Aldaar: Difference between revisions

Of these, the third tenet is likely the most well known and closely correlated with modern Aldaari culture. The idea that everything changes is viewed as crucial to understanding life and the world around you, and as a result Aldaari groups have always been quick adapters of new technological, social, economic, and political ideas. All three tenets appear to have been designed with practicality in mind - sandstorms, intense heat, food scarcity, and many other environmental pressures meant that life in the wastes wasn't easy, and the tenets appear to have tried to reduce interpersonal tensions and build community, knowing that the people were stronger together and that nobody in the desert needed any additional challenges to face.

 

[[File:FishTrapsALD.jpg|left|thumb|Black and white photo of a [[Sayaduun Governorate|Sayaduuni]] fisherman catching farmed fish]]

Aldaari history after the invention of writing has been described as a "post-neolithic golden era," and local advances in technology were no exception. Perhaps the most critical advancements were those that related to food production, as for many millennia food had been extremely scarce on the desert, requiring most tribes to utilize a migratory hunter-gatherer structure. However, the spread of ideas that came with the rise of writing allowed many developments in this field, notably the rise in [[W:aquaculture|aquaculture]]. The Aldaaris were some of the first people to do this, farming fish by constructing complex series of dams and channels and using woven traps to capture bred fish for consumption and trade. These developments encouraged the rise of Aldaar's first settled tribes, many of whom embraced a sedentary life on the northwest coast of the continent founding Aldaar's first permanent settlements, some of which remain to this day. Around the 5th century BCE, records indicate many more tools were developed that further benefited the culture of fishing that had sprung up, including fishing rods, cotton nets, and small fishing boats, which further contributed to the building of a food surplus that allowed the expansion of commerce in the Anabat.

Many miscellaneous technological advancements were made in Aldaar during this time period that served to improve quality of life. Astrolabes, which had been first obtained from foreign merchants, allowed traders to more easily cross the desert without getting lost. The development of recurve composite bows, leather bracers, thumb rings, and blunt arrowheads all allowed for more efficient hunting, and the use of obsidian for knives and other blades made many processes to refine goods simpler and quicker. The development of camel saddles and camel riding practices allowed for easy transportation of goods across vast swathes of desert, with the riders sitting behind the hump of the camel to allow for both riding and packing of heavy goods. In some cases, two-person saddles would be used, generally for the riders who led larger caravans. The invention and continued development of the loom allowed for fabrics to be made more easily and overall lead to an increase in the amount of cotton goods. More techniques emerged for the extraction of stones such as obsidian, turquoise, malachite, and opal, which for the most part were traded to early Sayqidi jewelers across the southern mountain range. In exchange traders learned about techniques for metalworking, although it didn't become a large part of Aldaari culture. Finally, many techniques emerged for herding, especially goats; many nomadic tribes would become at least partially pastoralist, relying on raised goats and camels for food, milk, and hide.

 

The advents of writing, trade, and collective storytelling in the Anabat led to a system of shared religious and spiritual beliefs collectively known as Pre-Dawrani. Pre-Dawrani faiths relied mostly on oral history for many beliefs to be passed on, even though specific stories were frequently written down. Pre-Dawranis, much like modern Dawranis, believed in a spiritual plane that awaited people after death where people were able to influence the natural world based on the things they did in their life. Some tribes believed that there was an entire separate civilization in the afterlife, filled with spirits that had banded together to make concerted efforts to influence the human world. All sapient beings were believed to have souls strong enough to permeate the veil between realms and influence each other, as well as cats, [[w:Fennec fox|fennecs]], [[w:Corvidae|corvids]], and some other animals. Most myths and legends served to illustrate the importance of the three tenets and explain natural phenomena, and the religion adapted well with scientific discoveries such as the independent Aldaari discovery of heliocentrism. While Pre-Dawrani beliefs included some minor degree of ancestor worship, the prevailing belief was that one should not be beholden to their family's past and should live their own life.

 

==Geography==