Sgen people

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Sgen
Total population
100,000
Regions with significant populations
Nevira
Languages
Sgen language
Religion
Indigenous religion

The Sgen people, also known as Roarakas(Roaraka literally means "dweller of the lake" in the Sgen language), is a non-indigenous minority group in Nevira, with a diaspora in South Jute. It is estimated that there are about 8,000 self-designated Sgen people in the world.

The word Sgen is likely an exonym; however, in modern times most Sgen people accept the word Sgen as the ethnonym.

History

The Sgen people have lived in Nevira since prehistoric times, it is believed that related groups were more widespread in Nevira, and the distribution of Sgen and related peoples gradually shrank due to the spread of Neviric peoples.

During the time of Saruan Empire, some Sgen people, especially those who looked for freedom, migrated to South Jute, creating the diaspora of Sgen people in South Jute.

Physiology

Sgen people look a lot like Ekuosian peoples, and it is believed that prehistoric groups related to the Sgen people have contributed to the genetic pool to Neviric peoples, and DNA tests have shown that they have an origin in Ekuosia.

Sgen diaspora in South Jute also intermarry with locan peoples.

Culture

Lifestyle

The Sgen people are agrarian, Subsistence farming is the main lifestyle of most Sgen people, buckwheat is the main staple food of the Sgen people.

Food

Traditionally Sgen people eat grains, sorghum is the staple food among them. Meat is an important part of their diet and is highly valued in Sgen cuisine; however, meat is not consumpted often, mostly meat is only eaten during festivals.

sorghum-made porridge is a major part of Sgen cuisine, and sorghum porridge is traditionally served in a variety of ways.

Traditional Medicine

The most basic thing common of all societies is to make sure all its members, regardless of gender, age and class, can live as long as possible until they die naturally, therefore all societies have medical practices and rules upholding social order.

The traditional medicine of the Sgen people consist of mostly herbs, and witch-doctors play an important role in curing sick or injured people.

Family Structure

Traditional families of the Sgen people are extended family consisting of parents, their children and other relatives, and the oldest member, usually the oldest male, is the leader of the family and has the authority to make decisions that would affect most members of the family like marriage, adoption, and the acquisition or transferral of familial properties; however, mostly, the leader of the family would discuss with all other family members before making final decisions.

Marriage

Traditionally the Sgen people perform arranged marriage, arranged marriage is the norm of Sgen people and marriage is seen as a matter between two families rather than two individuals. Traditionally Sgen people think marriage out of love is unstable and bad, and are often made out of impulse, but as marriage is a matter between two families rather than two individuals, it cannot be made out of impulse and must be discussed with the whole family and the final decision should be made by someone with authority in the family, usually the oldest male and female of the family.

Funeral

Burial is the most common way to handle the body of the deceased. Cremation is not common and is seen as a foreign practice.

Inheritance rule

In the society of Sgen people, when a couple dies, the norm for inheritance is that their estate are divided equally between their children.

Architecture

Traditional vernacular architecture of the Sgen people are usually made of wood, straw or bamboo, with a straw roof and a dirt floor. Straw layering is often used to cover the floor. There are usually no room divisions inside the house.

Decision making

Traditionally, all adult members of a village take parts in making decisions; however, elderies have the right to make final decisions when a deadlock happens.

In more stratified communities, especially those associate with the Neviric governance more, have a more hierarchal and oligocratic decision making process in which the leader or the elites of the village make most decisions.

Gender Roles

It is thought that Sgen gender system was initially binary; however, due to the influence of Qurosism and Adzo-Neviric cultures, the Lower Ekuosian gender system gradually arose in Sgen society, some villages, especially those with more Adzo-Neviric influences, have fully adopted the Lower Ekuosian gender system. Evidence shows that the gender temrs in the Sgen language are loanwords of Adzo-Neviric languages, in the Sgen language, the śeen gender is called tori', the rukraan gender is called kokiko, the letheen gender is called iegari, the benthiin gender is called pari, and the Quuroshoom gender is called koorosioovi.

In most Sgen communities, there are five genders, the fifth gender, the Quuroshoom, is widely accepted among Sgen communities. The acceptance of the Lower Ekuosian gender system among the Sgen communities is on the rise due to the widespread of education and the increment of knowledge in Qurosism among the Sgen people in recent decades.

Religion

Qurosism is the main religion of the Sgen people, but the local variety of Qurosism has been syncretized with the traditional Sgen folk religion. The traditional Sgen folk religion is animistic, native deities and deities from surrounding peoples are all venerated.

Language

Virtually all Sgen people speak the Sgen language as the mother tongue, some of them are bilingual in Neviran, and members of the South Jute diaspora also speak Jutean, Mermelian or Gfiewish.

The use of the Sgen language is robust, it is acquired by virtually all children of Sgen ethnicity and is used in all occasions of daily life. Bilingualism in Neviran is increasing among Sgen people due to the widespread of education.

With only 6 consonants and 4 vowels, the Sgen language has arguably the smallest phonological inventory among all languages in Sahar.