Bor’ja

Apatga Asatavanadi, a Bor’ja

The Bor'ja are a uniquely religious people settled in a prairie land. Their simple yet elegant embroidery is renowned for quality and unique, appealing abstract forms. The majority of other cultures use decorative motifs representative of the beauty of the world around them, but the Bor'ja use geometric forms that are exclusively decorative and allude to nothing.

Their theocratic government, despite being very tame and unrestrictive, makes a lot of foreigners uneasy. The Bor'ja are very accustomed to this response and even understand it. Most are quick and more than willing to clear up any misconceptions those not in the know may have.

## Naming Traditions

### Unisex names

As in the majority of cultures of Paan Atta, Bor'ja personal names are not gender specific. They are given when the child first eats solid food, on the basis that solid food is the most earthly food, and this forges the connection with Paan Atta.

### Family names

Bor'ja family names are distinctly rhythmic and ancient as a tradition. A Bor'ja family name is often unique to the one family, as it is complicated and based on kinship rather than a specific location or trade. Distant relatives can usually easily identify one another by a shared family name and strike up a conversation from this. Names are inherited from the birther, as is the norm of those cultures of Paan Atta whose family names are inheritable.

### Other names

When a person officially becomes a Priest in a ceremony that is not known to the public, they take a new personal name after an astronomical formation, observation, or concept. This is their heavenly name, which is used before their earthly name. After this, their earthly name is still used as sort of a middle name/second name.

## Culture

### Art and architecture

The Bor'ja are iconoclasts, religiously and traditionally abstaining from depicting real objects in their art. The abstract forms and motifs are highly prized for their unique creativity, particularly in demand are Bor'ja embroidered clothing. These pieces are handmade, one of a kind, and greatly admired for their simplicity and elegance.

Bor'ja homes take advantage of the land's hilly terrain, building into the hills, with footpaths on top of roofs, equalizing the height of the walk. Insulated by the dirt, these hill-houses are cozy and warm in winter, chilly and shaded in summer.

### Shared customary codes and values

Knowledge, especially extensive knowledge of a specific domain is seen as the height of self-improvement and ideal maturity. Individuals are culturally encouraged to perfect their learning of foreign languages and their knowledge of their occupation and its history. The majority of Bor'ja over 20 are fluent in two languages and competent in a third and a fourth. These include the Louisian lingua franca, the native Bor'ja language, and the other two are usually those of neighboring countries or major trade partners, or the language of the cosmopolitan Mitta since they are often encountered.

### Foods & Cuisine

Wheat is their staple crop, featuring in nearly all Bor'ja dishes, with corn a close second. Their food is unusually mild. It is not plain, but instead, it features subtle and delicate flavors, as well as unique and innovative textures.

### Coming of Age Rites

At the coming of age, the 20th birthday, a lone pilgrimage is made to the sacred site of the Crater, where Starmetal blessed the Bor'ja millennia ago. The person coming of age will touch the crater, lay in it, and even sleep for a night in it, silently and solemnly contemplating space and the unknown. They return home when they are ready, and do not speak of their experiences with the crater.

### Funerary and Memorial customs

A Priest visits a family and closes the eyes of the deceased with a piece of starmetal, sending their consciousness out to the unknown/the metaphorical stars. After this, the body is burnt, along with their clothes at death, sending the deceased's memory to the world.

### Common Taboos

To touch starmetal/fallen substances/meteorite matter without the permission and supervision of a Priest is strictly forbidden. The reasoning for this is that those without a Priest's years of study are not equipped to understand these unknowns and will be driven mad, even if they do not realize/cannot tell they are mad at first. Many Bor'ja unspokenly just see this as a cultural/sacred thing and don't actually believe in the starmadness, but still revere space and the unknown and thus do not touch the material when not permitted.

## Ideals

### Beauty Ideals

The ideals of beauty for the Bor'ja include generally elongated and elegant features, especially the neck and limbs, as well as a rounder eye shape and a darker eye color.

### Courtship Ideals

For a Bor'ja marriage to be recognized, it must be announced before a Priest. However, they will almost always put the marriage into law, with exceptions being extremely rare and bizarre.

### Relationship Ideals

Bor'ja relationships are ideally demonstrated through assistance with tasks, side-by-side work, and in general being comfortable near each other while doing something, or even each doing a different thing. This sort of side-by-side comfort and presence with one another is upheld as beautiful and harmonious.