Culture of Dorne

***A Mix of Three Worlds***

The Dornish culture is a mix of the cultures from the First Men, the Andals and the Rhoynar, though the degree of each influence fluctuates in different areas. The coastal area, is inhabited by the so called Salty Dornishmen, who tend to favour the Rhoynish customs. The mountain area, inhabited by the Stony Dornishmen, favours the culture of the First Men and the Andals. The river valleys and desert areas favour the culture of the Andals and the Rhoynar.

 While there will be a section about each Dornish ethnic group, all of them speak the Common Tongue, with an accent considered by many from other kingdoms to be quite difficult to understand, although others see it as a charming characteristic. Also, Dornish lords wear silk and satin robes because of high temperatures, also using jewelry and other ornaments.

 As a whole, dornish people are much more liberal regarding sex, accepting relationships between people with the same sex and the status of mistresses and paramours. Women and bastards tend to also be treated better than in the rest of Westeros, but while there tends to be no difference on inheritance laws regarding the sex of the first child, some keeps in the Mountain area continue to use Andal inheritance laws, based on male preference.

## *Rhoynish Influence*

While the Rhoynar would arrive in Dorne centuries after the First Men and the Andals, they would deeply affect and change the Dornish culture. First, differently from the other kingdoms, the ruler of Dorne wasn't a king, it was a prince or a princess, a custom that was used by the Rhoynar in their cities. Other influences include the equal rights between a firstborn men or a firstborn women regarding inheritance, followed by almost all Dornish noble houses and their openness towards sex.

The Rhoynish people also brought with them a lot of their knowledge regarding navigation and math. Nymeria, founder of House Martell, together with Mors Martell, led ten thousand ships from Essos to Dorne, and the river-based Rhoynish society certainly meant they had a lot to contribute to the Dornish people.

The Salty Dornishmen hold the greatest influence of the Rhoynish people, even resembling the Rhoynish in their appearance. Yet, today the Salty Dornishmen no longer speak the Rhoynish language, and the Rhoynish gods, like the Mother Rhoyne, the Old Man of the River, a turtle god, and his adversary, the Crab King. Only in the Greenblood area are the Rhoynish customs fully practiced, by the Orphans of the Greenblod.

## *Andal and First Men Influence*

The First Men were the first settlers of Dorne, though now much of their culture is no longer as present as in the past, being dominated by the Andal and Rhoynish cultures. The laws of hospitality, though, are still a First Men tradition that exists today.  Hosts were expected to serve guests bread and salt upon arrival, and guests received protection once they had eaten.

The Andal influence is stronger than the First Men. The Faith of the Seven, the religion of the Andals, is practiced by almost the entirety of the Dornish people, as well as the Andal tongue ( or Common Tongue) and writing system. There also is the tradition of the knighthood. While the Andals learned the art of working iron from the Rhoynish, the Andals were the ones that brought it to Westeros.

The Andal inheritance system is based on male preference, but nowadays only a few Dornish houses use it, almost every other house currently use the Rhoynish system, based on equal rights between male and female. Paramours, mistresses and bastards, normally poorly seen by the Andal-based society in Westeros, are accepted by the Dornish, who, generally, don't have any problem or prejudice towards them.

## *The Dornish People*

The Dornish people are divided into three major ethnic groups, the Salty, Rocky and Sandy Dornishmen, along minor ethnical groups like the Orphans of the Greenblood and the Sandbeggars.

### Salty Dornishmen

Salty Dornishmen live along the coasts, mainly along the Broken Arm region. They are lithe and dark, with smooth olive skin and long black hair, having been most strongly influenced by the Rhoynar. They tend to be fishermen,sailors or merchants. Notable Salty Dornish houses include House Martell, House Toland and House Jordayne.

### Sandy Dornishmen

Sandy Dornishmen live in the deserts and in the river valleys. They have faces burned brown by the hot Dornish sun, being even darker than the Salty Dornishmen. They tend to favour Andal and Rhoynish culture. Notable Sandy Dornish houses include House Allyrion, House Uller, House Vaith, House Qorgyle and House Ladybright.

### Stony Dornishmen

Stony Dornishmen live in the passes and heights of the Red Mountains. They have the most Andal and First Men blood and mostly resemble the other people of the Seven Kingdoms in look, customs and traditions, though they still have, in a lesser degree, influences of the Rhoynish culture. A few Stony Dornishmen may follow Andal rather than Rhoynish laws of inheritance. They are brown-haired or blond with faces that are freckled or burned by the sun instead of browned. These include the Yronwoods with their blond hair and blue eyes, the yellow-haired Fowlers, and the violet-eyed Daynes. Notable Stony Dornish houses include House Dayne, House Fowler, House Yronwood and House Manwoody.

