The Society and Culture of Zinn'Sunn
Introduction
The Kemite population of Zinn’Sunn has held an enormous sway over the city’s culture and customs. Zinn’Sunn is a hugely polite society filled with ritual and strict custom. There are decidedly set in their ways of doing things, and often times strangers to these ways might find themselves inadvertently insulting the Zinn’Sunn citizenry if they come for a visit ignorant of said customs.
Zinn’Sunn is decidedly a patriarchy. Patriarchal systems justify the relationship between gender and power within a society. Zinn’Sun is male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered. Men hold a great majority of the positions of authority within the city’s government, clans, religious organizations, businesses, and certainly the home. The male monopoly over power promotes the idea that men are “naturally” superior to women. Moreover, male lives are the standard for defining what is normal. The core values of control, strength, and forcefulness within Zinn’Sunn culture is consistently aimed toward males. While females can be freeborn and be employed, their opportunities within the city are by and large limited. Women can improve their education, but oftentimes find it difficult to navigate the complexities of Zinn'Sunn without a male sponsor or protector. Visitors to Zinn'Sunn whom are female and seemingly independent are seen as anomalies and are often found fascinating by the males within the city.
As a foreigner, trying to understand what exactly is correct etiquette in Zinn’Sunn’s society can often seem to be an almost impossible task. There are so many different codes of behavior for so many occasions, that the choice is bewildering. Even when a stranger tries so hard, sooner or later they will feel they’ll slip up and cause a cultural faux pas. Please don’t give up, try your best and you will be appreciated for the effort that you’ve made. Below are a few customs to help navigate Zinn’Sunn Society.
Social Classes
Zinn’Sunn is not an industrial society although there is a healthy industry within the city, instead it is far more agrarian. This is an important factor in what determined the five social classes of Zinn’Sunn. The social classes were ranked by their importance to society. We will begin with the lowest tiers and work our way to the top.
The lowest and poorest class is that of slave and concubine. This class seems to self-support its own while absorbing drop-out overflow from those tiers above them. Within Zinn’Sunn, slaves and comcubines have no rights whatsoever. They are traded like chattel and often brought into the social classes via merchants and farmers selling their excess children into this caste for the coin it takes to feed the rest of their family.
The next lowest tier, although freeborn, are the merchants. These are people are perceived as those who con people into buying goods they do not need. They are considered to be like parasites as they make their living off other people. It is believed that it takes no skill to be a merchant so they have little value in society because they are easily replaced. Merchants are not to be confused with artisans, who are in a class all their own.
The third class is the artisans. These are the people who craft things with their own hands. They are considered skilled which gives them more value than the merchants. Artisans often formed guilds and were respected for belonging to these organizations. Most artisans lived near cities.
The second class consists of farmers and peasants. Seven out of ten people belong to this category. Peasants are considered to be the economic base of the city and are valued as such. This is not to say that they are not taken advantage of and charged high rents and exorbitant taxes. The farmers work in family agricultural groups. Grains, especially rice, spice, fruit, and wine the chief crop. Farmers own land and land is highly valued as it was split between sons.
The next highest class of people in Zinn’Sunn the scholars and officials, including those within the clans. Sunn Monks, SwordSingers, BoneDrummers, Darui’Torek, and Keme’Dral all belong to this group. The people in this class hold all the wealth, power, and prestige. Though one could move into this class from lower tiers, it is often that rank within gets passed on down family lines. The men of these family lines can afford the best education for their sons which results in better positions throughout the government and clan. Farmers and peasants can sometimes move into this social class by marrying third and four daughters and infusing their bloodline with known clan bloodlines. For this to happen, a great deal of bribe money must be put into play to purchase an official position if the male in question cannot somehow qualify for one of the more prestigious positions in the various Zinn’Sunn social groups. No more than one out of ten people are considered to be in this class.
Example Customs
Always observe the custom of gift giving after being invited to eat with a Zinn’Sunnese family. Once outsiders have spent some time in Zinn’Sunn, and formed relationships with people therein, they will soon discover that the custom of giving presents is widely observed. The act of giving a gift on a certain occasion strengthens the relationship between giver and receiver, and says so much without the need for words. For example, If someone is moving into a neighborhood for the first time, it is a good idea to present the newcomer to neighbors with a small gift, preferably some souvenirs from your own country. Modest is best, an extravagant gift will embarrass them, and ruin the expression of goodwill you had intended to convey. They in turn will return a gift and thus you have established your arrival on a friendly note.
