The Verions: 2016

The Verions

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ENVIRONMENT

The Verion people are a group of nuclear apocalypse survivors. The village of Verion was far enough away from any of the bombs that were set off, so there weren't any problems settling there due to radiation. But besides that, the location was chose due to the diverse regions that are close to the village. To the west of Verion is an ocean, mountains to the north, desert to the east, and forests to the south. The climate is very mild due to the village's proximity to the ocean. Summers are hot, usually with temperature highs between eighty five and ninety five degrees. Winters do not get very cold, lows usually ranging between 50 and 60 degrees. It rains here an average of seventy five days out of the year. Even though the areas around Verion are highly varied, there isn't much diversity in flora and fauna because of the nuclear fallout. Those species that did survive however, became mutated due to the high levels of radiation.

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CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Norms

Because this tribe of people started out as a group of survivors coming together five hundred years ago, many of the Verion norms are based on survival and the prosperity of the group. For example all Verions must be proficient with at least one weapon, in order to defend the tribe from the very rare tribal warfare and large mutated predators. Also, every household must tend a garden in order to feed themselves.

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Because there is a lack of most resources, very few Verions live into their seventies most live to late fifties or early sixties. The lack of resources also lead to households only having two children usually. Those that live to see their grandchildren become old enough to hunt adequately are able to have an easy life, as they usually just become village security as long as they are physically able too.

Values

Like our norms, Verion values are tied to survival. Friendship with their fellow people is highly valued because we know that we need each other to survive. Intelligence is valued because of how few resources there are, we have to be smart in how we use them. Being good at our job is also a value for the Verions. Structure building is a very valued skill to us as well.

Worldview

The Verion people see the world as needing to be rebuild by the remaining survivors by working together. We see war with other people as pointless because everyone of our people is valuable, although if seriously threatened we will not hesitate to fight.

Symbols

Hunting
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Friendship
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Family
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Village
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Classifications of Reality

We see nobody as being inherently bad, just those who were not properly raised and possibly had to survive by themselves in the harsh environment. Verions also see that everybody has some sort of value, whether its hunting, structure building or negotiating. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses.

STRUCTURE / SOCIAL ORGNIZATION

We Verions see village, family, hunting and friendship as our most important institutions. The village is the biggest institution because it is what holds us together. Family is a major intimation because they are your team. Hunting is a major institution because that is how they get the majority of their food. And lastly friendship is a major institution because that makes surviving that much easier on everybody. There are no class distinctions in Verion culture, everybody is equally as important. Gender stratification doesn't exist in Verion culture for that same reason. Verions in their twenties to forties make up a majority of the population, with those under the age of twenty being the second biggest age group, and those fifty and older Verions are the smallest age group. There is a fairly even split in sex demographics, males being about forty seven percent and women being fifty three percent. While the majority of Verions consider their gender to be the same as their sex, they don't look down upon those that feel they are of the other sex. Because we initially started out as a group of survivors that banded together, we used to have a greater amount of ethnic diversity, but because there are not a lot of people outside of this village, the diversity has lessened over the five hundred years that the village has stood for. Because all of our days are consumed by surviving, we do not have many rituals, the only ones being a birth ritual that welcomes the new child into the village, and a death ritual where the village pays it respects to the deceased Verion and their family. Verions have a very diverse diet due to the diverse regions that surround the village. We fish in the ocean, hunt and scavenge in the forest, desert, and mountain areas. In early childhood, the children are placed in daycares and then schools so that they learn how to socialize with each other because that is a vital institution in my culture. Once the child reaches puberty, they begin their training with various weapons, as well as hunting, fishing, tracking, and scavenging lessons. Once we reach adulthood, we are expected to have children so that our parents can have an easier life. Once we reach old age, life becomes much easier. They don't have to go outside the walls much then, and security is not hard due to the lack of outsiders that find Verion.

AREAS OF CULTURAL INTEREST

In such a harsh environment, we Verions have placed survival and those skills that accomplish survival as or most important areas of cultural interest such as hunting, friendship, scavenging, terrain, and defense. Hunting is heavily emphasized because that is how we eat, and is a skill that everyone much know. Friendship is another emphasis, because those friendship connections are the most valuable tool that the Verions own. Scavenging is important because in a post-nuclear land, scavenging provided the village with many more resources than would normally be available to produce. Terrain is emphasized because every different kind of terrain hold its own advantages and disadvantages, and the knowledge of both are highly valuable. Lastly because of the nuclear fallout, and mutated fauna, defense is a area that is of major cultural interest.