<img src="imagecache/small/images/40479943780_6bc26e8ba1_o.jpg" alt="left" /> The ogre culture is centered on warfare; the societal ranks of both males and females are decided by their ability to kill. Ogres are a tribal race, and each tribe is under the authority of a war chief. These tribes often fight each other as well as Asgardian settlements or cities. Ogres are known to fight both alone and in groups.
Because their culture is based on fighting, they do not focus much on comfort. Their villages and towns are often under kept and unclean. Their lifespan totally depends on their skills in warfare; this gets harder for an older ogre. That's why old ogres fight themselves to the death. This is another reason why Asgardians look down on them. Two ranks in Ogre society are the rank of Granz (noble) and Ganiriet (female leader). Individuals who have these titles are treated with great respect. But how you gain these ranks varies from tribe to tribe.
When an ogre child is born and as he grows it will be tested. Its tribe will test it as it will test all children. The tests difficulty and method differs in each tribe. If a child fails these tests he is often killed or left to die. Some of the smaller tribes are small simply because they have cruel and difficult tests. After the tests are completed there is most often a ritual to celebrate the new full member of the tribe. These rituals can also be the final tests, in the tribes that worship the good side of Wana the food of the children is often infected with disease. When they get sick and die Wana disapproves when they survive Wana approves the ogre as full members.
One of the more simpler and most common tests is to let children fight each other in one giant melee. When about half of the children lie dead or dying the shamans ring a bell and the survives are welcomed in the tribe.
Appearance
Why exactly Ogres have this veriaty between tusks, hair and horns is unknown, it is rumoured the chaotic nature of the Ogre Goddess Wana caused this, although more educated priests dispute this claim. Especially priests of Sin tend to dispute the claim of a chaotic nature of Wana, stating that Sin is the only true deity of chaos.
Their hair is often greasy and unkempt, which causes it to be darker in appearance then it actually is.
The clothing of Ogres is simple, often nothing more than is needed to keep them warm and protected from the environment. Their clothing consists mostly of animal hides and coarse cotton or linen fabrics, with belts, pouches and other utilities made from animal hide, leather and other animal parts. When going to war, they will sometimes don armour, especially those Ogres who have had more contact with races such as the tellurians . Strangely, those Ogres who own armour take great care for this armour, possibly due to the relative cost of Ogre-sized armour.
<img src="imagecache/small/images/42239812392_d17e3fee80_o.jpg" alt="left" />
Lifestyle
Most Ogres live a nomadic lifestyle, travelling around in small groups. Their main source of food comes from large herds of grazing animals. Depending on where they live Ogres will follow herds of buffalo, elephants, or elk. As these large herd migrate across the Heimr Ogres will follow them through the seasons. Picking off animals as they need and leaving large stone statues as they go. In places where there are no large herds to follow, Ogres will keep their own herds, usually consisting of sheep or goats. Ogres are not known for any agricultural activities. Although they probably know how to do it, the amount of long term planning involved doesn't come easy to most Ogres.
Private And Family Life
Outsiders know very little about the day to day life of Ogres. They are commonly perceived as simple minded blood thirsty brutes. Even tough this is a fair observation, there is more to their life then these simple brutish acts. Ogres are very private creatures, any kind of emotions or feelings are hardly ever shown to other ogres. They're life is one of constantly keeping up an appearance of strength, but they feel pain, sorrow and sadness just like any other race. An ogre will often have a few close companions with who he or she is not engaged in a strugle for strength. These companions often are close relatives such as parents or siblings. This tight bond is also the closest thing Ogres have to a marriage. Although if such a bond does exist between unrelated ogres, it rarely results in a monogamous relationship. The idea of monogamy is something rather foreign concept to ogres. Most young ogres don't know who their actual father is, due to the large number of partners a typical female ogre has.
Age And Disease
Few enslaved Ogres will live to the age of 40. Because they are constantly challenged to fight for their lives, once their strength fades with age an Ogre will eventually be unable to stand up to the younger generation. The age of an Ogre at death is by many considered the final test of strength. An Ogre's ability to remain strong while facing the decease of old age.
