Traditional Sara Culture

The way of life of the Sara tribes is deeply tied to the vast, rolling grasslands that stretch beyond the borders of Danfelgard and Estasea. They are pastoral, nomadic people, who move with the seasons to find fresh pasture for their herds of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, which are their primary source of wealth and sustenance. The foremost priority of each clan within the Sara people is its herds, and each clan aims to breed the swiftest horses, the sturdiest cattle, and the finest wool-bearing sheep of the whole Sara nation.

To the Sara, a man’s horse is almost an extension of himself, and a warrior without a horse is no warrior at all. Their horsemanship is taught from such an early age that it becomes instinctive — their children can often ride before they can walk and are soon able to shoot a bow with deadly precision while galloping at full speed.

While herding sustains them, the Sara are also hunters and trappers, supplementing their diet with game from the steppe and forests. Deer, antelope, and wild boar are hunted for food, but more daring hunters seek out wolves or bears, believing that capturing the spirit of a mighty beast strengthens one’s own soul. Any Sara who kills such a beast would naturally wear its fur as a robe and its claws as jewelry. This is a mark of his courage, but also as a way of signalling his unity with the spirit of the dead animal. Hunting expeditions are also rites of passage—a young warrior’s first successful hunt marks his or her transition into adulthood. Trapping also provides furs and pelts, especially snow leopard, sable and beaver, all of which are highly prized in trade with Estasea and Danfelgor, where steppe furs fetch a high price among the merchants and nobility.

The social structure of the Sara is built on kinship and loyalty. Each of the Sara belongs to a clan, a large extended family group bound by blood ties, mutual obligations, and a shared ancestral totem or spirit guide—a wolf, eagle, or stallion being the most common. Clans unite to form tribes - in times of war or great crisis, they would come together under a single Ouaq or Great Khan. This unity was, historically, fragile, though, and needed to be frequently reinforced through diplomacy, marriage alliances, and oaths sworn at shamanistic sites.

Central to Sara society is the animistic tradition, where shamans, called "Spirit-Walkers," perform the duties of healers, mystics, and guides, communing with the spirits of the land, the wind, the sky, and the ancestors. (See separate article on “Shamanism in Sara Culture” below).

Although the Sara were usually viewed as raiders and warriors by the settled peoples of Estasea and Danfelgard, they have long done business at trading posts, where merchants from the cities traded grain, metal tools, fine cloth, and wine for Sara horses, furs, livestock, heavy woollen felt, and hand-carved jewellery. Some of the more settled Sara established caravanserai and imaret hostelries (often simply called “Han”) along the rivers and other routes leading to the cities, where travellers can find food, shelter, and horses - these waystations remain under the control of their respective clans and serve as crucial meeting places for merchants, pilgrims, and other travelers moving between the steppe, Danfelgard, and Estasea. Built from sturdy timber, they have enclosed stables and yards for securing animals and goods, communal kitchens serving grilled meat, spiced stews and flatbreads, and simple sleeping quarters warmed by central hearths.

A typical Han is managed by a Sara host family, which oversees the kitchens, stables, and guest accommodation, and the Han are hubs of information, where news from distant lands is spread by pilgrims, merchants and wandering storyteller-poet musicians.

The trade routes connecting the Han have helped the Sara in building commerce not only in livestock and furs but also in rare steppe herbs, heavy woolen textiles, and traditional metalwork and other artifacts. Some of the larger caravanserai near the cities have become hubs of trading settlements, where artisans and traders establish workshops.

The Sara are defined by their warrior code, which is as much a part of their identity as herding or hunting. Every Sara between 15 and 50 is expected to fight when neccessary - boys and girls are trained to ride and use weapons. Sara warriors are superb mounted archers and can maintain a steady stream of arrows while riding at full gallop - their lances and curved sabres, crafted by their smiths, are also highly effective in battle. Loyalty to the clan comes before all else, and a Sara warrior who betrays his kin is considered lower than a dog, cast out and condemned to wander the steppe alone.

The Sara are noted for their poetry and song. Around the fires of their encampments, they tell tales of their ancestors, sing of battles won and lost, and recite the legends of Valumala, the Wolf-Mother and Vazendafur, the Storm Father. Their music, played on drums, rattles, wooden flutes and stringed instruments, carries across the plains in the evening, an evocative reminder that the steppe has its own soul, and the Sara are its voice.

Professor Doktor Renate Schoenbein.

