There was a time when the kossith race prayed to animist gods. They were wild then, devoted to a chaos that kept them from greatness. Then came Ashkaari Koslun, a great thinkers whose teachings molded the kossith into the godless , disciplined Qunari.
Their guide now is the Qun, a philosophical text Koslun penned. At the books heart are two core concepts:
Mastery (issqun): "To know something is to understand it, to understand why it is, what it is, as well as what it is not. To know something is to possess the power to master it, and only in the lack of knowledge lies weakness."
Balance (aqun): "To exist without balance is to fall, to break, to yield. Only with balance can true stillness be achieved. When one is still, one is free to listen and know. In knowing, become strong. With strength become steel. And as steel endure."
Any discussion of the Qun as a philosophy must extend to Qunari society as a whole, for the two are intrinsically linked. The Qun dictates all aspects of Qunari life. Strict adherence to its teachings is put before any concept of individual freedom.
Because of this, the Qun does not allow for the existence of religions. When the Qunari become law, the temples the kossith built to honor their animist gods were destroyed, and their priests reeducated or drivin into exile.
Any worship of a god or gods, such as the Maker, is forbidden and is stopped with violence if necessary.
For those who believe in the Qun, the lack of individual freedom does not matter. They find comfort and stability in the order of it all. But for those who value freedom over the betterment of society, living under the Qun can be nothing short of unbearable.
Koslun is said to have come to this philosophy while searching for a society without hopelessness or dispair. He wondered far, discovering no such place existed. He found groups of people happy and free, but always at the expense of others. Disappointed, Koslun exiled himself for a time in the desert. There after encountering a massive swarm of locus, he had an epiphany. He went on to penn many poetic lessons on how to build a new society that he believed would benefit all
Every Qunari has a role under the Qun, and Qunari are raised to play the role expected of them. They may become warriors, brining the laws of the Qun to the bas by force. Others may research ways to better society. Still others will raise the Qun's children.
"The Qunari view their whole society as a single creature" the seer of Kont-aar once wrote "a living entity whose health and well-being are the responsibility of all".
A Qunari's role comes before even a name. They are known by what they do. A soldier with the rank of sten takes the name Sten. A mage, or saarebas, is named Saarebas. If a role changes, so does the name.
The Qunari language, called Qunlat, is steeped in metaphor and assigns multiple meaning to words. The word for "mind" also means "worker". The word for "body" also means "army". As far as the Qunari are concerned, a symbol and it's significance are the same. Because of this, artists are part of the priesthood. Their role is considered to be one of research, discovering things that were not already apparent, rather than making things new.
There is no real currency in Qunari society. "Merchants" in Qunari cities have the job of making sure goods are distributed appropriately. While Qunari don't buy and sell things among one another, they will trade with the rest of Thedas in a limited manner. To the Qunari, this trade is less a way to obtain goods as an opportunity to learn more about those who do not yet accept the Qun as law.
There are no family units in Qunari society. They do not marry or even choose their own partners. Qunari do not know to whom they are related. A father's involvement ends at conception. A mother's ends at birth. A Qunari's "family" are his or her peers, called brothers or sisters.
A powerful class of female priestess called Tamassrans arranges and approves conceptions. They are also charged with raising children from birth. The Tamassrans determine who may have children and see these children are properly taught the way of the Qun, educating them and evaluating their strengths.
Qunari are officially assigned their roles when they are twelve years old. These Tamassrans use tests- oral or physical, rather than written- to determine where a young Qunari will be most useful. Because they raise the society's children, the Tamassrans wield great influence.
The Qunari believe that both men and women are capable of leadership. However, Qunari deem one gender or the other better at certain roles within their society. No matter how much aptitude a male shows for management, he will never be as good at it as a female. Therefore, they would consider it inefficient to put him in such a role when a women would be better.
Most roles are gender specific. But the odd, very rare exception is made. A male Qunari will farm, if he must just as a female Qunari will fight.
There are fields like philosophy or sciences that make ample use of both genders, but even then, there is a division of discipline. Men do one sort of research and women do another. The Ben-Hassrath count both among its ranks, but they're also separated by specialization.
There is also no role in Qunari society occupied by both genders doing exactly the same task.
The Ben-Hassrath are the secret police in Qunari society who enforce the law of the Qun. They will also venture outside Qunari society to perform covert missions in foreign lands, hunting Tal-Vashoth and other enemies of the Qun, sometimes acting spies.
While the Qun accept Ben-Hassrath as a fact of life, other races vilify the Qun's secret police. These notorious hammers of Qunari justice do not usually kill their prisoners. To do so is seen as waste, as all people have value. Instead of death, prisoners are put to work in labor camps and taught the way of the Qun. They are feed well and given simple, clean cells.
The Ben-Hassrath are responsible for "reeducated" and the assimilation of conquered peoples.
"Some of my platoon resisted the indoctrination, refusing even to pretend" an unnamed Imperium soldier, captured by the Ben-Hassrath once wrote in recovered memoirs.
"The Ben-Hassrath see rebellion and discontent as an illness that can be cured, and they took these men to the viddathlok, templars dedicated to healing and recovery. I do not know what happened ther. The men who returned were changed in profound ways. Others, we never saw again. I can only assume the 'cure' did not take".
Qunari leadership has three heads, together known as the Salasari:
Arigena: Head of Working Qunari. She is responsible for nurturing Qunari society and maintaining health in the community.
Ariqun: Head of the Qunari priesthood. He or she is responsible for nurturing Qunari society and maintaining health in the community.
Arishok: Head of the Qunari military. He is responsible for the protection and safety of society, as well as it's expansion. The military is also responsible for dealing with foreigners, making the Arishok the nominal head of state. Because of this outsiders may mistake him as king.
According to the Qun, some things are too dangerous to know. With their focus on absolute order, magic falls into this category. The Qunari believe they can never control magic. In turn they both fear, and respect it.
When Qunari show themselves to be capable of magic, the Qun demands they be kept under ridged control. Their methods, which can include leashes and sewing mouths shut are undoubtedly severe.