If one goes away for a trip, even just for a day, bringing back some small souvenirs of the visit for your colleagues will be greatly appreciated. This is called “omiage”, and is a very established custom. A person is not obliged to follow it, particularly if they are making the most of their visits in Zinn’Sunn and going away every cycle, but it will go down very well if a visitor or guest does.
If one is invited into a Zinn’Sunnese family’s home, then one should always take something with one to give to the hostess. Flowers are ideal, or some nicely presented food. Do not be offended if a hostess does not open the gift in front of the giver. It is the height of bad manners to open the gift immediately. It does not mean he or she doesn’t appreciate it; on the contrary he or she will be highly delighted at the thoughtfulness. Likewise, if a person is given something, one should observe the same convention.
If one has got as far as being invited to someone’s home, one MUST take off one’s shoes at the door. A hosts will offer you a pair of slippers to wear. Do not forget to take the slippers off before one enters the tatami (rush flooring) room. Not only is tatami delicate, but it is also the floor covering used in temples. A visitor will shock their hosts, who will then be presented with the excruciatingly embarrassing task of asking the guest to take them off.
The wife, daughter, or slave of the host is usually the one to serve guests at the dinner table. If she doesn’t sit down much, as uncomfortable as this might make one feel, don’t keep asking her to join the group. If one sits at a low table without chairs, men should sit cross-legged, women should not. That style is regarded as very unfeminine, and as a female it is better that one sits with ones legs tucked neatly behind one, even if a female is wearing trousers. A female can also kneel. To prolong that moment, one should shift ones weight discreetly from one leg to another.
As a guest you will be invited to serve yourself first. Before eating it is customary to say “Almaria du atou Torek” (“I take this food in the name of Aslan”). Do not pick up the food with the ends of the chopsticks that will touch a person’s mouth. It is also rude to wave one’s chopsticks around while talking. And don’t stab at food. After finishing, always thank ones host for the feast.
These are just a few tips for a few occasions. There is a lot more to learn. But don’t worry too much. All efforts to observe the correct manners will be very welcome. Any small mistakes will be forgiven.
Bathing
Zinn’Sunn is in a volcanic region and natural hot springs are to be found throughout the hills. The Zinn’Sunnese love of bathing in hot springs goes back a long way. Not only are the baths a place to relax and to socialize, but the water is naturally full of minerals, which can treat a wide variety of disorders including skin problems and rheumatism. Some types of water can be drunk which helps to cure digestive problems and aid the body’s metabolism. Beneficial properties aside, bathing in hot springs is a sheer joy, and a “must-do” for any visitor to Zinn’Sunn.
Baths are not for washing in, as other bathers share the water. You should clean yourself before entering the bath and there is an established routine for doing this in public or in a private bath in someone’s home. Bathing is rarely mixed, and when it is, the bathers are usually not a day under 80. Separated bathing is the standard case, although many hotels offer a “family room”.
Once the correct changing room has been located, you should arm yourself with a small towel. This is either provided in the changing room or will have been offered at reception. After spending time in Zinn’Sunn you will find your collection of small towels starts to grow. You MUST remove your shoes at the door and leave them on the shelves or in the lockers provided.
You should then undress, leave your belongings in a basket, and head towards the bathing area, with the small towel carried in such a way that it strategically covers your most private of areas. Once in the bathroom, find yourself a spare stool, water container and tap. Fill your bowl with water and rinse yourself first. Now it is time to not only wash yourself, but to thoroughly scrub yourself too. Use the towel for this, if you don’t you will be considered not to have washed properly. When you are done, rinse yourself. Thoroughly. Then rinse yourself again. Any trace of soap in the bath is a horrible crime. The Zinn’Sunnese simply don’t do it. Ever. If you have long hair, you should put it up. Zinn’Sunnese ladies somehow manage to wrap their versatile, but minuscule towel around their heads to keep their hair in place elegantly and effectively.
Check the temperature of the water before you gingerly ease yourself in. The water can be unbearably hot, yet the Zinn’Sunnese seem to have no problem. Slowly slide yourself in. Once in the water, sit very still. Movement will make you even hotter. You are recommended not to stay in the water longer than a few minutes, but your body will probably tell you to get out even sooner than that.
When you are ready to leave, rinse yourself with water from the well tap. In this way, the minerals will remain on your skin to perform their miraculous properties instead of being washed off.