By many Ogres, old age is considered a disease send to them from Wana as a test of their strength. It is commonly believed that a strong body will remain strong against any disease. While the weak will fail and die the test of Wana. These trials of strength are often purposefully undertaken. It is common practice among the shamans to seek out diseases to show their strength to Wana. Ultimately though, Wana's disease of old age will defeat any Ogre.
The Great Brawls
Main Article: The Great Brawls of the Ogres
Every Solstice, the Ogres hold large feasts known as the Great Brawls. These are massive rituals, featuring lots of screaming and fighting. The Ogres fight from sunrise to sunset, with the tribe with most Ogres standing at sundown declared the winner. This tribe will then become the ruling tribe until the next sunset.
Religion
Ogres worship Wana as a form of standard worship , if ogres go to organized war, switching from their hunting, bashing and random acts of killing the bypasser elf to a more semi-formal mob, they frequently but temporarily switch to worship of Ratish as a higher worship form. This also happens when they have to make a difficult life choice and they have time to think on this choice, although this is very rare for ogres.
Cannibalism
Most Ogres are cannibalistic. They will eat the flesh from other strong Ogres. Hoping that the strength of the ones they eat may be added to their own strength. Because of this the flesh of the weak is rarely sought after, except when there is little other food available.
It is common practice for Ogres to eat their parents or siblings after their death. Ogres tell the story of how at the beginning, Wana herself was eaten by her children, and that this chain of cannibalism has gone down the generations in an unbroken chain. Eating a parent does not only symbolize taking on the parent's strength, but every ancestor including that of the great goddess herself.
In same rare cases Ogres have even been known to part with an arm while still alive, so a child can draw strength from it's consumption.
Art, music and literature
Ogres like sculpting. The simple art of hitting rocks, with other rocks to create rough outlines of identifiable shapes, such as their goddess Wana, ratmen, leaders and their enemies (these rocks don't stay this shape for long) is something that simply appeals to an ogre. Most of these sculptures are larger then 3 meters, and one or two have been found that where more than thirty meters in height. The larger once tend to be constructed of several large rocks or hacked from sides of mountains. The important and well done statues are usually decorated with blood during special seasons and other parts of the year. Most tribes of ogres have a variation of a form of ritual that strengthens their bodies with harsh treatment, like hitting each other with rocks, burning sticks or running each other trough bushes and small tress. Screaming and chanting are next to a form of training the lungs, also a form of communication, stress release and mating ritual. During ogre mating season, sometimes a large tribe picks up the screaming and chanting at such a rate and rhythm, taking turns, that there is never a silent moment for several days, scaring away most wildlife in the region. Like most Utgardians the Ogres also enjoy large quantities of food, sleep, sex and other untamed carnal pleasures.
Magic
Ogres don't use primordial magic. The Ogres have an ingrained hatred for primordial magic, like all Utgardian races. The stories of the weak ogres that have not yet escaped the clutches of Asgardian magic and still rot under the rule of the enemy frequently and variably travel from mouth to ear. Biologically speaking some members of the Ogre race could learn magic. If these individuals would practice certain force of mind pushes long and hard enough the spark might develop, but this training is rather alien to the ogre mindset and nobody takes the initiative to teach them how to do this. Primordial magic is outlawed in most of Utgard anyway, and if magical talent was discovered by a child, it would surely be killed by its tribe. Divine magic is practiced, although rare in comparison with other races, by the shamans and priests of Wana.
<img src="imagecache/small/images/41564935174_ba488e7d94_o.jpg" alt="left" />
Customs and Cultural Habits
Things people do because the culture teaches them to do it, also includes the ages of consent, legal maturity, etc.
Politics
How does the culture handle issues of power and who has power of whom.
Superstitions
Non-religious things people believe because the culture teaches them to believe it.
Architecture
How does the culture build its buildings.
Names
Naming conventions and example names, including how things like family names and heritage are dealt with.