Tips Fleshing Out Alien Culture?

[Jester85]

So, my two primary races are, in a nutshell, militaristic reptilians and pacifistic empathic mammalians.

At present, the reptilians are more fleshed-out than the mammalians, and I am a little stuck on rectifying this.

Their spiritual beliefs are modeled a bit after Buddhism, with lots of emphasis on meditation, spiritual harmony, being attuned to each other, and balance with Nature. Emphasis on clean energy, etc.

Social rituals like grooming as a form of bonding.

I'm not sure where to turn for ideas about bringing them more into focus, and I don't want them to just be these one-note tree-hugging "kumba ya kumba yay" caricatures.

Any tips/ideas/ideas what cultures might be helpful for inspiration? I'm a little blocked on this.

 

[Jester85]

I have two main worries, one being not feeling like they're as well-developed as my story's other primary race, and the other being how to convey a peaceful, harmonious race without making them A) boring, and B) "kumba ya kumba yay" treehuggers to the point of being one-dimensional cartoons.

 

[Mirannan]

Well, one thing that might get you thinking is the historical connection between Zen Buddhism and archery in Japan. Another example might be the various orders of monks in China, Shaolin being the most famous of them. I'm not all that clear about their beliefs, but it appears that such monks think near-perfect control of their own bodies is part of the path to enlightenment.

Pacifists don't have to be helpless. "If you want peace, prepare for war."

I have no idea what your mammalians look like, but to me the image of kung fu hamsters is irresistible.

 

[Jester85]

lol, think bipedal capybara. So actually, kung fu hamsters isn't that far off!

They are physically lethal if they wish to be, lightning reflexes, extreme eyesight and sense of smell and hearing, etc. I like the archery suggestion, and the control of the body.

Thanks!

 

[alchemist]

Maybe think about their history a bit more. Perhaps the hamsters used to be warmongers but after a critical incident (like the unleashing of a partcularly nasty weapon) they changed. You could put in references to those who died by that weapon, whether themselves or another race; have memorials, rituals associated with it etc

 

[Toby Frost]

As someone who has written about an empire of lemming people, I can't see how this could go wrong. That said, the lemming men were extremely warlike, regarding self-preservation as the sign of inferior beings. Now I think about it, they were pretty fond of hand-to-hand combat. "Forward - to the cliffs of destiny!"

 

[Jester85]

Maybe think about their history a bit more. Perhaps the hamsters used to be warmongers but after a critical incident (like the unleashing of a partcularly nasty weapon) they changed. You could put in references to those who died by that weapon, whether themselves or another race; have memorials, rituals associated with it etc

This intrigues me. Thanks! I may pursue something with this.

They did used to be a warrior people that fought with the reptilians all the time (stretching back tens of thousands of years up until centuries ago).

 

[abraves247]

I pictured the mammalians like the samurai. They can be peaceful yet deadly. If I am not mistaken I believe they practiced Buddhism.