Snow harvest clan
Snow Harvest Clan
Overview
The Snow Harvest clan are semi-nomadic hunters and foragers living in deep woods on the edge of the northern mountains, with only limited contact with civilization. They trade pelts, smoked meats, herbs and such to other clans and to traders from the south in exchange for metal tools, weapons and luxuries. In special demand are the crafted bows of the snow clan. They are skilled bowyers, and all clan members have at least some proficiency with the bow. They tend to axes and spears for melee weapons, but trade for such, having no metalsmiths.
The Snow Harvest clan builds few "buildings," typical housing, called a pellas, is trenched into the side of a hill or valley, then covered over with tarred logs, which are then roofed with thatch and snow packed on during the long winter for insulation. In spring, another layer of thatch is added. A hide curtain usually forms the front wall to keep the heat in, but may be left tied open during the warm season. Central storage is on the same design but much larger and with wooden wall in front, but the central hall where they gather and the council meets are constructed above ground.
The village is then surrounded by palisades to keep out raiders and wild animals. All males and females that are not mothers will participate in defense of the palisade when there is an attack, while the children are gathered in the central storage building and the mothers form the last line of defense.
When the spirits tell them to, such as the hunting gets exceptionally poor, they will send out exploration parties to find a new location and start over. This is rare - perhaps once or twice a generation.
Religion
The religion of the Snow Harvest Clan revolves around the worship of divine spirits who have taken on some aspect of the natural world. Each spirit in the pantheon has a name, an animal form, major and minor spirit manifestations, and specific Domains (areas of influence.) The tribal shaman speak for and to the spirits, but the spirits are believed to express their guidance and feelings directly to tribe members who are paying attention, as they almost always are. Such communication does not come in words, but in coincidental events and omens. A clan member may feel that a specific spirit is sending them personal signs, or the whole body of spirits may be communicating. The latter is usually left to the shamans to announce and interpret. A clan member may also approach the shaman for help interpreting their omens.
The clan members do not worship individual deities, rather The Five as shown below. Shamans (priests and druids) represent individual Major Spirits: Fenthra is not part of the Five and typically has no shamans.
The clan members all have a totem animal. For males, this is usually a mammalian predator although some have non-carnivorous animals, but still considered noble. Females have other noble animals (elk, caribou), but usually avian creatures (owl, hawk, eagle, raven etc.)
Major Spirits of the Snow Harvest Clan
| Name | Animal Form | Spirit Form | Minor Spirit Manifestation | Major Spirit Manifestation | Domain | Alignment |
| Luor | The Wolf | Fire Elemental | Shooting Star | Meteor Shower | Forest Fire Hunting, Fire | TN |
| Shath | The Otter | Water Elemental | Thunder | Thunderstorm or Blizzard | Fishing, Weather (Water) | CN |
| Leten | The Bear | Earth Elemental | Fog, Frost | Mudslide, Avalanche | Plants, Fertility, Earth | LN |
| Karre | The Owl | Air or Ice Elemental | Shadows from Moonlight | Lunar Eclipse | Night, Winter | CN |
| Kirre | The Hawk | Air Elemental or Fairie Dragon | Cloud Formations, Red Dawn | Solar Eclipse | Day, Air | LN |
| Name | Animal Form | Spirit Form | Minor Spirit Manifestation | Major Spirit Manifestation | Domain | Alignment |
| Fenthra | The Cat | Shadow Dragon | Sighting a Great Cat | None | Change, Mystery | TN |
The Spirits do not physically manifest in spirit form - that's for visions, where they may blur back and forth between the animal form and the spirit form, or have the characteristics of the spirit form as sort of an overlay on the animal shape.
A potential shaman is expected to find one of the above as his or her totem. They are thought to have the divine version of the animal as their totem. Some have an affinity to communicate with the spirit in question (priests) during trances and provide clear interpretations of the will of the spirits. Others actually bond to a living version of the animal (druids) as a companion (which is not divine, just representative) and receive guidance from interpreting the actions of the living animal. A few legendary shaman have been able to assume the form of the animal in question.
Clan members generally gain a totem animal during a spirit walk arranged by the shamans in thier 14th year. It does not have to be one of the five major animal spirits. Occasionally, a youngster will find a totem animal during some stressful event, while separated from the tribe. Those children are considered to have attracted the special attention of the spirits, and are carefully considered by the shamans as potential shamans. However, there is no guarantee. The attention suggested by the unplanned spirit walk may not have been a sign of approval.
Cats are extremely rare as totems. The Great Cat does not work with the others but is a bit of an outsider, associated but having no specific domain. There have only been shamans of the Great Cat twice in the clan's oral history, both during times of great change and upheaval. His appearance is always interpreted as a omen for the individual seeing him, foreshadowing some significant event. The nature of the event is always serious and problematic, but the eventual outcome can be good or bad for the individual, or even the entire clan.
Clan Organization
The Chief of the clan is also the nominal defender and in charge of arranging the village layout, approving new building, and settling disputes. His wife is in charge of daily affairs, trading, and assigning tasks such as foraging. The chief hunter is the nominal heir. Power is technically not passed through the bloodline - it can work out that way, but is discouraged to avoid inbreeding.
The shamans guide on a spiritual level and would be considered a co-equal part of government to outsiders. In fact, they stay mostly to spiritual guidance rather than trying to interfere in day-to-day affairs, but the chief will not act against the will of the spirits, so they have effective control and veto power. They must work through the chief, however, so rarely exert this power unless they are seriously concerned with the direction the chief is taking.
Together, the chief couple, chief hunter and shamans meet in a council, whenever there is need to make major decisions.