A very brief overview of Aslan Culture in the Hierate
Aslan society is heavily gendered. Female Aslan are born 3 times more often than male Aslan. As the Aslan developed their sentience, the gender roles became reflected in their societal development. Male Aslan led the pride, claimed and defended hunting territory, and female Aslan hunted, developed tools, and later on, agriculture. For much of the development of Aslan civilization, forming clans, moving from nomadic prides to building cities, their industrial revolution, and the development of Jump Drive.
The Cultural Purge and establishment of the Codices of Sakolusalo loosened the strict adherence of gendered professions and skills to an Aslan’s gender as defined at birth. Outside of the jurisdiction of the Hierate, the various worlds, colonies, and settlements in Reaver’s Deep continue to observe or not observe traditional roles as each community’s tradition would address. Such is life in the Buffer.
The Akuaeuhrekhyeh and Gendering during adulthood
Aslan culture has developed along gender distinction. As mentioned, vocations were divided between gender. That strict distinction has loosened in the current age. In systems where the population can support it, individual Aslan are more free to choose the work that matches their talents and interests regardless of their gender.
In most Aslan cultures when a young Aslan reaches adolescence, before their Akuaeuhrekhyeh rite of passage they are encouraged to explore their place in their ekho, ahriy and huiha. When the time of their Akuaeuhrekhyeh arrives they are offered the choice to undergo their rite as a male or a female. Once the Akuaeuhrekhyeh is complete the Aslan is considered male or female based on the rite of passage regardless of their gender at time of birth.
Of course, there are traditional clans, prides and families that retain a more restrictive view of the Akuaeuhrekhyeh. Still, they are becoming less and less common with each passing century, especially in places outside the Hierate where Aslan and other species have deeper contact with one another.
With the exception of the choice offered before the Akuaeuhrekhyeh, the gendered culture of the Aslan changes little. There are still male and female skill sets, the heads of ekho, ahriy and huiha are still male the career paths remain divided between male and female. Aslan socialize, and present as the gender they finished their Akuaeuhrekhyeh as, rather than the gender they were identified as at birth.
Socialization of preadolescent Aslan
For the vast majority of Aslan, they undergo the Akuaeuhrekhyeh as the gender they were identified as at birth. A combination of social inertia, history, education and folklore has habituated conformity. It’s that same cultural normalization which endorses acceptance of an Aslan’s gender based on their role in society.
A small percentage of Aslan (and for that matter, most sophonts which have bimorphic gender divisions) are transgender, and while the acceptance of Aslan who present through the cultural window of their gendered role helps this population to realize their identities, it is not transition. Though, IMTU, the society of Charted Space has progressed beyond persecution. Only in those systems and states where a strong authoritarian governmental control locally prohibits nonconformity can such oppression still be found.
Tolerance, Dueling, and Marriage
Aslan society remains patriarchal, male Aslan remain in leadership positions in all aspects of Aslan culture. The change that has developed over the ages is with the definition of “patriarch”. Instead of accident of birth, the term patriarch is defined by the role an Aslan fills in their society.
The cultural pride of Aslan remains, they are still a “touchy” people in conditions where their honor, respect and status are involved. redefining the patriarch along roles instead of birth opens still more possibilities for an Aslan to take offense and demand satisfaction.
Marriage and inheritance have also changed. Not only is the head of an ekho, ahriy and huiha a patriarch by role, the institution of marriage is also moved away from the birth genders of the bride and groom. Same sex marriage is a common arrangement for ekho.
With regards to gender and marriage, Aslan traditions of “plolygamy” remains. One male and one or more females bound by marriage. Again, determined by role rather than sex.
The practical concerns over childbirth are trivial at this point in Aslan History. While primogeniture remains the system for inheritance along ekho, ahriy, and huiha institutions, like with changing patriarchial definitions, the “oldest male” refers to the Aslan’s job.
Hierate vs Satellite systems
The Hierate is where the majority of traditional “akhaoye” huiha reside. A little less than half of the Tlaukhu are akhaoye. The progressive “akyafteirleao” clans tend to be smaller, and only six that are strongly akyaftheirleao. However, the minor clans in the Hierate are becoming more and more akyafteirleao with each passing generation.
Beyond the Hierate, in those satellite systems where Aslan huiha have control of the culture and government, the percentage of akyafteirleao climbs significantly. The younger ihatei often don’t have the personal charisma to resist the reforms that arrive with colonists and adventurers that arrive to settle the new worlds.
There is a tension between the akhaoye and akyafteirleao factions in Aslan society. The akhaoye fear losing their centuries-old control and dominance over culture and the akyaftheirleao chafe under the arbitrary rules and traditions that worked well on the savannas of Kusyu, but struggle to remain relevant in a starfaring civilization that has spanned 3 millennia. This tension has lead to countless duels and many feuds among the huiha. While, to most people who are familiar with Aslan culture, the difference between akhaoye and akyaftheirleao factions are obvious, to the uninitiated, assumptions can lead to disrespect and challenges to duels.
As of the current era, (3i 1105-3i 1125 in the Dezzy Traveller Universe) this has not sparked into a general civil war among the huiha. The fight is still political and has been for centuries (since the adoption of the Codices of Sakolusalo in the ftahea 2525 of the Hierate calendar)
Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse 
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