merfolk rambling

i have a lot in my head of what i think merfolk society would be like

i figure it would be, at its most basic description, a tribal-like nomadic hunter-gatherer society
whenever rescources are scarce the group will pack up and move to a location with more food
i like to call them schools because fishies

schools are most concerned with keeping everybody fed and happy

sometimes this will lead to altercations between two or more schools over scant rescources
so one school will raid the other, theres a big nasty fight, the raiders steal and murder as much as they can and then leave

if raiders find a young enough child or an egg, and if they have the confidance/rescources to wish to increase their ranks, theyll take the child/egg and have a family in their own school adopt it. otherwise theyll probably kill it to decrease the population of the rival school(though not always- not everyone has the heart to kill a child even for survival)

the social structure of schools is really simple, calling to mind pack animals

it's very community-driven where everyone pitches in to help raise kids and keep everybody fed. somewhat socialist in a way. often theres groups of mothers just out of pregnancy who will act as wetnurse to each others children so that they can take turns doing other things, or wetnursing the children of single fathers, or orphans(who are usually raised by the entire community as opposed to being adopted by a couple)

there are only 2 positions of leadership, an alpha and an elder. the alpha can be male or female, and is simply decided by whomever is the strongest. if someone challenged the previous alpha and wins; bam, new alpha. if they lose, the alpha remains the same. very rarely does an alpha simply step down. if they do, a contest/series of duels is usually held to decide the next one.

the alpha mainly acts as a war leader, dictating hunts and raids on other schools, and training the younger ones in the school to fight and hunt better

the elder is different; she is always a woman, and could be called a matriarch; she is always the wisest, and usually oldest woman in the school. this is often decided by a vote among the school. the elder is more of a social leader, dictating the inner workings of the school, helping keep oral tradition alive, and handling relations with other tribes to create alliances/keep enemies at bay so that bloodshed can be avoided. the elder also acts as an advisor to the alpha, but her orders always trump the alpha's, though rarely will she need to override the alpha, because very rarely does an alpha go against her advice. and sometimes even if they do, an elder might not override their orders, because sometimes the alpha might actually have a better idea, etc.

ive put a lot of thought into this

oh oh oh also also

merfolk typically mate for life, usually after a semi-formal courtship process. basically through a show and exchange of gifts and talents over a period of time. if both are satisfied, theyll basically be fish married. uvu its basically underwater dating then fishmarriage. usually they like each other and then they kiss and its cute. sometimes one will pursue another but the other doesnt return the affections and its awkward. pretty normal, really

merfolk that have already hooked up can, of course, break up. it's just like a divorce would be to humans, with the elder and alpha acting as the "divorce court", to help decide whats fair when the broken up couple divide their previously shared belongings, and deciding if they should share any children they may have, or if one should be barred from parenting the children(this rarely happens outside cases of abuse).

it is also definitely possible for polyamory to be a thing. just like with humans, though, it depends on the merperson. some prefer polyamory, some prefer monogamy, some prefer to not commit and just date someone for a while, then break up and move on to someone different, never truly settling down. sometimes this results in having a lot of children, sometimes none. very similar to humans.

what im undecided on: there may or may not be a mating season in spring where everyone gets horny and if you dont have a mate or a friend with benefits youre pretty much fucked for a month in the nonliteral sense. courtship processes tend to be more common in the months before the season. im undecided on this, though, not sure if it makes sense