Egeriac people

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Egeriac
People.png
Some prominent Egeriac people
Total population
around 67 million
Regions with significant populations
Notzel
Languages
Egeriac language
Religion
Indigenous religion

The Egeriac people are a major ethnic group in Notzel. It is estimated that there are around 67 million self-designated Egeriac people in the world.

The name Egeriac is from the Egeria area in Notzel, and the name Egeria is from the Egeriac language word Eger "Egeriac-speaking people".

Etymology

The name Egeriac is from the Egeriac language Eger, which is thought to have the original meaning "people, folk", but later it became an ethnonym.

History

The origin of Egeriac people and other Alcian-speaking peoples are obscure, but genetic research suggests that Egeriac people are genetically influenced by Ekuosians, which indicates that at least parts of the Egeriac people might be originated from Ekuosia.

Physiology

Culture

Lifestyle

Before the industrialization of Notzel, Egeriac people were agrarian, Subsistence farming was the main lifestyle of most Egeriac people, potatoes, wheat and barley are the main staple food of Egeriac people.

Food

Traditionally Egeriac people eat grains, tubers and meat. Maize and sorghum are staple foods among Egeriac people, breads made of cornmeal and sorghum flour are the traditional Egeriac staple food; besides, meat is an important part of their diet and is highly valued in Egeriac cuisine.

Porks and meat of rodents are tabooed among Egeriac people, as a consequence, they are shunned by most peoples in Notzel; also, the internal organs of animals are rarely consumed. Seafood other than fish is also not commonly consumed.

Traditional Medicine

Family Structure

All societies have families, and nuclear families consisting of a father, a mother and the biological children of both sexes of the mother exist in all societies, either as the most prevalent form of family or as a part of an extended family.

The Egeriac society is traditionally divided into clans, and each family belongs to a clan, clans serve as a way to determine the ancestry of a person, and as a factor to determine if a marriage would be legal, marrying people belonging to the same clan is seen as incest, and incest is a taboo in the society of Egeriac people, as in most other societies. Traditional families of Egeriac 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.

In the modern society of Egeriac people, however, as a result of industrialization and urbanization, nuclear family has become more common in Egeriac society nowadays.

Naming Tradition

Almost all societies use personal names to identify its members, Egeriac people are no exception to this.

Many if not most Egeriac people don't have true family names, but it is not uncommon to add patronyms or matronyms after the given name, the patronym or matronym of a person is preceded by Tzenni "son of" if the person is a male, and preceded by Mniti/Miniti "daughter of" if the person is a female. In recent years, however, there is a growing number of people choosing to use the gender-neutral word Menti "child of" to indicate their patronyms or matronyms.

Rites

Marriage

All societies have marriage in the sense of culturally recognised union between people, so does Egeriac people. Egeriac people are strictly monogamous, having two wives or hasbands are frowned upon, and the law of Notzel also prohibits polygamy; besides, Egeriac people perform exogamy, people of the same ancestry don't marry each other, marriage between two people with the same ancestry is seen as incest, and incest is a taboo among Egeriac people.

Funeral

Burial is the most common way to handle the body of the deceased. Having the body dissected or burned in fire was a punishment and nowadays most people still see cremation as an uncomfortable choice for body disposal.

Inheritance rule

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

In the past when hereditary titles existed, the oldest son of the family inherited the title, but he also had a duty of helping all his siblings for everything.

Religion

The exact content of the traditional belief among Egeriac people is lost to the time. Most Egeriac people are Egerists. Egerism borrowed the name of god from Iovism but with its own doctrines. The book He-Zdarroth is the holy scripture of Egerism, and HeMluddoth, the commandments listed in He-Zdarroth, is widely seen as the social rule of the society by Egeriac people.

Various kinds of rodents, including mice, rats, beavers, etc. are venerated, people prey and give gifts to the King Rat in hope of keeping mice and rats away from barns and growing grain, and golden sculptures of rats and mice are common in Notzel.

In the past, water was seen as a realm reserved for males, females were strictly banned from fishing or swimming in water, even today, it is still uncommon for females to go to the beach or to do water activities, even swimsuits for females are rarely sold; mountains were also seen as a holy realms for males only, and it is still uncommon for females to climb mountains today.

Egeriac people traditionally believe that the world consists of five elements: soil(or ground), water, fire, air(or wind) and soul(or consciousness), some people don't count soul as the fifth element and lists only four elements because they think soul is not of the material world and elements should be restricted to explain the formation of material existences.

Architecture

Traditional vernacular buildings are usually made of rammed earth, stone or wood, depending on the area. In coastal areas, houses made of rammed earth or stone are more common; in inland areas, houses made of woods with a straw roof are more common.

Traditionally, vernacular buildings have a dirt floor, covered with straws, but in modern times, due to industrialisation and economic growth, flooring has become available to everyone, and nowadays houses with a dirt floor has become rare, the most common material for flooring include stones and tiles, woods are also used in areas where woods are more available.

Decision making

Language

The Egeriac language is the traditional language of Egeriac people, it has become the de facto official language of Notzel.