Lifestyle of the Golden Lion

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"Lifestyle in The Golden Lion"
MEELREBBAN

Meelrebban means "forbidden place" in the old language of Golden Lion. However, right now, people are calling a part of the Emir's, Emirzai's, Shahzan, Shaykh's or Nawaab's household, which is composed of the wife, servants, female relatives, concubines, female slaves and dumars.

So, all females are living in one place, which is in the different part of the castle, where males are not allowed, except dumars. Dumars are guards, who were assigned to keep meelrebban safe. Most of these men are slaves or volunteers, because the salary of dumar is very high. However, there is a cost. All dumars are unsexed.

The utmost authority in the meelrebban is the mother of the male to whom the harrem belongs. She rule over the other women in the household. The Chief Dumar is the head of the eunuchs responsible for guarding the meelrebban. The mother is usually responsible for paying salary for the females in the meelrebban, keeping these women busy, choosing women for her son. The meelrebban is formed for the male, when he is turned 16 years olf. Meelrebban is formed by the mother too. Usually, she just chooses a few women from son's father's meelrebban, who forms a new meelrebban.

Emir, Emirzai, Shahzan, Shaykh or Nawaab can have meelrebban. Others are strictly forbidden. Yes, they can have one legal wife and one or two concubines, if they can pay for it, but nothing more.

These females, who belong to meelrebban as servants, handmaidens, possible concubines, concubines are usually slaves or prisoners, captured during the war. Some are volunteering to be the part of High Noble or even the King meelrebban. After all, they always can have hope to give birth to the male heir and this way become noble herself.

The female is a part of meelrebban for as long as the man gives her freedom. He can do that anytime he wants. Otherwise, the females have to serve for the man. Of course, mother and relatives of the Emir or Emirzai are considered authority of meelrebban and their husbands are forbidden to have meelrebban, because they have high titles. For example, if Shaykh marries the daughter of just a simple lower noble Nawaab, Shaykh can have meelrebban. Though, if simple Nawaab marries the daughter of Shaykh, Nawaab can't have meelrebban. Though, if Emir marries Shaykh's daughter, Emir can have meelrebban. But if Shaykh will marry the duaghter of Emir, he will have to give freedom for his meelrebban.

The man can name a few Chosen concubines, which will be understood as the favorite ones. That means, that the man will use their company more often than others and they are officially ackwnoledge asthe ones, who can give birth to the children, who will be named as true sons and daughters of specific man, not bastards. |-

Clothes

Clothing the Golden Lion is largely simple due to the heat in the country and the lack of need of layers if you dont plan to go Traipsing around in the desert. Due to this many people are a little shocked to see most people wearing thin layers and revealing clothes. This tends to shock People from the Isles Less and those of the Rivers and Estonia more due to the massive differences in climate and humidity.

Materials and Color - The vast majority of clothes in the Golden Lion are made of Linen though most people even the working poor tend to have a few pieces of silk and other light materials since breathing materials are required on the hotter days. Linen does though tend to be the material of choice for people who have to work for a living. Cotton is a relative rarity in the Golden Lion since it doesnt grow there and has to be woven with some skill that most Spinsters in the Lion Lack so lighter clothes tend to be made of silk.

As for Colors of clothes lighter colors tend to be prefered for there ability to stay cooler than the darker colors that people in other countries prefer so White, Tan, Pale blues and yellows tend to be the most popular colors. Reds are also popular with people who can afford the more expensive dyes. As in most cultures certain colors carry meaning when someone wears them and some castes of social groups woudnt be caught dead in certain colors in polite society. These are detailed Below.

