Msarban

Efel Radigja-Camilschild, Msarban ambassador to Louisia

The Msarban are a populous ethnicity, primarily residing in their homeland, a country with a long coastline and much rugged, hilly land. This land's borders enclose a deceptively large land, with only a fraction of it truly inhabited. Msarbans hug the nourishing coastline with its wetlands, rivers, fjords, and flood plains. The coarse and brushy grasslands are mainly belonging the goats who lick the salty ground which few plants can embrace.

There is a significant culture of Msarban bead-making, utilizing a variety of materials and perfecting a wide array of techniques.

## Naming Traditions

### Unisex names

As in the majority of cultures of Paan Atta, Msarban personal names are not gender specific. Sounds or names coming to the pregnant one in dreams are a tradition to give to the child, but aspirational names based on a blood relative are also common (with differences in some syllables to avoid confusion). Examples include Moarin, Eckstet, and Efel.

### Family names

Msarban family names generally refer to a vague location of family ancestry, making many family names common. Referring to a Msarban both in legal documentation and in conversation, one will typically also use the personal name of whoever gave birth to the Msarban. Examples include: Radigja-Camilschild, Pizuva-Elaschild, A'erada-Simaschild.

## Culture

### Shared customary codes and values

Trust is the highest cultural value, between family members, romantic partners, student-mentor relationships, in the government, and ideally in international relations. Related to this, there is an expectation of hosting guests in one's home graciously and guests being respectful and generous. Turning down an invitation, no matter how far-fetched, is taboo if there is not a previous, contradictory obligation. Due to this, when a public figure such as a politician is invited to a stranger's wedding party, they will make an appearance there and it will serve for a good image to the public.

### Common Etiquette rules

Food is shared and eaten from a large communal vessel within a household. Setting aside items and placing them preemptively on one's plate before they can be eaten is very rude and viewed as greedy.

A guest closing doors in a host's house is rude, with mythological origins. (It's kind of a chicken and egg debate, the myths may have used pre-existing etiquette rules. It is not known.) The host closes any doors. All bathrooms and a good deal of guest bedrooms have curtains instead of solid doors, to evade awkwardness.

### Foods & Cuisine

In all faces of Msarban land, salt is abundant whereas other seasonings are rare. Seaweed is ripped into flakes and crushed into powder, giving many dishes a unique flavor. Once shellfish are eaten, the shells are re-used, filled with other food items serving both to present as well as to flavor them. The inedible hunks of fat from animals whose meat is consumed are boiled down to broths, sauces, and custards.

A great majority of Msarban cuisine is thick and dense with a little aeration, which both serves to make food more easily stored and to decrease the amount of time consumed in eating. Small tools exclusively for eating are seen as a waste, and thus most foods are poured into one's mouth directly, picked up in another edible object, or cohesive enough to pick up with the hands.

## Ideals

### Beauty Ideals

Msarban beauty affords a great focus to the calves of the legs, emphasizing a smooth and defined curve. Tunics and robes never reach below the knees. Stockings, leggings, tights, and boots are closely fitted and buttoned. Skin with a warm undertone, thick hair, larger eyes, and smooth brows are also ideal.

### Relationship Ideals

The ideal romantic partnership, in Msarban culture, involves a great deal of trust. Openness both physical and verbal is expected. It is believed that when partners have explored all other prospects and experienced the love of others, yet still gravitate towards one another, they have achieved real love rather than a partnership of convenience and circumstance. Open relationships are the ideal and the norm, with closed partnerships seen as untrusting and jealous.