Universitaet Aabergen-Panrod

Shamanistic Animism in Sara Culture

The Spirit World and the Shamans' Role

In the universe of the Sara, the physical world and the spirit realm coexist at all times and in all places. It is a world where clan forbears watch over their descendants, where the wind carries indications of the future, and where deities such as Vadeskira (Sky Eagle), Valumala (Wolf-Mother), and Vazendfur (Storm Father) decide the fate of mortals.

Shaquihuro (shaman) serve as intermediaries between the realms, communing with spirits through rituals, dreams, and trances. They interpret omens in the flight of birds, the patterns of fire, and the shifting winds - their pronouncements determine whether a tribe goes to war, forges an alliance, or undertakes a great migration.

Rituals and Magic

Shamanic rituals are usually held beneath the open sky, where the wind and stars bear witness. Some take place in sacred groves or on lonely hills, places where the veil between worlds is thinnest. Powerful shamans, such as Gi Shaquihuro Drona (the Shaman of the Tree), can enter deep trances by drinking sacred infusions made from rare steppe plants and herbs. In these altered states, their souls leave their bodies, entering the spirit world to seek guidance from ancestors or elemental beings. This is called “Walking the Ghost Road”.

Shaquihuro shaman use chanting and rhythmic drumming or the shaking of bone and feather rattles to help them enter trance states and summon spirits. Sacred fires are lit, and special herbs are burned, their smoke carrying prayers to the heavens and the spilling of an animal’s blood, particularly that of a horse or stag, is sometimes necessary to appease the spirits or ask for protection.

Shaman and Warfare

When chieftains and khans lead warriors into battle, shaman will call upon storm spirits to create confusion among enemies, invoking ancestors to strengthen warriors, and cursing their enemies. Before battles, shaman chant to tribal ancestors, filling warriors with the fire of their forebears - powerful shamans can summon storms, causing lightning to strike enemies or raising extreme winds to scatter enemy arrows.

Warriors are often given spirit guidance before battle, when shaquihuro paint sacred symbols on their skin using charcoal and ochre and bind wolf teeth or eagle feathers into their braids to channel the strength of those creatures.

The Three Great Paths of the Shaman

All shaman commune with the spirit world but they are not all the same. There are three main paths among them -

There are seers and diviners, who read omens in the flight of birds, the movements of the stars, and the shifting patterns of rivers. They guide the tribes by warning of danger or revealing unseen truths.

Other shaman are keepers of the dead, tending to burial sites, speaking to spirits, and ensuring that restless ghosts do not trouble the living. In times of war, they call upon fallen ancestors, binding the strength of their souls to warriors.

The rarest and most feared shaman can harness the power of the elements, particularly wind and lightning. Gi Shaquihuro Drona (Shaman of the Tree), the most powerful shaman of the Sara, is the greatest of the stormcallers, supposedly able to commune with the Storm Father himself.

The Influence of Shaman on Tribal Politics

Shaman may not rule as khans and chieftains do, but nevertheless their influence over tribal affairs can be immense, and a wise khan would not lightly disregard a shaman’s warnings. When clans gather in council, shaman are often called to settle disputes - more worldly shaman have often been the catalysts of alliances and wars, having convinced estranged clans to unite against a common enemy, or interpreting omens to turn rivals against one another.

The Risk of Moving between Worlds

In using their power, shaquihuro shaman walk the line between wisdom and potential danger - those who are not powerful enough to spend too much time among the spirits can become trapped between worlds, their minds untethered from reality. Some shaman have vanished permanently into the spirit world, their mortal bodies left to wither away, returning to the earth in sacred groves.

The Role of Shaman in Daily Life

Shaman act as healers, teachers, and spiritual guides. They also tend to the sick and injured, using herbal medicine, chanting, and spirit blessings to cure ailments. They give newborn children their names, ensuring that each name carries strength and meaning, and bless unions between warriors and their brides, preserving harmony in the tribe. When a khan or a great warrior dies, it is the shaman who guide his soul, ensuring he joins the ranks of his ancestors in the underworld.

Some of the people of Estasea and Danfelgard regard the Sara shaman with fear and awe, and believe they are witches, consorting with dark spirits, whilst others seek them out for their wisdom and mystical insight. But to the Sara people, shaquihuro are keepers of an ancient, unbreakable bond between man, beast, and spirit. Like the great Tree, shaman unite the three realms of the sky, the earth and the underworld.