A matrilineal
race. Mother's choose among the suitors for their daughters. Men outnumber
women by ten to one. Men work in mines and do the work and compete
for the honor of becoming a Husband. Women head the households. Society
is based on these houses, with the eldest women being leader's and
daughter's and sister's working together frequently.
The
church is an all male affair with a female Earth Goddess. Priests
give up their family ties and all competion for wives and become
"married to the earth." Priests control the mining operations and
the value of various precious commodities. Thus the Priesthood often
clashes with individual houses over mining rights, etc.
Husbands
must always be from another house and marriage begins a new one.
Nogoth are almost always born in groups of 2 or 3. The exceptions
are females and an occasional male. Single male births are either
a great event or a bad omen depending on the relative strength of
a house. A single male born to a powerful mother is seen as a boon,
with the child invariably growing stronger and wiser than average.
However, in a new or weak household, a single male birth is a detriment
because more hands are needed to work the family mines and help
the house grow strong.
Female
children are a great asset because one measure of a males worth
is the amount of wealth he can supply as a reimbursement to the
family of the female. Unmarried nogoth women are called daughters
or sisters, while married women are mothers. When a mother dies,
it is traditional for the father to commit ritual suicide in a tremendous
feat of exertion and strength for the benifit of the surviving family
members. Obviously all family holdings are divided among the daughters,
with the oldest taking the family name.
