Jogah (joe-gah)

The Jogah are small humanoid spirits who live all around North America. They have the supernatural ability to hide their presence from any other creature very well. This has allowed them to co-exist with many other communities often without them even noticing. Some particularely perceptive humans could still see them, which is how many stories about the Jogah came to be in Native American cultures.

Subspecies

There are at least three subspecies of Jogah. They all have many similarities but live in very different environments and often have distinct cultures. They can intermingle and mixed Jogah exist, but this is a rare occurence as Jogah have a tendency to stick to their own communities.

Gandayah

The Gandayah are at home in meadows and open fields. Their diet is very balanced with everything the can scavange, hunt or even harvest. Their population has been diminished greatly due to their habitats being destroyed by humans and monoculture farming with pesticides.
In folklore they are known as helpful spirits that support agricultural output when appeased. Many organic and perma-culture farmers are very happy to have a few families or even a clan of the Gandayah on their land.

Gahongas

They are second most common subspecies of the Jogah. They prefer to live near water and their diet mostly consists of fish. The Gahongas are on the larger side for a Jogah and they have large lungs for diving. They are very vulnerable when the body of water they depend on is polluted or cannaled.
In folklore the Gahongas are mostly known for their mischief. They are not too happy about this reputation, but if pressed they do admit that it is sometimes a game for the children to mess with some humans as they are not able to see them.

Ohdows

These Jogah have a preference for subterranean habitats and have adapted to these living conditions. They are the smallest on average amongst the Jogah. They have excellent hearing and sense of touch. Some individuals are even born with some kind of supernatural tremour sense. Their eyes can open their pupils very far to optimize the amount of light they can perceive.
In folklore the Ohdows are known as fighters who keep monsters from the deep from reaching the surface. In the past many humans brought them offerings like food, tobacco, pelts or other useful goods. Due to their small size they aren't actually that successful in fighting off large monsters if they even try.

Diet

The Jogah are omnivors that can eat many different kinds of foods. Due to their supernatural nature they only need a limited amount of food to fully nurture themselves. Each community have their specific staple foods. Some practice agriculture, while other communities hunt or fish. All Jogah gather food from their habitats. In some rarer cases the community is well integrated with human society and they just purchase groceries from human stores.

Origin

The Jogah are a species full of mysteries. Their origins are lost to the past and only stories of legends exist how it might have come to be. Whether any of these stories actually contain the true story is impossible to say. There are a few common story types that are shared amongs many communities.
Many Jogah tell stories of a creator deity who made them far in the past. Usually a deity connected to one or several of the domains of nature, plants, animals, earth, the sun, the sky, protection or mischiev. In many cases these Jogah communties continue to worship or at least revere this creator deity.
Another version says that the Jogah simply sprang from nature one day and have existed ever since. Sometimes in order to protect the earth from evil creatures. In other cases for no particular reason.
The third most common legends tell of a curse that created the Jogah from humans. Despite of how common it is it is not a particularly popular idea amongst Jogah and few actually believe this is true.
The newest theory which doesn't really have legends around it because it comes from human scholars is the idea that the Jogah are a people from another realm. This theory is supported by the fact that the Jogah do not resemble most live on Earth at all. Opponents of this theory have argued that this doesn't really matter since they are supernatural beings and the logic of science did not necessarly apply.

Geographic Distribution

North America

Gandayah Ethnic Groups

TBA

Gahongas Ethnic Groups

River Dwellers
Upper Hudson River Dwellers
Hudson Valley Dwellers
Lower Hudson River Dwellers

Ohdows Ethnic Groups

New York Underground Dwellers

Random Name Generators

Generic Gandayah Names

Lifespan

~20 years

Average Height

0.5 - 0.7 m

Average Weight

20 - 30 kg