Madja

Brief History

The Madja people are a nomadic and seafaring culture founded from Takamoto who were exploring the archipelago to the southeast of the mainland when the disaster struck. After the disaster took place the Takamoto found it incredibly difficult to use the arcane magics that had always been apart of their lives. It took all of a person's energy and will to create even the most basic spell. Their ships were beached and while they had the ability to make small rafts and canoes to make it between islands and communicate with each other, without the magic the Takamoto relied on they did not have the ability to make ships capable of traversing the sea leading to their homeland.

Before the disaster there were rumors that the heavy magic use of their people was causing a disruption in the natural state of the world. These rumors began to resonate with the Takamoto on the islands as the only explainable reason for a disaster of such magnitude. As time went on they were forced to forage and survive off the land in a hunter-gatherer lifestyle for the first time in centuries. This life style was strangely therapeutic and appealing to many of them. The survivors began to feel like this was in fact the natural state that people were supposed to live in. These new beliefs lead to a major shift in their culture that would mark the official divergence point from Takamoto. The survivors as whole agreed to swear off magic forever. They burned all books and records of their past and pledged themselves to become a better and more natural people then before.

They would begin referring to themselves as the Madja, a combination of the Totaka words for ‘rebirth’ and ‘nature’. From this point onward the Madja history varies. Their verbal language simplified into Maju and they adopted a more simplistic symbol based language that is only used to convey names or short thoughts. The madja took to woodcarving to record their history, making detailed carving depicting stories ranging from grand voyages to battling sea monsters

Arts and Architecture

The arts and culture of the Madja are most similar to that of indonesian peoples. Architecture is not typically something that is thought of when it comes to Madja. Madja will not spend more than one year in a single place so most of their shelters are tents, canopies, and other movable and easily made structures. The largest form of art among the Madja is woodcarving. The madja are known for their ships having extensively carved and designed bows. As well due to Madja tradition it is common to find intricate totems dating back to some of the earliest peoples on the beaches in the archipelago.

Shared Values

Slaves and Indentured Servitude?

The Madja hold deep moral issues with both slavery and indentured servitude. The Madja believe that each and every person holds their own fate and destiny in their hands. They don’t believe in ownership of another person.

Sexuality

The Madja avoid placing restrictions on others and have no issues with any type of sexuality.

Taboos

The Madja are very open people and will talk to even strangers about the most intimate of subjects. A major taboo for them however is the use magic. While Madja have grown accustomed to seeing outsiders use magic, they refuse to partake in it themselves. Any Madja that willining benefits or uses magic is usually exiled from their tribe for breaking the pledge their ancestors made.

Customs and Traditions

Coming of Age rites

Throughout a Madjan person's life they help build and design totems for different rituals and traditions. None of which are more important than their ‘diri’ totem. A diri totem is made solely by one person and it depicts their life and their skill as a wood carver during different stages of their life. Children begin the process of making their diri at age 10, they start by receiving a piece of a log that is 12 inches wide and 6 inches tall. The child is then instructed to carve their life into it. This is meant to be vague and allow the child to express themselves. They will hold onto it and receive an additional piece to carve at ages 12, 14, and a final piece at 16. Once they have completed their final piece they participate in a coming of age ceremony where the child is officially considered an adult. The child is given a ship and is expected to travel ahead of their tribe to their next destination. The child leaves one week before the rest and must utilize their time on the island to prepare their totem to be mounted in the ground. This usually involves an arduous process of cutting down a tree and burying it in the ground deep enough so that they will not fear the totem being knocked down or destroyed by strong winds. Once the rest of the tribe arrives, the child's parents will inspect their work and provide them with a ‘cincin dewa’. A cincin dewa is a wooden ring carved with depictions of gods on it, used to affix pieces of totems together. Traditionally the cincin dewa used in the ceremony has a depiction of every god on it, however others may only have only a few gods. The cincin dewa is then used to affix the child’s totem piece to the tree, and the structure is then blessed by shaman to be protected by the gods. The shaman then performs a ritual said to bind the person and their diri together. After it is all over the person is officially considered an adult. From then on every 8 years a Madjan will make a new 12 inch tall totem depicting the last 8 years of their life and travel back to the island their diri resides on to add it. It is affixed using a cincin dewa made by a person close to the diri’s owner, depicting the gods who were most important in the owners life during the last 8 years.

Funerary Rites

When a person passes away their body is typically left out for 3 days for family and tribesmen to mourn before being committed to the sea. Word is then spread of their passing to all friends and family that may reside in other tribes. A large celebration between any tribes who knew the person is held on their following birthday on the island where their diri resides. The family and friends mourn their death by celebrating their life and achievements. During the time leading up to the celebration, the people of the tribe the departed belonged to will create what is known as a ‘akhir’. An akhir functions as a large cap that is placed onto the top of the persons diri. It is decorated with carvings that detail their life from there last addition to their all the way to their death, and it is topped with a large dedication to the god who played the largest role in the person's life. At the end of the night the diri is soaked in a special oil and burned. The oil helps char and harden the wood, making it nearly as hard as stone.

Courtship

Madjan are both polygamous and monogamous, and have no official courtship traditions.

Religious Customs

Madja culture completely revolves around their tribe. Each tribe has an elder who functions partially as a leader, and partially as shaman. As shaman they lead the tribe in a variety of rituals and sacrifices throughout the year. On a day to day basis the Madja do not worship or pray to the gods. It is tradition for the shaman to oversee the creation of a large and intricately carved totem dedicated to a specific god when they find a new island to call home. It is usually erected during a large celebration the night before they leave. As time has gone on many islands already have a totem to each god, so instead they will create a replacement for the oldest one, and burns the old one using a special oil that chars it and makes it as hard as stone. The old one is then brought more inland and relocated into a forested area. Some islands have hundreds of hardened totems in their forest.

Naming Traditions

Family Names:

Santoso, Sanjaya, Weizhe, Yaozu, Pelmelay, Tinambunan, Mendrofa, Pandiangan, Bambang, Suharto, Jing, Tahyadi, Gunawan, Qi, Kuwat

Masculine Names:

Arief, Farel, Angga, Fadhlan, Arif, Rio, Dimas, Aditya, Bayu, Aldi, Imam, Farhan, Rudi, Renaldi, Rafi

Feminine Names:

Moana, Intan, Aulia, Annisa, Nurul, Farah, Dewi, Syifa, Gita, Dian, Hana, Nadya, Ayi, Nabila

Parent ethnicities

• Takamoto

Related Organizations

• Credoth Pantheon

Lineage Skill:

Survival

Culture Skills:

Languages Known:

Maju, Yon, Common

Pick 1 Skill Proficiency:

Religion, History, Medicine

Pick 1 Tool Proficiency:

Navigator's Tools Or Wood Carver's Tools