Courtship and Romance

The Parahuman approach to romance depends on different factors, such as location and species. Those who live closer to the Human territories will be more accustomed to Human customs regarding romance. Traditional Ersgottan views and practices occur in isolated pockets. However, generally speaking most Parahuman have mixed traditional and Human views together.

Parahuman recognize monogomy and polygamy. Parahuman also recgonize a practice akin to Human marriage generally known as datraturu.

Mating
Mating in parahuman terms is taking a person, or persons, and claiming them. When a male claims someone, they then become their mate. The mating bond is said to last for life. Modern Parahuman females are generally given little freedom to who they mate with. A mated Parahuman is considered to be unavailable to others. Trying to mate with a bonded Parahuman is a punishable offense.

The dominant partner in the relationship is expected to protect the more submissive partner and provide for them. While this view has eased somewhat, with both partners being more equal, there is still more often than not a clear dominant partner in the relationship.

The main purpose of mating is of course the intent of producing children. Traditional Ersgottans, in the past, recognized and even encouraged polyamorous relationships. However with human influence, monogamous relationships are preferred. Some species of Parahuman are also exclusively monogamous.

Claiming
Claiming in an action that establishes a bond between two or more Parahuman. Claiming is done in several ways;

Scent Marking
Scent marking is a less permanant type of claiming. By staying in close proximity to each other, or engaging in social rubbing, Parahuman establish a scent mark on each other. This will deter others from them, since it announces that they are probably taken by someone else. However, scent marking isn't a behaviour that is exclusively coupled with mating. It can be a general social behaviour, performed within friends or family (in varying degrees of intimacy.) Because of this, it's generally done along with scarring or other sorts of marking to establish bonds.

Sex
Sex is often one of the first behaviours that Parahuman may use to establish bonds.

Intercourse and mating have very different tones. The dominant partner will often approach their siginficant other first. Often times, with this form of claiming, no words are said. There is a very serious tone that goes along with this sort of bond, almost to the point that it's a sacred act.

It is common for Parahuman to have sex before establishing other bonds, though scent marking is generally heavily associated with sex.

Scars
Another common way of showing property is to mark the other with scars. These were applied with ceremonial knives, but most do not have access to them. Scarring remains a common Parahuman practice.

Scars are a visual representation of ownership and often times these scars are placed all over the body. They are generally very incricate designs. Pre-colonisation Parahuman would place the scars on each other. Modern day Parahuman males will place the scars on their partner first, then later will allow the other to scar them as well.

Parahuman Marriage
Parahuman do not have marriage as Humans do. However, they do have a similar practice known as datraturu (literally, 'mate belonging to spirit').

Datraturu is a private practice reserved for only the bonded pair, though they have the option to include friends and family. The ceremony will always include the mates painting or applying certain meaningful glyphs or markings on to each other, generally on to the face, neck, or hands. Some markings are so sacred that they must be applied by a tse'kyam, or done by the bonded pair without friends or family to witness the application. Recently, this has been done with paints but a true ceremony will use a plant similar to henna (reffered to by the Parahuman as 'opasdum'). There are also some that use scarring to apply their datraturu markings.

This ceremony is held in the name of the Thalavist God of mating and love, Daj'ympa. Parahuman believe that Daj'ympa, after being invited to observe the ceremony, will bond the spirits of the pair and make sure that they are to share a connection in future lives.

Courtship and Dating
Social customs have changed over time and Human influence trickles into Parahuman society. Mating has become less spontaneous, and some Parahuman engage in practices similar to Human dating.

This is done with Parahuman engaging in several different social activities. They will be able to assess each other as a couple, as well as how they will be able to handle a long term relationship or raising a family. This means that forms of traditional Parahuman bonding will not be immediately applied. Without these social cues, most Parahuman have mistakenly (or purposefully) taken other Parahuman that already had a significant other.

However, some Parahuman prefer this way of romance as some do not like the ownership aspect of mating. It's also based less on observations from afar and more on personal and prolonged intimate contact.

And as for others, some will mix traditional Ersgottan beliefs with modern day Human influence. They might mix both practices by having many dating sessions before establishing mating bonds.