Tribal Half Orcs

Tribal Structure
While some half orcs make their homes in human or orcish societies, the half orc bison herds of the southern plains have banded together in attempt to create a society of their own. Their tribes are comprised of several smaller clans, which in turn contain 1 or more families. These structures are not always permanent and it is not unheard of for a clan to leave a tribe over a dispute or because the tribe has grown too large, or for small tribes to merge for protection or to strengthen their herds. Likewise, clans may be divided or merged for the same reasons.

Tribal and clan names are no more permanent than the structures themselves. Tribes are often simply referred to by the area where their herds graze and clans are usually referred to by the name of the clan leader or dominant family.

Leadership and Succession
Each clan has its own rules for selecting a head of clan. In many clans leadership defaults to the eldest member or to the eldest child of the previous leader. Some clans are strictly patriarchal or matriarchal, but this is not universal. Occasionally a clan will identify more strongly with one half of its heritage over the other and base their leadership selection on that. Human-leaning clans may hold elections for leadership, while orc leaning clans may have duels or other feats of skill or strength to determine who should lead.

Human/Orc Names
Individuals will often have 3 names: a human name, an orcish name, and a half-orc “true name” which is typically a combination of the two. To many half-orcs this naming tradition symbolizes the fact that they want to honor both halves of their heritage but also form a unique blended culture of their own. Within the Enninfield Tribe an individual’s true first name is a portmanteau of their human and orc names, while their surname will be a hyphenated combination of their human and orc surnames.

Half orc children typically take one name from each of their parents. In some clans children take their father’s orcish family name and their mother’s human family name. The reverse is rare, but not unheard of. In clans with a strong clan identity children will always take the clan name, and then the partner name from the parent that married into the clan. For example, children born into Clan Cromack always bear Cromack as their orc name and take the human name of whichever parent married into the clan. Likewise children born into Clan Hamilton always take Hamilton as their human name and take the orcish name of whichever parent was not born a Hamilton.

Economy
While some clans will practice other trades, every clan in the southern tribes practices bison husbandry to some extent. This is not just an economic choice, it is an integral part of their religion. When a member of one of the tribes dies they are buried in the open plains. As their body decomposes it is believed that their soul is released in the surrounding ground, where it is ultimately channeled into the plains grass. This in turn is eaten by the bison, allowing them serve as a sort of receptacle for the soul energy of orc ancestors. In turn, as the tribes consume the meat of the bison they absorb the soul fragments into themselves, until they have gathered enough that it coalesces into a new soul and a child is born.

Religion
Some clans see this belief as merely symbolic; it’s a story that recognizes the importance of bison to their nomadic lifestyle. Other clans take it quite literally. As they believe the flesh of the animals contains the souls of their ancestors, some particularly religious half orcs are understandably reluctant to sell or trade the meat away. In extreme cases, they will refuse to part with the meat at all, instead making their living selling only bison leather or horns. Others compromise by keeping a part of every animal, believing the souls carried within will have enough sense to move away from the part being traded into the part being kept by the tribe. Others think it’s ok to part with the ensouled meat, believing that being touched by the souls of their ancestors will make humans, orcs, and other races more accepting of the tribes. After all, those human towns and orc settlements that purchase or barter for the most bison meat tend to be the most friendly to the tribes. (Skeptics argue this is simply because they have formed a close bond through trade relations, not because they have been touched by the souls of ancient half orc ancestors.)

The bison focused religious beliefs of the tribes are of particular interest to anthropologists because it is the one aspect of the half orc tribal culture that is not borrowed from their orc or human roots. Some skeptics believe this is just because the ancestors made up a religion (or told stories that got warped into a religion) when first trying to define themselves as something other than just a mix of human and orc. However, more devout tribesmen see this as evidence of the truth of their beliefs. They believe their ancestors either discovered the truth of the bison herds after being cast out of human and orc societies, or were given the first herds as a gift from gods who took pity on the outcast half-breeds, and formed their religion and tribe structure around that.

Clan Offices
Almost all clans will have a Master of the Herd (alternately Master of Bison, Master of Beasts) who is in charge of tending the bison. Managing the herds is a large task which often involves many members of the clan, but most of the work is overseen and delegated by the Master of the Herd. While the chieftain decides where the clans drive the herds, the Master of the Herd makes decisions like which animals to breed, how many animals to slaughter, and which animals to trade with other clans to ensure a healthy breeding stocks.

The right hand of the chief is either the chief’s successor or mentor, depending on their age. When an elderly chief abdicates to their heir they become the right hand of the new chief. If the previous chief’s death precedes their succession then the right hand will often be a close relative of the chief or venerated elder of the clan who can advise the new chief in their stead. When their mentorship is no longer needed (or their time in the world comes to an end) the chief’s successor becomes the new right hand and the chief/hand relationship is reversed.

The left hand of the chief is a temporary position given to a clan member who is working with the chief in some special capacity. Usually this role is assigned when the chief has need of a specific talent for which their is not a permanent office. In times of war the left hand of the chief might be the clan’s foremost tactician or strongest warrior. In times of negotiation the left hand might be a diplomat or envoy. The office of left hand is not merely a position for the half orc who fills it. It’s also a declaration to the clan, a way of saying “This is what is important for the clan right now.”

Marriage
As clans are often made up of a few related families, marriage within a clan is not common simply due to a lack of potential partners. Marriage between tribes is also uncommon, as the tribes rarely spend much time in the same area and the high importance of family in half orc culture means that individuals are loathe to leave the tribe of their family. Most tribal half orcs either find a mate within their tribe from a different clan, or marry a first generation half orc who has no clan affiliation.

True to their hybrid nature, half orc wedding ceremonies are often a mix of human and orcish customs. A wedding may involve human traditions such as the bride being escorted to an altar by her father, and orcish traditions such as the groom hunting a mighty beast with his male kin to make an offering of its heart to the bride’s mother.

Typically the bride will join her new husband’s clan, though it is not unheard of for the reverse to happen, especially if the bride’s clan is of greater standing within the tribe. Since clan memberships are considered malleable as long as clans remain within the same tribe, the newlyweds may even drift between the two clans for a time before settling.