Culture of Faneria

The Fhainn are a subculture of the Fheadhainn Culture Group specific to northern Levantia and southern Faneria in particular, with small communities around the edges of the Great Inner Sea and in the former colonies of the aforementioned nation.

Religion

Pagan Antiquity

Pagan Deities

Prechristian Gaelic deities (ver. 1): Ninerivers region/'Vandarch' Pantheon Organized broadly into good and evil gods. Good gods were revered and have some remaining cultural influence and form the core of the few pagan communities left, while evil gods were simply placated or blamed. Only 'evil' gods received human sacrifices, which fell out of practice in about 400-600 AD after a great decline starting in the 200s.

'Good' gods:

Braess: chief star god, was killed and his fall created the Vandarch Sea and threw arable soil onto the earth. His spilled blood became freshwater (not sure if the Vandarch is salt, relatively fresh, or less salt than wider seas).

Nehaeleni: wife of Bress, freshwater goddess, sailing and calm seas

Yesus: originally Hesus, later combined with early Christian messages of 'Yesus Kristo' prior to Christianization. Woodcutting, woodworking, and forests.

Maponus: music, poetry, and art; largely influenced by Latin and Goth traders. Lungh: fire, metalworking, and craftsmanship

Bovaero: medicine, reading, and architecture - a patterns and logic god, sometimes represented as a benevolent trickster. Maybe a fusion of several older deities. Commonly the patron god of nobles and the educated.

Benevolus: latinized form of Belenus, the sun god. Associated with the latin Sol/Yahweh/ixequivalent of Sol depending on how the times match up.(edited)

Many local fertility gods

'Evil' Gods:

Briga: Natural disasters and saltwater, namely earthquakes, landslides, storms, and floods - water and earth things, not so much air stuff. scorned wife of Albor.

Albor: open sky god, tries to destroy creation with fire but is stopped by Braess' wife, Benevolus/Belenus and (accidentally) Cernunnast every day.

Cernunnast: death and life cycle of winter/spring/summer, in some cults a cruel god, in others, neutral. Eponia: beasts, hunting, and war. Depictions ranged from violent blood goddess demanding sacrifice to noble savage.

Note that there is no death god - its being and name were devoured by the v o i d. Generally, the local faiths held that you could only experience the things you did to other people after death, and people who were evil either stopped existing or doomed themselves to an eternity of reliving what they did to others, depending on the local specifics. Good people supposedly got to be stuck in a dream/trancelike state. Since the afterlife was based on others' perception of you, slander was considered a crime comparable to murder in the more extreme areas and could easily lead to a duel or feud

Sciences

Philosophy

philosophical works and political thought - filial piety, kin and kith groups, dunan as the foundation of many cities, positivism, perspectivism, theistic finitism, praxis school, actualism, compatibilism, naturalism, organicism, moral realism(?), mathematicism, mentalism, cognitivism, moral absolutism

Cananachan Republicanism

Cananachan Republicanism is a derivative of populist republican political science, coined by Callac Cananach in 1882. The concept is very similar to the radical republican movements of the 1850s, even including some proto-socialist rhetoric in regards to eliminating the traditional class and race boundaries of the Monarchy and feudal system, but roundly condemns the elimination of private property in favor of creating a formal system of public services and utilities, which under traditional Fhainnin law were dominated by noble families. The primary tenents of the system are a rabid aversion to non-meritocratic representation, the use of mass politics in the form of a one-chamber legislature based on population rather than administrative subdivisions, and the employment of particularly extensive oversight measures designed to put the state entirely within the control of the public. The original concept was even described by Cananach as 'a State enslaved to its constituents, entirely focused on the militant defense of freedoms and morality'. The system is usually connected directly to the Fhainic Revival movement; although it has been claimed that only a people as stubbornly moralistic as the Fhainn could make Cananach's system function properly, the connection between Cananachan theory and the growth of Revivalism is largely considered by historians to be a case of converging, rather than concurrent, social movements.

Fhainic Revivalism

Fhainic Revivalism is a major cultural movement spread across northern Levantia, especially within its nation of origin, Faneria. Including architectural design, art, cuisine, language, political and military philosophy and organization, and a wide variety of other topics, the (movement) is by no means a cohesive school of thought, although it is unofficially endorsed by the government of Faneria as the driving force in modern Faneriai society. Outside of Fhainnin, Revivalism has had a mixed history of separatism alongside its common focus on rebuilding native Levantine society, especially within the less stable areas of the Latin States. The major trend of Revivalism is its emphasis on combining traditional Fhainic culture with Catholic worship, although radical republicanism is often considered a part of the movement as well.

Art

Literature

Classical and modern Faneriai literary works can be separated primarily based on the presence of heroic tales. In older days, the militaristic lifestyle was considered the highest form of achievement for any person, and so literature of the time was primarily heroic or historic in nature, an often emphasized nationalistic values and traditionalist points of view. Modern literature is a broader industry, but still maintains its roots in the values expressed. However, Faneria's literature is less prominent than most other Levantian nations', and as a result the Bible plays a major role as reading material even today. A large portion of modern works are oriented towards educational material, skill-learning, and other utilitarian functions, while fiction tends to be a mix of a minor creative medium and a large number of derivative epics.

Architecture

Fhainnin Revival Style

broad basing/Northern Mountain Style/Ninerivers Style

- square pillars, plain or with simple base and cornice, sometimes patterns carved or stenciled or painted on sides

- red brick, stone brick, or pine siding; wood, stone, brick, or concrete exterior walls; red brick or stone facades over concrete common

- often thick inner walls with wood paneling, small first-story windows and large upper-story ones

- clay from the Vandarch (religious significance)

- favors square or rectangular shapes mainly, with accentuating half-circle arches (never gothic or other arches)

- rotundas sometimes, usually inside of building form; domes somewhat rare

- favors 45* or 60* roofing (Vandarch Basin vs Mountain Styles)

- side/back porches common, front porches somewhat rare

- mountain style still uses compound-esque court walls

- shotgun houses in inner cities

- chimneys?

- terraces, switchbacks, embankments, and other earthforms very common

- often gardens, ponds integrated into more 'vogue' designs

- during 1880s-1950s, buildings generally lacked first-story windows or used very thin windows as a reaction to crime and in response to glass shortages

- much of the landscape is lined with dykes, dams, terracing, and raised ramparts for highways and trains, etc. King _____ spent a crapton of cash in 1836 on massive projects which later turned into the republican Standardized Raised Rail System, at the time, widening roads and properly paving a lot of them while reorganizing major metropolitan centers

Monuments

integrated urban foliage, earthworks and terraces

Diet

Alcohol

Alcohol has a long tradition in Faneria, and is considered a core part of its identity from ancient times to the modern day - the common endonym for the nation itself is a bastardization of the Farsi term 'Land of the Goblet', in honor of Fhainic merchants subverting Audonian regulations during the centuries immediately prior to and during Islamic expansion. Fhainic beer has long been known for its high alcohol content, and the people themselves for their iron guts. This has translated into forays into wines, particularly dry varieties in northern Levantia, and the creation of some of the first modern vintage standards. Many small breweries can still be found across the countryside, and unlike most nations, alcohol licensing is generally lax. Non-alcoholic beers are also readily available for the underaged, with a few very low-content varieties licensed for consumption by minors. These varieties have become especially popular in daily life, although traditional brews still see use in parties and other celebrations. insert a bit on the temperance movement of the 1890s and how it increased political activism and made non-alcoholic beers very popular

Drinks and Desserts

Taisteal

Hammarlach

Ahnlach

Bellach

Cyrweth

See Also

Feinii Fhasen