Hambah society with its hunter/warrior foundation, espoused a code of conduct centered on courage, leadership, and prowess. The ideal was the strong young man would could take on any challenge single-handedly and win, inspiring the loyalty and unwavering obedience of those around him. Attitudes and behaviors that undermined this image were condemned: cowardice, indifference, cyncicism, disregard for rightful authority, as well as physical weakness.
At least in early times, the Hambah's understanding of leadership was very organic, practical, and sophisticated. One of the key roles of a leader was gèhon, to secure obedience. This could not be done with bribes, bluster, or threat, but only by showing ròbil, or "power", a kind of metaphysical energy that allows one to remain in control of events, no matter how threatening or dangerous they are. The man with ròbil can subdue wild animals, make his enemies flinch and run when he charges them, and never tires until his goal is achieved. Ròbil makes obedience inevitable, natural, and deeply satisfying.
It was also appreciated that a true leader's ròbil is fired and augmented by the courage and vitality of those who follow him. Thus the leader must choose his companions wisely, and values them for their contribution to his success.
The peak experience for a Hambah warrior is to be imbued with a kind of egoic ecstasy of purpose, the "sacred rage" or kinrah, and the most grievous of sins is not disobedience (which at least implies passion), but indifference and boredom, which brings down the shame of sètub.
Women, craftsmen, and children obviously did not participate in this hunter/warrior ethos. They were not really expected to prove their worth, and seem most of the time to have been regarded as outside the realm of moral concern. There is an important qualification to this, however. Disruption of the functioning of society was not allowed, and earned moral disapproval as well as direct punishment. The operative principle here was juwet, adherence to custom. This was expected of warriors and hunters as well, but was quite secondary to the primary values of the warrior code.
Thus, for example, the custom that one may not laugh while a person of higher status is speaking was consistently enforced when the violator was a woman, child, or craftsman. But in the early Thontoran poem Tonen gle Thaden, the warrior Datisrip is lauded for his laughter while his leader describes their battle plans, as it is a mark of his vitality.
A quick survey of some aspects of juwet follows.
The use of respectful forms of speech was expected at all times. This included not only the use of the special particles dra and mrè, but also avoiding criticism of those of higher status. (This was customarily circumvented, however, by the practice praising an antagonist of the person one was critical of.)
Physical violence for resolving conflict was generally accepted, but there were expectations of fairness. A person who beat someone who was relatively defenseless could expect to become the object of pókog, righteous theft.
Sexual relationships within the pépas were taboo. If a hunter or warrior had sexual relations with a woman from another pépas, it was considered a promise of marriage. Although not technically forbidden, sexual relationships between craftsmen and marriageable women from other pépas were thought to cheapen the woman's value as a potential bride for a hunter. Marriages and casual relationships between craftsmen and women beyond customary marriage age were accepted, and routine. Married men and women were permitted to have sexual relationships with persons other than their spouses, but the husband's formal permission was required in the case of a married woman.
Mealtimes were treated with considerable reverence, and the activity of presiding over a meal (pihlòh) accumulated many customs around it. The person was accorded the same respect as a kuhlèm for the duration, and was in charge of apportioning food, reciting verses, and offering a health-prayer.
It was considered unseemly to sleep beyond sunrise, and most households had a designated bell-ringer.
Kindness, generosity, and other such modes of benevolence were certainly practiced by the Hambah, but were not seen as measures of character or virtue. Rather, they were taken for granted as part of life's activity, like conversation or commerce.