The Significance of Antlers in Cervid Society
Bruno Hirschkoff
Stillwater Cove, Rhocarn, 2021 Arahanius Domini
As a Cervus male myself, it has often occurred to me that my people have among the most obvious, and culturally significant, masculine symbology on Asantrea. Throughout history, the various styles of antler grown by Cervid peoples have been granted an almost mythological status, both by Cervidae and by other peoples. In the most basic sense, in the majority of Cervid populations, antlers are aligned with perceptions of masculinity. Indeed for most Cervidae, antler growth is directly correlated to testosterone production. The bigger your antlers, the more virile a breeding partner you are - much the same as the biology which governs our non-sapient cousins. Symmetry, sheen, number of tines, strength and adornment also have significant meaning associated with them. It is interesting to note that such primordial and instinct-driven assumptions have carried over into modern sapient Cervidae despite our rich cultural histories and claims of enlightenment. As such, antler maintenance has always been a booming trade in Cervid society.
I am, myself, an elk - Cervus Doregallus. My people are native to the forests of Rhocarn and Maenmerth, and the fertile river valleys of northern Scordomna. Cervus Doregallus people - male and female-bodied alike - grow antlers just once, as we enter physical maturity. Those antlers are with us for life, if we are lucky. Like teeth, they require maintenance, and can be broken or degraded. At various points in the history of our people, certain styles of antler adornment, decoration or modification have been popular. Gold plating, pigment dyes, the drilling and attachment of solid jewelry and so forth have been common practices, often regionally specific. In one remote region of Maenmerth, ancient rock art has been discovered depicting sapient Cervus Doregallus males fighting for sexual dominance in the same way as wild elk do during the rut. Archaeologists were intrigued by the prevalence of broken antlers discovered in burial mounds, and the reason for this remained a mystery until the discovery of the rock murals. In this ancient Cervid society, a male with intact antlers was seen as a coward, unwilling to fight for his place in the tribe. Genealogical studies have since been carried out on Maenmerth and Rhocarn populations, and a weak, ancient link has been uncovered, suggesting that ostracised peoples from this ancient Maenmerth culture migrated westward across the mountains into Rhocarn, mixing and integrating with local populations. Remains have been discovered in Rhocarn in recent years of Cervus Doregallus males whose antlers had been broken and subsequently repaired using stone or wood fragments, grafted to the bone with glue-infused leather bands.
The most extreme antler modifications in more modern times have gone as far as to include total antler removal, often combined with the attachment of prosthetic antlers of a radically different style, size, colouration or material. In such cases, the bone antlers are removed, and the stubs are tapered and either drilled or threaded to allow attachment and detachment of various prosthetic antlers. This practice is most strongly evidenced in the years leading up to the First Crusade, which is recorded to have officially begun in 778AD following the Battle of Carn Tywyll. Following this invasion by Valasean forces, native Doregallian populations across the continent were systematically disenfranchised from their traditional ways of life for several centuries, and many cultural practices died out entirely - including some forms of traditional antler prosthetics.
Given that antler appearance, symmetry and quality is an oft-used measure of overall health and vitality, the application of prosthetics and advanced resurfacing technologies over the years has been contentious to some, even as it has boomed as an industry. It has led to, at various times through post-Crusade history, the ostracization of prosthetically-antlered Cervidae. As a result, prosthetic technologies have tended to become more and more realistic over time, from the bawdy and obviously artificial styles of the pre-Crusade era.
Total antler removal without prosthetic replacement has been practiced by some Cervid populations as a cultural statement, a protest of the vulgarity associated with antlers as a phallic symbology. Antler removal tends to appear - both historically and contemporarily - within social groups who have found themselves marginalised and ostracised for sexual or personal expression. As such things tend to, there have been periods of our history where such things gain broad appeal and become the fashion of the day, only to then be supplanted by a very much renewed trade in prosthetics a few years later.
Cervus Doregallus, the elk, are the only Cervid people to grow antlers only once. Most other Cervid peoples - such as Cervus Tironae and Cervus Ithenicus, grow antlers numerous times through their lives, shedding them seasonally, or in response to environmental and nutritional variations. It has been observed throughout history that there is almost always a market for `used' antlers, particularly by smaller Cervid peoples whose own antlers are smaller and in whose cultures, size matters. This has led, on occasion, to seasonal-shed Cervidae being pursued and attacked for their antlers. This practice was most observable in Habury, the capital city of Scordomna, through the 1600s. Geographically central on the northern coast of the Mare Internum, Habury has long been the largest and most diverse city in Doregal. The Natural Shed Act passed by the High Council of Habury in 1739 introduced the first body-autonomy legislation to combat the trade in illegally-acquired antlers, and pushed up the price of natural-shed antlers such that today they are a status symbol among the smaller Cervid peoples and little more. This Act also impacted on Tironae and Ithenicus peoples, however, since many before the passage of the Act would harvest and sell their own antlers for financial gain. Restricting them to selling naturally-shed antlers only had the unintended consequence of destroying more than a few livelihoods - but on balance the outcome of the Act's enforcement has broadly been accepted as a success. Punishment for antler theft has been scaled back in recent years, commensurate with the decline to near-zero of recorded infringements.
While many peoples of Asantrea from various genii grow horns of one description or another - Toros, Caprin, Dragons, Minotaur and even some Faun - none have the historical complexity, variation, or cultural significance of Cervid antlers. Horn modification is carried out by most Asantrean ungulate peoples, to varying extents, but mostly such things occur for decorative or social purposes and generally do not have the depth, complexity or intricacy of history as is associated with Cervid antlers.