### Orphans of the Greenblood

The Orphans of the Greenblod are the descendants of the Rhoynar who fled with Nymeria and her ships to Dorne but refused to assimilate into Dornish culture.The orphans still mourn the loss of their distant homeland in Essos and so continue to practice the traditions of their river-faring ancestors. They consider themselves to be “orphans” of their “Mother,” the river Rhoyne, which, in their faith, also holds a divine status.

The orphans live on rafts along the River Greenblood. It is said that when they first came to Dorne they built their smaller boats from the burned carcasses of the ships they used to cross the narrow sea.

The orphans of the Greenblood pole their boats up and down the river and its tributaries, fishing, picking fruits, and doing whatever work is required. Planky Town is a major trade hub, with carracks, cogs, and galleys from across the narrow sea.

### Sandbeggars

Living mostly in the desert areas, especially the one encompassed by the Uller and Qorgyle lands and proximities, the Sandbeggars are migratory groups. They follow the Andal and First Men customs, but are nomadic or semi-nomadic groups, constantly traveling through the Dornish territory, seeking refuge from the drought and scarce resources. They are named after the Sandbeggar, a native tree from Dorne that grow in the edge of deserts and are said to mark nearby water, most of the trees are gnarled and twisted with as many thorns as they have leaves.

## Architecture

The Dornish architecture is a mix of the Andal, First Men and Rhoynish architecture. Currently, most of the keeps reflect the Andal and Rhoynish styles, but a few in the mountain areas still have some characteristics of the style of the First Men. The keeps that decided to follow the Rhoynish style have fountains, internal gardens and rooms decorated with Rhoynish or Andal artworks, including poems, religious portraits or geometrical figures, all crafted in the wall itself.

The Andal keeps follow the same characteristics of the keeps in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, though they have more windows and open places, a necessary condition considering the dornish climate. The keeps in the mountain areas also have a more defensible strecture, considering the tensions between Dorne, the Reach and the Stormlands, as well as theirs constant conflicts.

For some examples of Dornish Keeps that follow Rhoynish influences, the architecture used in the Arabic dominated Iberic Peninsula is a very good reference, more information can be found here.

## Clothing

The dornish style of clothing is based on their climate, with extreme temperatures and a warm climate. Their clothes are more loose-fitted and open, allowing them to cool more easily, also, both men and women low necklines on their clothes. The women also have exposed arms or slit sleeves. While their clothing reflect the warm climate, the dornish also are more open towars sexuality, those two things together contribute to the fact that dornish clothings is more revealing.

The dornish clothes are also more brightly colored, favouring orange, red and yellow. The dornish clothes are made to shed heat. The dornish also tend to use turbants while travelling through the country, being necessary given the extremely high temperatures in the Dornish deserts. They also use a lot of jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets and rings. The use of heavy armours is not recommended, considering the heat, but they can be used.

Currently, the best examples of Dornish clothing can be found in the series Game of Thrones. There, their main inspiration was the indian style, both in the fabris and dyes. A good place to read more about the dornish clothing in the series can be found here and some descriptions of the style used by the characters in the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, here.

## Military Tradition

The Dornishmen prefer round metal shields, spears, short throwing spears or double-curved bows. The Dornishmen are famous for their Sand Steed riding light cavalry, and use their double-curved bows skillfully from horseback. Because of the heat, they wear lighter armor than in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms made of metal disks, sometimes decorated with copper, sewn in the manner of scales on the leather. To allow themselves to fight in the burning sun of Dorne, they wear brightly colored flowing robes covering the metal parts of their armor.

There also is the presence of knights in Dorne, as the Andal influence in the country is still strong. They are knighted following the Andal tradition, and are expected to follow the knights code of conduct. protecting the weak and acting with honor. Yet, while they would know to fight with a sword, giving their status, they also had to adapt themselves to the Dornish ambient, using more spears and light armour.

Guerrilla tactis are well know in Dorne, as they were used during the Targaryen Conquest of Westeros and the Conquest of Dorne led by King Daeron I. The dornish use their extense knowledge of their home in their favour, hiding in the desert and moutains, while preparing traps and ambushes for their enemies and attacks in the night, mainly focusing on the enemy's supplies.

The use of poison is not as bad viewed as it is in the rest of Westeros, being used frequently by many dornish houses and even dornish fighters, who use them on their weapons.

The Sand Steed is a type of horse bred in Dorne, they have a long neck, narrow head and are known for their slimness and swiftness. They are smaller than normal horses, with their colors going from red to even white.  Dornishmen claim the mounts are able to run for a day and night and another day, and never tire.