Lashunta Social Actions & Meanings

Despite the fact that Lashunta look a lot like Humans if we forget the antennae, the multicolor hair and skin tones (let’s face it: two arms, two legs, upright, and one head), we want some details to make the stand out. So here are things I’ve worked out.   Kissing   Lashunta kiss, but don’t use their lips. Instead, they lightly touch antennae.This is an intimate gesture, and far moreso than the physical contact, for it creates an instant, empathic, emotional connection, wherein all feelings are laid bare between the participants. Certainly lip-based kissing is possible, though isn’t as common, since Vaeol mentions in her daylog ~bushassi o’adeni Aslanti~ - kissing Azlanti/Human-wise, because the Human custom was unusual enough to be identified with them.   Another related gesture is the kissing of a female’s belly while kneeling. This act is intimate, to be sure, and also an act of submission. Within the Lashunta’s matriarchy, this act venerates the sacred, generative power of the womb. Males perform his act to their female lovers. Expectant mothers will receive this worship from friends and family.   Applause   Lashunta do not clap. Instead, they buzz like bees. I read some articles around applause, and while it is certainly pervasive in our modern age, it was not always so. The ancient Romans snapped their fingers beatnik-style or waved their toga flaps. So I feel fairly comfortable going a different way for an alien species on another planet. Also, to build on an onomatopoeia, the equivalent exclamation to ‘hurrah’ or ‘yay’ will be ~Zae!~ or ~Zaza!~.   Eating:   Among polite society, Lashunta do not eat with their hands. Yet neither do they use silverware. Instead, they use their psychic powers to levitate bite-size chunks to their mouths. The exception to this is drink, which is served in cups or goblets that may be picked up by hand. Also, due to the detrimental effect of alcohol on psychic ability, cup sizes are necessarily far smaller during the dinner course than in Human cultures. Larger volumes with stronger proofs are reserved until after the meal is done.