SOCIETY
Culture:
Greetings are done by showing the other person your dominant hand, palm facing out and fingers spread. Hands feature heavily in their interpersonal interactions, as deals are not considered dealt until hands are shook, and that is considered more weighty than the words an orc has spoken. Going back on something you shook on is extremely dishonorable, and an orc who does so can expect to never be able to make deals with anyone locally again. Similarly, humans who go back on a deal they've shaken on can expect considerable hostility from the orc group they made that deal with.
Values:
Knowledge, ingenuity, and courage are considered the best traits an Oratok orc can possess. Curiousity and exploration are highly encouraged, as times change and it's better to adapt and go with the current than try to fight it.
Naming and Language:
Names are often one to two syllables, with a matronymic following. The matronymic changes some depending on the gender of the orc in question. Their language puts an emphasis on consonants, and the vowels tend to be barely enunciated if at all, with the strongest vowel sound being Y. While hard consonants are the most common, some may be softened, depending on which local human dialects have been the most influential through trade.
An example name for an Oratok orc would be Nadjy Yskra-la for a daughter of Yskra, or Styon Yskra-lo for a son of Yskra.
Art, Music and Dance:
Music is done in the style of call and response shanty songs, used as work songs. Musical instruments tend to be various flutes made from the reeds along the river, though a few particularly well-off orcs may have an instrument they traded for and have kept on their boat.
Art is usually done in the way of painting their sails and other canvases that may be lowered or raised inside of a houseboat to keep out the worst of the weather.
Food:
Oratok cuisine typically centers around freshwater fish and crustaceans, along with foraged vegetation. Agricultural staples such as flour are traded for, but Oratoks have taken to these items quite soundly, often frying up dough to make wraps.
Housing:
Most Oratoks live on modest house boats, often sharing space with one or two other orcs in either a family unit or in kind of bachelor/ette pads until they are ready to make a family unit of their own. Oratoks live almost their entire lives on the water, and rarely go further inland than stilt-house communities some have built along the riverbanks.
Sexuality, Gender, Marriage, and Divorce:
Oratok orcs live in small family units of two parents and one child at a time. They are careful to space their births so there is at least five years between children, to best give their young child the attention they need, especially as they're first learning to live on the water and all the dangers that go with that lifestyle. Twins can be somewhat problematic, and often extended family are brought in to assist with childcare as necessary.
Families are matrilineal, with the mother being the head of the household. Even if her husband was the one to own a boat before their marriage, the boat becomes hers upon marriage, and will remain with her even if she and her husband divorce later on. While not especially common, polyandry is not unheard of, nor looked at as something out of place but rather something practical.
