Home and Family Life
Dwarves are communal creatures; the notions of privacy and personal space are very different amongst the dwarven people.
Dwarves tend to live in large residential halls, where they can be conveniently close to their recreation areas, like the dining halls, taverns, and common pleasure areas like statue gardens and zoos. Efficiency is at the heart of any dwarven endeavor, so the architects behind their great cities see no need for the people to live in far-flung locales or bizarre arrangements.
In poorer and less established settlements, personal bedrooms and living quarters are unheard of; a room is typically dug out, with beds placed throughout so that anyone who desires some sleep can rest in the dormitory between work and play. This single rest hall is usually more than enough for small settlements and outposts, and it can be rare to see more than this until a city begins to enjoy true prosperity and growth.
As a settlement grows, individual rooms become more frequent; at first an entire clan might share a single dormitory and dining hall, then as the settlement grows (and the clan's numbers swell), the clan's holdings might be expanded to allow the creation of living quarters shared by entire families. Only in the largest and most lavish of places are dwarves granted their own, private quarters. Nobles and leaders of all stripes typically demand a private bedroom as a reward for their greater service.
In a human settlement, a home typically must fill the functions of bedroom, family common area, kitchen, and dining room all at once. Among dwarves, of course, a simple three-room home would be a royal mansion. The simplest of dwarven private quarters are small alcoves with just enough room for a bed, cabinet, and chest for personal belongings and clothes, sealed with a door. In truly tight spaces, two quarters may even share the door and simply have a long wall separating their rooms. The wealthiest and roomiest of cities rarely provide more room than this; perhaps enough space for a table and chair, but little else. There is just no need, amongst dwarves, to waste more room on their living areas.
As can be inferred from my statements and observations thus far, dwarves are extremely family oriented. Meals and drinks are typically taken in the vast dining halls, where the dwarf will typically meet with relatives and clan mates for regular meals and idle chatter. Since dwarves spend so much of their time together, socializing in these common areas, they tend to be the largest, most lavish places in the settlement. Many dwarves feel a great sense of comfort and joy relaxing in their dining halls and commons. The great, open areas, well decorated with good food and drink in abundance, make for great times amongst the people. Their commons and dining halls are therefore quite lively places; coupled with the fact that dwarves find many causes for celebration in their close-lived lives, and you will rarely find a quiet hall.
The dwarf society is entirely family based: a dwarf is a member of his family, families are linked through marriage and blood to clans, and clans are linked through mutual coexistence (and sometimes marriages) into a single kingdom. Your typical dwarf has a given name from his parents, a divine name (Ed: this would be the name chosen through divine lot discussed culture earlier), a family name, and a clan name.
Families are just like their human counterparts: at some point in the past, a married couple was considered the start of the family tree, and the family name is passed down through male children. Females remain part of their family only so long as they are single; they take on the family name of their husbands and become part of that family thereafter. Since most dwarf families tend to be small (the space for children is a perpetual concern which, coupled with their immense lifespans, limits breeding), families rarely have more than a dozen or so members at a time spread out across two to three generations.
Clans are linked through mutual marriages and blood ties, and frequently through similar trades. At some point in a clan's history, a particularly noteworthy family or dwarf rose to prominence, such that other families in the same settlement or trade sought to become part of them through marriages and sworn bonds. Clans therefore are a collection of families with a central unifying trade or feature: they may be miners, or smiths, or other professions. Sometimes they are soldiers, merchants, or even more esoteric pursuits. Amongst humans the line between guilds and relatives is distinct, where amongst dwarves it is less clear, often completely overlapping. Families within clans tend to intermarry and work together to protect their trade or craft. Clan names are chosen from the great event or patron that founded their clan. An example: one particular military clan I had the chance meet was called the "Skullhammers", so named because the great patron and founder of the clan allegedly broke his hammer during a seige, and rather than flee or die he ran the sundered haft through a troll's skull and rip the head clean from its body. He then continued to wade into slaughter using the troll head on a stick as his weapon against the goblin horde. His proud relatives and suitably impressed peers immediately sought to join with this paragon of dwarven slaughter, and a clan was born.
Since trade and craft are inextricably linked to family and clan, dwarves consider their work a point of personal pride. A dwarf smith's swords are not just a reflection of his own talent, but a reflection of his entire clan's abilities and prestige. It must not just live up to the reputation of the clan, but seek to improve it wherever possible. Amongst humans, apprentices and journeymen follow a master and learn their trade from this experienced soul before moving out on their own. Among dwarves, seasoned and venerable relatives first teach the young dwarf, before he is considered ready to learn from the finest mentors of the clan as a whole. Afterwards, he is considered ready to practice his trade and earn a name for himself within the clan, eventually becoming a tutor and (if talented enough) respected mentor for the generations after him.
Dwarf clan leaders are the elders of their extended families; both men and women can become heads of the clan (Ed: dwarven society is more egalitarian than most human ones, so one is advised never to assume a female dwarf is the servant, spouse, or handmaiden of a superior, lest the wrath of a terrible foe be earned). Clan leaders typically govern their trade in a city, and work with the city's leaders to ensure its prosperity. The title for a clan leader literally translates as "grandfather" or "grandmother", while ordinary grandparents are typically only addressed by informals that would translate as "grandpa" or "papa", and likewise for the female (Ed: dwarves are highly secretive about their language, so it is impossible for me to provide the dwarven words here, nor cross-reference this statement. It should be assumed to be true).
((Next: Nobility and rule))
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Topic: On the Nature of Dwarves (Read 37729 times)