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Author Topic: Questions on Brutor spirituality  (Read 1697 times)

Calliste Dauvienne

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Questions on Brutor spirituality
« on: 18 Nov 2015, 07:18 »

Just a bit of curious question here since I've been parsing some new Minmatar lore and their spiritual aspects. From what I've read the Minmatar spiritual beliefs seem to be premised on a duality between the material/spiritual worlds that exists at the same time and which varies between Tribes. For the Sebiestor this appears to be a totemic tradition with blessed objects serving as a connection to their spirits/ancestors and with the Vherokior their tradition appears to be similar to the Voluval where tattoos and markings on the body serve as the connection to their spirits/ancestors.

For the Brutor I couldn't find much but there was a piece in the Kameiras chronicle:

In the aftermath of battles, Kameiras gather what bodies they can of their fallen and burn them in great funeral pyres. This is done in a matter-of-fact way, without emotion. Once the fires have burnt out the surviving Kameiras cut themselves and then rub the ash from the pyres, the ashes of their dead brethren, into their open wounds. In this way, a permanent mark is formed. The Kameiras carry their dead with them, and the mark serves as a lasting reminder of those who fell. An old soldier may have many scars of the lost covering his body and in this way can come to look akin to his free Minmatar brethren

Emphasis mine. The Brutor are variously described as, "Immersed in ancient martial traditions that begin at childhood" and, "A martial, strong-willed people," So I'm curious if the practice described isn't actually a Kameiras tradition but an aspect of Brutor tribal spirituality? As in the physical scars created by the ashes of the dead that they burn on funeral pyres are the Brutor's physical connection to their own ancestors/spirits?
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Elmund Egivand

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Re: Questions on Brutor spirituality
« Reply #1 on: 18 Nov 2015, 07:37 »

Just a bit of curious question here since I've been parsing some new Minmatar lore and their spiritual aspects. From what I've read the Minmatar spiritual beliefs seem to be premised on a duality between the material/spiritual worlds that exists at the same time and which varies between Tribes. For the Sebiestor this appears to be a totemic tradition with blessed objects serving as a connection to their spirits/ancestors and with the Vherokior their tradition appears to be similar to the Voluval where tattoos and markings on the body serve as the connection to their spirits/ancestors.

For the Brutor I couldn't find much but there was a piece in the Kameiras chronicle:

In the aftermath of battles, Kameiras gather what bodies they can of their fallen and burn them in great funeral pyres. This is done in a matter-of-fact way, without emotion. Once the fires have burnt out the surviving Kameiras cut themselves and then rub the ash from the pyres, the ashes of their dead brethren, into their open wounds. In this way, a permanent mark is formed. The Kameiras carry their dead with them, and the mark serves as a lasting reminder of those who fell. An old soldier may have many scars of the lost covering his body and in this way can come to look akin to his free Minmatar brethren

Emphasis mine. The Brutor are variously described as, "Immersed in ancient martial traditions that begin at childhood" and, "A martial, strong-willed people," So I'm curious if the practice described isn't actually a Kameiras tradition but an aspect of Brutor tribal spirituality? As in the physical scars created by the ashes of the dead that they burn on funeral pyres are the Brutor's physical connection to their own ancestors/spirits?

Considering that the Brutor are prized by the Amarr Empire as tough and hardy people, it wouldn't be surprising if they almost exclusively enlist Brutor slaves into the Kameira military, allowing them to take their ancient and half-forgotten practices with them into the Kameira, where it can then flourish.

As for whether the modern free Brutor practice such a thing, well, who knows? Much of the Minmatar lore is still missing and there's alot of Amarr and Minmatar practices mixed up so thoroughly that it's hard to tell which is which. The free Brutor might have discarded this practice thinking that it's Amarr in origin when in reality it was of Brutor origin.
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Tabor Murn

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Re: Questions on Brutor spirituality
« Reply #2 on: 18 Nov 2015, 08:32 »

I haven't been able to find much on Brutor spirituality and have had to improvise in my own RP.

I've RPed some stuff in the past such as organized group rituals which emphasize group cohesion (and often have the intended side affect of intimidating observers, whether human or spirit). Also some rituals have taken the form of feats of strength or endurance which result in a spiritually awakened state.

I think it's possible that the root of the Kameira traditions has a Brutor background.
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Kador Ouryon

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Re: Questions on Brutor spirituality
« Reply #3 on: 09 Dec 2015, 20:51 »

They Brutor always struck me oddly enough as a nod to the people of Polynesia and on a personal level most notably amongst them the kind of warrior culture New Zealand's Maori cultivated at one point.

Perhaps looking there would make for an interesting source of inspiration for any fiction you have to create yourself.

I'd direct you to Haka which is an ancestral war cry, dance, or challenge depending on when, how, and by whom it is performed. It was more commonly associated with war however in a more modern setting it represents a welcoming of distinguished guests as well as a challenge which is present in our sporting culture and even in our education system where schools will have their own unique Haka.

There are also multiple different kinds from peruperu, leaping combative kaka, to tutu ngarahu, side to side leaps, and ngeri which was performed without weapons. That barely begins to account for the variations on this other polynesian cultures.

You could also look at the gesture of welcome, Hongi, if that interests you which was supposed to be a literal sharing of a single breath/breath of life between two people. This in addition to how the concepts of Tapu and Mana could be applied to a science fiction setting.

If this appeals to you and you are looking for a stylistic visual representation of something similar try the film 'The Deadlands'. I'm actually trying to write a short science fiction story that has influences drawn from this region of the world.

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"We ripped up the ending and the rules...and cast aside destiny...leaving nothing for us but an endless cycle of death and rebirth. Which is all well and good, except... Well, what if I've made the wrong choice? I have faith that it wasn't.....but how am I supposed to know? I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you my story.Let me tell you everything."
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Matariki Rain

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Re: Questions on Brutor spirituality
« Reply #4 on: 24 Dec 2015, 00:43 »

They Brutor always struck me oddly enough as a nod to the people of Polynesia and on a personal level most notably amongst them the kind of warrior culture New Zealand's Maori cultivated at one point.

Agreed. The original Brutor concept art was pretty clearly (possibly even explicitly? I'm trying to remember) influenced by Māori/polynesian elements. I folded quite a bit of tikanga Māori into my versions of Brutor (and Sebi) clan life, and Republic civic life.
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