Zlas is a matrilineal patriarchy: men are inherited by their sisters' sons. (Or: female-line first cousins' sons, or in case of lack of nephews etc, a "son-in-law" who is then expected to be inherited by a niece's sons.) Lower classes are more egalitarian; upper classes have mostly sequestered women, with their brothers allowing access to their male associates. The lower the class, the more freedom for the sisters. Aunts' daughters are usually allowed more freedoms.
There is no strict gendering of names. Names are mostly based on the circumstances of the child's birth, or themed around nature, including "tamed" nature. Most are two-part. Example names include:
(Orthography note: I have used the modifier letters ʰ and ʱ to clarify that tsʰ is meant to be pronounced as an aspirated (extra air flow) ts, rather than t͡ʃ "ch", and that z is a breathy voiced z, rather than ʒ "zh". Other than that, I have used i/y for /j/ and kh for /x/, in accordance with the rest of the lore pages.)
Surnames come mostly from originally-Rlyat placenames:
though a few are of native stock:
These (especially Khzeh, Sæzs, and Zukt) are more commonly present in the upper classes, which claim descent from the original steppe conquerors.
Matrilineality persists in all social strata. Women of the lower classes enjoy societal freedom to run their own affairs and choose their own partners, in excess of their sisters anywhere on the continental mainland, but the greater the accumulation of property in the family, the more a woman's freedoms are curtailed. In the middle classes and above, allowing one's peer group sexual access to one's sisters (or nieces, depending on the generational structure) is an important way of solidifying in-group ties. The higher the class, the more sequestered the women of childbearing age.
The Emperors claim direct descent from the First Emperor, and title themselves by ordinal. The current Emperor (1846) is considered the Sixty-Eighth Emperor. (In the local language, Mok-Pots Pak Kut Kazt.)
The Emperor's mother (Kazt-Emt) if alive, or the sister mother of his heir (Kazt-Mikt) if not, is the head priestess of the imperial Sun-Horse cult, assisted by his aunts (Kazt-Ikt) and other sisters (Kazt-Nækt). They participate in rites to feed the divine horses, and augur the future based on equine behavior when turned out for the day. As is common in the Samulian countries, East is considered a holy direction, and dawn and the summer solstice holy times.
The Sun descended from the skies in the form of a mare, Samh. She roamed the lands in search of someone worthy of riding her, eventually finding one man who was suitable: the First Emperor. She taught him her tongue and together they conquered all the Sun could touch. She gave birth to the Second Emperor to inherit her lands, then returned to the skies to watch over him.
Then the Night rose from the ground in the form of a mare, Nazʱ. Nazʱ roamed the lands in search of someone worthy of riding her, eventually finding one man who was suitable: the Second Emperor. He rode her to defend the Empire against barbarian uprisings. Later they had twins: the Third Emperor and his sister. The Third Emperor's reign was a reign of peace, as he was descended from night and day, and he was inherited by his sister's son, the Fourth Emperor, who was inherited by his sister's son, the Fifth Emperor, and so on, until the present day, with the Sixty-Eighth Emperor.