  • Black is considered unlucky and is not worn even to funerals. Only members of the Gospel of Shah Wadi wear black and no one wants to mistaken for a thief.
  • White is considered a color to be worn when at home to avoid stains and tarnishing of the clean material. Very few people who work with there hands will wear white and its considered something that only Nobles can do regularly.
  • Red is normally reserved for soldiers and Smiths though in different shades. It is considered a color for people who work with there hands but have some skill instead of just being normal manual labor. As such wearing it denotes that you are a skilled craftsmen usually.
  • Blue is an Odd color in the Golden Lion. Typically it is a color that is worn by non-Noble women and Slaves since it is the Color of the sea and the Faith of the Golden Lion considers the Sea to be untrustworthy. Men who wear blue are generally going to be the target of scorn and a noble Woman who wears it will only wear maybe a band of it instead of a large amount to avoid derision.
  • Brown as it is in most places is the color of people who work with there hands. Typically laborers, Male slaves, and mercenaries will wear brown to avoid staining and to show that they do actual work. Nobles rarely if ever wear Brown in the Golden lion since its a culture of appearances.
  • Gold is the Holiest material in the Golden Lion and thus tends to be widely worn by everyone during high holidays or important events. Every person in the golden lion has at least a little bit of gold material in there possesion even if its just a armband and many nobles tend to keep bangles and such on anything they wear. Stealing a possession of gold is a serious crime.
  • Silver is generally only worn by high nobles such as the Royal Family and those who can trace there lineage to such. This denotes they are one step away from The Father of the Desert and the Golden Lion. Commoners will never wear silver if they dont want to be insulted in public and few nobles would wear silver beyond a little jewelry if they didnt want to annoy a high ranked noble. Normally silver wire as parts of other jewelry or threading is fine. But whole Silver jewelry or silver colored Cloth is a very bad idea to wear in public unless you are directly related to the noble family.
  • Green is a color that tends to confuse most Foreigners and has caused many an akward moment. Wearing Green Denotes you as a Virgin, small pieces of jewelry means you are just a normal virgin and are in waiting for marriage. Whole Green dresses robes or other outfits will make anyone in the Lion assume you are a Holy Virgin who dedicated your whole life to your religion or study. As such very few people wear very much green and usually only women.
  • Bronze is the color of soldiers almost exclusively. This is mostly due to its use in armor. Wearing Bronze jewelry or cloth accents denotes that you are a member of the military. This is not a optional thing. Bronze tells everyone around you that you are a soldier or a member of the caste of soldiers and wearing it without being such is similar to lying about your identity. It is a crime.

Jewelry -Almost everyone in the Golden Lion wears some form of Jewelry. Men generally wear a Bangle or a single earing to show that they arent poor. This is mostly due to the fact that anyone who is homeless or destitute can be put into slavery so that the population of homeless in the cities is kept down. Men generally do not wear necklaces or chains. Women on the other hand wear almost all forms of common Jewelry commonly and it has led to many jokes about Women in the Golden Lion driving husbands broke with huge collections of shiny bits. One piece of jewelry not commonly worn by free people though are Chokers and Collars for very obvious reasons. Only slaves wear these kinds of Jewelry. Collars and other slave denoting items are detailed below.

Slave Wear -Very different from what most people outside the Golden Lion think Slaves very rarely run around naked and a slave doing so will quickly attract very negative attention to the owner of said slave. Generally Slaves wear easy to move in clothes that go with what kind of duties they have to perform. A field working slave would wear Brown normally and generally just slacks and a simple shirt with sandals. A slave on house duty though generally wears a loose Toga like outfit with women being abit more revealing normally though this depends on the household. In general though it depends largely on the slaves master. Collars though are not optional and most slaves wear a simple leather collar with a lock on it usually with the owners crest on the lock. Well liked slaves may wear a choker or a more decorated collar and brothel slaves generally wear collars made of delicate chain or solid metal ones made of gold or other precious metals.


Mens Clothes -Men in the Golden Lion tend to dress towards whatever job they are doing. Merchants and government officials tend to wear robes in pale and light colors. While a Farmer might wear sturdier brown clothes. Generally though Mens clothing tends to be similar to Earth's Arabic clothes when they are meant to be polite society though this is without head coverings. When working though a normal Shirt and slacks tend to be more common to avoid dangling material or the destruction of clothes. Nobles though will wear more dignified robes usually decorated with gold threading and colored sashes. It must be noted that this is not typical clothes to wear when going out into the desert though where a tuareg headdress and full body covering clothing is most common. This is mostly done though by long distance Merchants and soldiers though. Recreational clothes tend to be similar to womens and is a wrapped Sarong around the waist and legs that is left to hang over the legs to avoid letting too much heat build up.

