Trolls are careful suitors, preferring to take a long time to get to know their potential mate. They usually grow close to each other through shared activities, such as hunting and wandering, rather than talking. Likewise, tokens and deeds are common ways to express affection. When two trolls do settle for each other they seek out a shaman to gain the approval of the spirits. The shaman quests the couple, sending them out to hunt together. If the trolls remain resolute in their love, they return to the shaman bringing with them some prey they have felled together. The tribe is assembled to witness the joining, and during the ceremony the couple shares a part of their prey, usually the heart or the liver. The shaman entwines the souls of the couple with the aid of various spirits. Members of the tribe participate in the ritual by representing the presence of various spirits in drama. Trolls are very monogamous, and they usually keep to one partner throughout their lives. Even if their partner dies, they seldom seek a new mate. Trolls live in large groups, and the whole tribe is usually considered an extension of the family. The bonds between parents, children and siblings are very strong. The young are the responsibility of the parents, and children spend their early years in their presence. Infants are carried or tied to the back, while older kids follow their elders to watch and learn from them. When a child reaches adolescence, the elders, often with the advice of a shaman, determine what path in life the young troll shows talent for. An elder troll is appointed to care for the youngster’s introduction to adulthood, and the young troll follows the elder until she is deemed ready to make her own way in life. Elders are shown great reverence among the trolls, and they are traditionally given the best resting places and the most tender meat. When someone passes away the tribal members paint white markings upon themselves to display grief. They gather to raise a mound of stones over the body, and the shamans take great pains to aid the deceased to her rightful place among the ancestor spirits. Sometimes when a troll is deprived of their soul mate, their spirit withers and they too shy away from life shortly thereafter.