is left to them. And they are not only in charge of overseeing the human breeding program but the animal one as well which has been faithfully carried out. Many of Earth's old species have been restored and even improved upon.
They are also taught how to walk, talk, dress, bow, decorate, cook, play music, arrange flowers, stones, tapestries. Basically they are taught how to make themselves and the world surrounding them beautiful. Beauty is one of the highest ideals of a woman's life. To maintain poise and grace throughout any situation is considered admirable. Women are judged by the house they keep. And the Matriarch is judged most harshly since she has the largest House to look out for.
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Women (with a lot of oversight from their mothers and aunts) choose their own partners. This is a position of power. Men are constantly trying to prove themselves worthy of a woman's attention.
However, no kai is allowed to marry a woman of his own House or vice versa. Men take on the family name of their wives and must marry into one of the other 9 Houses.
In order to help facilitate this process there are Olympic games held every 5 years though they consist of more than just athletic events. All sorts of games and competitions are included here.
There are many other, smaller tournaments and competetions held at every level at many other times. Mostly they are held at festivals celebrating peace treaties.
The Ten Houses are constantly at war with one another. Small wars and raids happen many times a year. Larger wars happen every couple of years. These wars rarely result in the extermination of one of the Houses (this has happened only once in Takatifu history) but the losing House loses status and its men must often marry lower, its women not attracting the best of candidates, until the next war when they can regain their status and another House has to take a turn in the position of the defeated.
As has already been stated, there is a large emphasis put on winning. Whether it be a war, a game or even a debate. Everything, big and small, is about winning and proving yourself a good genetic specimen. The highest honor for a man/woman is to be a husband/wife and a father/mother. This is what they live for, what they are taught to value.
Those who lose too often or in other ways prove themselves unworthy are neutered outright and, of course, not allowed to marry or breed. People who are neutered are considered worthless and are often made into slaves. This is the only example of slavery on Takatifu. Rarely, a neutered male can still bring their House honor by winning renown in other places. It does not, personally, do them any good. But it can increase the marriage value of their brothers and sisters if they have any.
On the rare occasion that someone is allowed to leave Takatifu they are almost always one of these culls. The Ambassador to the Republic is a cull and has almost no worth on Takatifu. He was sent to keep the Republic happy and off their backs. To the Safi, he is pretty much expendable. However, if he screws up he can still bring shame on his House and his family and reduce the esteem of his brothers and sisters. Hence he does his job and makes sure the Republic supports the blockade.
Anyone who leaves Takatifu has to be neutered. They will not allow their genes to be taken off planet. Further, except on very rare occasion, you are not allowed back. They do not want their population infected with wander lust.
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Safi culture is heavily formalized. Despite, or maybe because of, its tradition of brutal and often cruel competition civility and politeness are stressed at all times. To embarrass another is a very grave transgression.
People are often called by their titles or last names. You would have to know someone pretty well to be allowed to use their personal name and even then it is hardly ever used in public.
Most Safi are extremely private people and very polite. If an outsider came to Takatifu it would be very difficult to discern what the natives are thinking or truly believe. You would not be able to tell if they loved you or if they hated you since either emotion would look very similar and both would be masked by a veil of civility.
Any conversation that takes place longer than a couple of minutes must be accompanied with tea and the participants will sit down to a nice conversation, often talking about trivial matters for extreme lengths of time before anything relating to the subject of the conversation is said. Even then, ideas and concerns are carefully worded and often masked in metaphor.
Learning how to navigate society is a skill that women are taught to excel at from a very early age. Men, unfortunately, have to play catch up when they pass their tests of adulthood at the age of 16. Before then they are isolated from the larger society and only live with each other, where plain talking is encouraged and the way of life. Young kais are not really considered worthy of attention until they can pour a cup of tea with skill.
Houses (In order of size)
Drago (Dragon)
Leone (Lion)
Falco (Falcon)
Grua (Crane)
Kikuto (Hyena)
Coccodrillo (Crocodile)
Buitre (Vulture)
Lupo (Wolf)
Maschio (Stag)
Jackal (Jackal)
((The Houses are all similar but they are not the same. Each House prizes different attributes and breeds for them. For example, among the Kikuto intelligence and wit are prized highly and it is often more important to outwit your opponent than to outfight them. Their Fairs almost always feature a large section of games involving strategy instead of straight up physical challenges, while among the Coccodrillo the opposite is true.))
Titles
Some titles are put into names. Example: Kaden kai'Leone. Or they can be used alone when talking with someone you know well and can be less formal with. Example, "When are you going to get married kai?"
Unmarried:
Man- Kai
Woman- Di
Married:
Man- Ka
Women- Da
Respect or Honor (akin to calling someone sir or madam. Normally only used for those who hold high status positions and are used alone. Example: "Yes Diora, it will get done." Occasionally they can be used when talking to teachers or parents. Use your own judgment. These titles show the most respect for the person you are talking to.)
Man- Sensu
Women- Diora
Children: (Age 7 or younger. These titles are not put into names and are stand alone titles only and only used as terms of endearment. Officially young children are still known by Kai or Di.)
Boy - Ki
Girl - Lali
Members of your House: (this last is more like slang which is why it is only used when men are speaking amongst themselves.)
Men- Brother
Women- There is no female equivalent since women do not change houses and men wouldn't speak to them in this manner anyway.