Witchcraft in this world is practiced openly. Magic works through long, complicated rituals that require multiple components and preparation that can take days to months to complete. Some of the most powerful of these demand human "sacrifice", in which an individual contributes their mana (life energy) is used to fuel a spell. Mana is continuously produced by the body in order to keep a person alive and functional. Testosterone is an important signalling hormone in a mana production pathway. Physically large and athletic young men produce the most Testosterone. Mana builds up over time and can be boosted before harvesting after a testosterone spike (battle, ritual dancing, sex, etc).This would naturally make fit young males the most powerful witches in the setting. However, due to conditions in biology, the "magic gene" is linked to the xx chromosome and production of estrogen. This prevents males from conducting magic and links witchcraft to a female occupation. This has produced a physically hyper competitive world in which the magical edge outweighs the physical and reproduction power disadvantage.
This setting follows a religion in which god, originally a perfect entity and the seat of human consciousness, split himself into two separate beings and reincarnate into mortal forms. These two beings would be the primogenitors of the human race, each possessing half of god's original qualities and attributes and explaining the sexual dimorphism in our species. This has led to the condition that we are divine beings due to having a piece of god in each of us. In the end of days, god will reform into one perfect entity once again in a rapture-like event. We as humans will transcend our mortal bodies, becoming divine once again and become one with the human consciousness.
In this setting, the family unit is based around a clan system. An individual's wealth and status is related to the clan they are born in, and it's ancestry is based on matrilineal lines. Due to certain environmental factors on the continent, travel between regional areas can be somewhat difficult and expensive. Therefore, most breeding takes place between clans in relative proximity of each other. Marriage does not exist in the form we would recognize. Women remain in the clan they were born into, while men are the ones who leave the home to join other families. A man doesn't marry an individual, but marries into an entire clan. This leads to many offspring being fathered by the same individual. A cultural belief system has developed in which boys are considered "sons of society" and raised in bulk while girls are "daughters of their mothers" and raised specifically by their mother.
This system of polyandrous marriage would leave many males unmarried in society. This has historically led to an increase in violence in countries where this is the case, which is why monogamy is thought to be more stable. Is there a way to make this society stable in the long term?
This setting follows a religion in which god, originally a perfect entity and the seat of human consciousness, split himself into two separate beings and reincarnate into mortal forms. These two beings would be the primogenitors of the human race, each possessing half of god's original qualities and attributes and explaining the sexual dimorphism in our species. This has led to the condition that we are divine beings due to having a piece of god in each of us. In the end of days, god will reform into one perfect entity once again in a rapture-like event. We as humans will transcend our mortal bodies, becoming divine once again and become one with the human consciousness.
In this setting, the family unit is based around a clan system. An individual's wealth and status is related to the clan they are born in, and it's ancestry is based on matrilineal lines. Due to certain environmental factors on the continent, travel between regional areas can be somewhat difficult and expensive. Therefore, most breeding takes place between clans in relative proximity of each other. Marriage does not exist in the form we would recognize. Women remain in the clan they were born into, while men are the ones who leave the home to join other families. A man doesn't marry an individual, but marries into an entire clan. This leads to many offspring being fathered by the same individual. A cultural belief system has developed in which boys are considered "sons of society" and raised in bulk while girls are "daughters of their mothers" and raised specifically by their mother.
This system of polyandrous marriage would leave many males unmarried in society. This has historically led to an increase in violence in countries where this is the case, which is why monogamy is thought to be more stable. Is there a way to make this society stable in the long term?
I'm still saying if women or even a few powerful women can shoot lasers out of there eyes I'm accepting my lot real quick, and my testosterone is probably just going to get channeled at other males, which would probably be encouraged on the daily so I could get harvested for my massive mana.