Whether you are sitting in a bath on the hillside in the early morning during the spring, watching the snow fall outside the windows as the steam from the water rises up around you in Lauryl, or feeling the autumnal rain fall softly on your head while soaking in the fall, the experience of taking a Zinn’Sunnese bath is fantastic and unforgettable. The act of soaking away stresses and strains, coldness, muscular pains, is a delight shared by all.
Tea Ceremony
The Zinn’Sunnese tea ceremony is not a ceremony at all, if that word is taken to mean an unchanging program of actions and rituals. Rather, it is a subtly variable way to commune with nature and with friends. Deeply rooted in Rasha'Shing philosophy, it is a way to remove oneself from the mundane affairs of day-to-day living and to achieve, if only for a time, serenity and inner peace.
On the surface the Zinn’Sunnese tea ceremony – is a gathering of friends for a simple meal. Every element of the act, no matter how tiny, is chosen to build on and reflect the principles of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.
The ceremony takes place in a small hut apart from the main house. Guests gather in a porch and wait until they are summoned. To reach the teahouse, guests walk from the garden path. This path represents a transition, a break from the outside world. The walkway is sprinkled with water as an act of purification before the guests arrive. The teahouse is quite small – about ten feet square – and made of unassuming materials. Although guests enter the house in a predetermined order according to rank, the entryway is small and low – about three feet high. This serves to bring each guest to the same level, a reminder that we are humble beings in a vast universe. The windows of the hut are papered, the floors are covered with tatami mats, and the lighting is dim. Flowers adorn an alcove in which is hung a scroll with words of Rasha'Shing philosophy. The host does not enter the room until all the guests are seated.
The teahouse changes with the seasons. In warm weather, guests arrive before the heat of the day. Water for tea is prepared on a brazier. Guests arrive in the evening when the weather is colder, and water is heated on a sunken hearth. All the utensils and accessories are chosen: Lacquer, bamboo, and ceramics are used together to achieve harmony through contrast. The host serves a meal composed of seven light courses. Typically, the serving dishes are ceramic and are presented on black lacquer trays. For an intentional contrast, the fifth course may be served on a tray made of cedar. Soup, rice, fish, and pickles comprise the usual menu, served with small portions of sake, or rice wine. The final course is a sweet, often made with a bean paste.
After the meal is completed, the host prepares the tea. Finely powdered green tea, is kept in a ceramic container in a silk bag. The host scoops a portion of the tea into a ceramic tea bowl and carefully adds simmering water. With a small bamboo whisk the host mixes the tea and the water until the drink is frothy and green. And finally, the tea is served.
Decorating The Home
The practice of balanced decorating has been used by the Zinn’Sunese for centuries. All decor is based on two factors; the wind and the water. Furnishings are minimalistic, comprised of low slung furniture, lots of screens for privacy, and an overabundance of cedar and natural stone. These are considered to be two of the most important forms of energy. The basic idea of this age-old practice is to make our environments as beneficial as possible to our health and well being. That is, if our life energy is balanced, then good things and happiness will surely come to us. This is achieved by making the natural energy in a room or an entire building flow naturally and positively. The Zinn’Sunese believe that this is achieved by the proper placement as well as the designs of rooms and buildings.
When decorating for wind and water, the color scheme of the room should be calm, peaceful, and conductive to sleep. The furniture should only reflect the sole purpose of the room. A desk, for example, would be out of place in a bedroom. The ideal place for a desk would be in a den or office. In practicing this art fom, it is believed that when you are in bed, your feet should not point straight out of a door. Also, your back should not face the doorway either. Your bed should be located as far away from the door as possible.
Another important room on your house is your living room. It should be lighted and decorated in a pleasing manner. The furniture should be comfortable and inviting and positioned so that people can sit and talk to each other easily. Again, your living room should be used or designed for one use only. You can walk through and check every room of your house and see if you need to make any changes in the decorations or furniture placement. Another important aspect to consider in the practice of Wind and Water decorating, is the smell of your home or business. Take a deep breath and let your nose find out. Does the air smell fresh? You may choose to light a scented candle order to make the room smell better. What about the sounds in each room? Walk through and listen carefully. Is there foot and horse traffic from the street leaking in? Loud noises do not contribute to the harmonic flow that you are trying to create. Perhaps a set of delicate chimes might do the trick to mask the noise and invite the correct sound inside.
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