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Post by zinaida on Aug 13, 2010 13:24:52 GMT -5
Zinaida is the first time I've ever done any roleplay, and I'm discovering that I'm a backstory junkie. It just helps me know how she would react under whatever circumstances, etc etc. ANYWAY. From what I understand, twi'lek society is matriarchal. To me, this implies that the male joins the female's clan and takes the clan name when they marry. I have it in my head however, that Zinaida's mother joined her father's clan. I also have it in my head that her parents married "out of caste"; that is, her father was sesk'bumat (as the Secura clan is described as being "influential", this is where I've lumped them**); her mother was sesk'osima. I've been pondering what reaction her parents' clans would have to this and how society would view them. I have a notion that they're somewhat outcast but I don't know, I guess I'd like to flesh out this aspect of where she came from. Reading about caste systems/societies on wikipedia has only served to further baffle me. Any opinions/input/discussion? ** And no, I don't play Zinaida as being particularly 'related' to the Clone Wars era jedi, I view the clan name as being on par with having the last name of Smith; and it was the only 'genuine' twi'lek surname I knew when I made the toon last October, not having any clue of the existence of the Lexicon. /defensive eye-rolling mode off
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Post by seela on Aug 13, 2010 15:25:04 GMT -5
This has been a point I have also been slightly confused about. If we refer to the twi'lek lexicon we get these two definitions: web.archive.org/web/20070702013147/http://www.peach-tree.org/Ryloth/TwiInfo/Lexicon.htm#KKiva a word was used to indicate an individual who is a priestess of Kika’lekki. Traditionally, every clan is led by a Kiva with the planet of Ryloth being led by 5 Kivas, one from each of the 5 primary houses of worship. Kora a word was used by the Twi’lek race to indicate an individual who is the male head of a clan or a house. The planet of Ryloth is led by a Head Clan consisting of 5 Koras, one from each of the 5 predominate clans. By this I figured that men and women both rule. I always sort of figured that perhaps men were the political creatures and Kivas were present but more to represent the needs of the temple. In Seela's back story her mother kept her own clan name since she was a Kiva in the temple and since Seela was pursuing training as an ai'jou she also kept her mother's clan name whereas her siblings took her father's clan name. But both her parents came from the lower caste. If you want conflict of clans you could have them be from feuding clans which would be completely your invention and therefore not subject to any nitpicking over clan/caste workings or if one of them is from a higher caste than the other. If the husband was from a higher caste and married a lower and then -joined- the lower caste I could see his parents going absolutely nuts! Didn't know if this helped or made more questions. I like this discussion though! Best of luck with your back story! I too am an addict of character histories!
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Post by zinaida on Aug 15, 2010 12:38:27 GMT -5
That's an interesting point. I think the women could be viewed as the heads of the household, while the males were indeed the more 'political' creatures; which also makes sense due to the perception of the twi'lek female as being "slavebait". I believe it'd be hard to be taken seriously when your peers are expecting to see you fawning over some man with a collar around your neck.
As far as Zinaida's backstory goes, her father married "beneath" him-he was a part of the "noble" caste, whereas her mother was a musician. He then added insult to injury by having his wife join his clan-certainly an elevation for her but I'm having trouble reconciling how her father's clan would have reacted. Maybe he got disowned?
Thanks for the discussion, please feel free to voice further opinion, etc.
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Post by seela on Aug 18, 2010 7:00:22 GMT -5
I would imagine his family would have indeed cut him off from any financial support and perhaps entirely from any family interactions. That could be fun for familial relationships. Perhaps one of his siblings can't bear to be forbidden from speaking to him ever and sends small amounts of money? Then there are the questions of how he feels about...does he want to see his family again or are they all jerks which lead him to join a lower caste in the first place?
See? I go crazy with this stuff! Good luck and I hope his story helps form your character!
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Post by chylde on May 25, 2011 15:49:57 GMT -5
I interpreted it as the Council of Koras having political power, and the Council of Kivas having spiritual power. The Koras are nominally the head of government, and they make the decisions, but they never make a decision without consulting the Kivas.
Which would make the Koras the "figurehead" government, and the Kivas the "true powers". Sort of like how some political and military leaders in ancient Greece and Rome wouldn't take action without consulting the temples for signs and omens from the gods. Only less corrupt (at least, I hope).
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Post by WrittenByEden on Mar 6, 2018 4:12:12 GMT -5
The amount of great stuff you can find on a website like this one is just awesome. If only this place wasn't dead.
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Post by iqujixul on Apr 28, 2019 9:43:01 GMT -5
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Post by isucezohepi on May 6, 2019 12:28:36 GMT -5
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Post by socsijegem on May 6, 2019 13:54:13 GMT -5
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