Cultural Information: Sartorians

Physical Appearance: Sartorians tend to be slim in build although there is a great deal of variation in height.  Their skin tones range from medium brown through to black.  Their hair tends to be dark brown or black and very wiry in texture.  Hair is often worn long in braids or snakelocks.  Most Sartorians have brown eyes.  Tribal Sartorians rarely wear clothing, especially in the desert.  They are fond of tattoos, jewellery and body paint.  Those who do not live the tribal life prefer to wear bright colours and a variety of styles.

Society: There is no formal law enforcement system in place on Sartoria. There are moral guidelines as to what is acceptable behaviour and each community enforces these, albeit on a case by case basis.  Sartorians are very accepting of a wide range of behaviours and will be flexible in their interpretations of the guidelines.

Lifestyle: Tribal Sartorians have a community-based lifestyle.  Most aspects of their lives are shared by the whole tribe, including childcare, domestic tasks, agriculture and hunting, food preparation, cooking and eating.  Sartorians are very open about sexual matters and tend to be very accepting of all sexual orientations and acts.  Children are not sheltered from the harsher realities of life.  They get to see procreation, illness, injury and death from an early age.  Also each child belongs to the entire tribe.  Although children usually live with their birth parents, they are happy to be cared for by any member of the tribe.  Relationships are fluid and flexible.  Marriages are always by choice and take the form of a martial arts fight in order to demonstrate their strength.  One partner surrenders to end the wedding fight, and the other partner ceases fighting as a show of gentleness.  In non-tribal society, some marriages are arranged and all marriage ceremonies are long and elaborate in nature.  While still strongly connected to the local community, non-tribal families take care of their own children and do not share domestic tasks with other family units.  Non-tribal Sartorians tend to be more materialistic in their ways.

Beliefs: Most Sartorians worship the elemental deities and have a strong connection with their planet.  Worship involves devotional ceremonies and dances as well as prayer and meditation.  In addition, tribal Sartorians worship the sacred Hasta tree and the Hastamages (shamans) learn from an early age how to communicate with the tree.  Each tribe has one Hasta tree which lives for centuries.  Hasta trees rarely shed their leaves but on special occasions, the leaves are eaten by members of the tribe.  The seeds remain dormant until the old trees reach the end of their lives, then a special planting ceremony takes place, whereby several seeds are planted.  If more than one germinates, the saplings are donated to other tribes who need a new tree.

Art and Culture: Sartorian culture evolved along similar lines to Virian culture, but the main difference is that it is less about the distinction between good and evil and more about the moral and psychological consequences of a character’s decisions.  There is a strong element of interpretive dance involved in Sartorian storytelling, along with many sexual references and acts.  Freedom of expression is of paramount importance to Sartorians, particularly of a physical nature.  Some stories are conveyed purely through body movements, hand gestures and facial expressions, relying on the audience to make their own interpretations and arrive at their own conclusions.

Music tends to be more for dancing than passive listening and the emphasis is on rhythm rather than melody and instrumentals rather than songs.

While there are many works of literature in Sartorian society, acting and dancing tend to be more popular.  Most fictional writers write plays or poems rather than novels.  As with the live performances, much of it is open to how the individual reader chooses to interpret the material.  The same goes for movies, which are mostly recordings of live performances.