Womens Clothes -The Golden Lion in a culture that many people would find somewhat amusingly similar to the isles doesnt put much stigma on showing skin and as such most womens clothing tends to be Gauzy or revealing when they dont have to work. Toga Style dresses and Sarongs are very common among Nobles and are usually open backed and show there sides. Thin silks and other Gauzy material also tend to be very common to avoid getting overheated or when out on recreation. This stems from the Cultural Belief that men should do most of the labor and hard work while woman will spend much of there time on home chores. This does not stop woman from being soldiers or laborers though even though such things are very rare. In those cases they will wear more durable clothes usually similar to mens clothes just cut differently.


Food in the Golden Lion

Very Different from most cultures the Golden Lion tends to produce many rare spices such as Pepper, Cumin, Safron and Salt. This makes there cuisine very different from other cultures to the point that many people from the Isles consider it almost inedible in its spiciness. On the other hand most people from the Lion Consider sugar and large amounts of fruit to be food for children and cant tolerate much sugar finding it sickeningly sweet.

Meat - Large amounts of Aurochs are raised on Golden Lion lands as well as horses and other such animals. This is mostly done near major Rivers of which there are quite a few. As such Meat is a large part of the Diet of the Golden Lion since it is considered to be fair for the men born of the Father of the Lands. Most meat is roasted over open fires which are found in almost all homes and spiced heavily with Red chilies and Orange. Most Poultry tends to somewhat expensive though in the Golden Lion as chicken and Pheasant are not natural to the area and must be raised specially for it. Meaning that eggs are more commonly eaten than the Birds themselves. Fish though is very common near the coasts and tends to be roasted whole instead of filleted down like in other countries.

Vegetables - Very Different from what most people expect there are in fact vegetables that grow in the desert though they do grow better in the more water rich areas near the rivers. Wheat is the most common but things like Chilies, Cowpeas like black eyed peas and green beans also do reasonably well. Lettuce and other leafy vegetables are though fairly with the exception of Spinach in some areas. As such most vegetables are fairly limited in variety. Gourd Vegetables though tend to do well in the arid environments as well as Cactus fruits and are considered a treat by most people who cant afford fruits.

Fruits - A surprise to most people not familiar with the area fruit is not completely impossible to grow in the Golden Lion. Hardy fruits like Watermelon and Oranges are fairly common and well enjoyed Treats for children and people making alcohol out of them. Dates are incredibly common in most areas. pomegranates are also plentiful in summer. The only fruit that is imported in large numbers though are peaches. People in the Golden Lion adore peaches and ship in tons of them every year usually pickled in honey or dried so they do not rot too fast. Some commoners believe that peach imports were a special aspect of the Hundred Year Treaty.

Baked Goods While Breads are a common sight in the Golden Lion they tend to be more plain rolls and buns with poppy seeds or other such spices in them. Pasties like Cake and other such goods are very hard to find in the Golden Lion since they are not generally wanted by people who grew up in the area who are not used to very sweet foods. The only type of common sweet pastry in the Golden Lion are Poppy Cakes and in some cases Honey Cake.

Alcohol - Common around the world Alcohol is found in the golden lion. Beers made from wheat and wines made from Oranges or Melons are more common though than Wines and fortified alcohols since Sugar cane and Grapes do not grow well in the desert and the only commonly grown Grapes in the Golden Lion tend to be bitter and better used in cooking than alcohol. One famous type of grain alcohol favored by soldiers though is called Veras and is very unique to the Desert culture. A clear refined Liqueur it generally has a large poisonous breed of sea snake fermenting with the alcohol and is considered a type of herbal medicine. The taste is described by foreigners as drinking pure lamp oil that has been lit on fire, the poison in the sea snake that is put into the drink acts on the body forcing it to sweat which is believed to clear out toxins from the body.