Kvatúls
Kvatúlic: Bökvatúl /pœːkhvathuːl/
The kvatúls1 are the ruling tribe of the kingdom of Ókvatúlom by the Túlmikkían Great Lakes on the eastern Gnákan Savanna, and currently among the most powerful Vevúni outside Karatvánamb Forest along with the Tválarans far to the west.
Kvatúls are neither one people nor native to the lake region, instead they originally were an alliance of five tribes living in the western Hík Mountains to the northeast, four of whom migrated to the lowlands after their shamans all dreamt of ill omens the same night, while the one that remained soon perished during an outburst flood.
After wandering around the Great Lakes and numerous encounters with the locals, hostile and otherwise, they settled down on the land between the lakes Ölú and Vinihá, with each tribe claiming their own territory within what was now called Ókvatúlom. Since then, the kvatúls have largely adopted or mixed local tradition with their own customs, and the differences between the four tribes have become so vague that they generally consider themselves as one people at this point.
During the early days of Ókvatúlom, the chiefs from each tribe chose one among them as king and the other three acted as advisors. As time went on, the monarchy became hereditary and kingship restricted to the Crane-Kvatúls, while the power of the chiefs diminished to the point that their role in the process is to simply attend the crowning ceremony.
The kvatúls1 are the ruling tribe of the kingdom of Ókvatúlom by the Túlmikkían Great Lakes on the eastern Gnákan Savanna, and currently among the most powerful Vevúni outside Karatvánamb Forest along with the Tválarans far to the west.
Kvatúls are neither one people nor native to the lake region, instead they originally were an alliance of five tribes living in the western Hík Mountains to the northeast, four of whom migrated to the lowlands after their shamans all dreamt of ill omens the same night, while the one that remained soon perished during an outburst flood.
After wandering around the Great Lakes and numerous encounters with the locals, hostile and otherwise, they settled down on the land between the lakes Ölú and Vinihá, with each tribe claiming their own territory within what was now called Ókvatúlom. Since then, the kvatúls have largely adopted or mixed local tradition with their own customs, and the differences between the four tribes have become so vague that they generally consider themselves as one people at this point.
Society
Kvatúls were traditionally divided into four distinct tribes, identified by their respective totemic animals, some of which, due to the distance from the Hík Mountains and time since the migrations, have been changed to reflect the fauna in and around the lakes. These tribes are the Crane-Kvatúls to the west, Trout-Kvatúls (originally associated with pangolins) to the east, Turtle-Kvatúls to the north and Waterbuck-Kvatúls (originally okapi) to the south.During the early days of Ókvatúlom, the chiefs from each tribe chose one among them as king and the other three acted as advisors. As time went on, the monarchy became hereditary and kingship restricted to the Crane-Kvatúls, while the power of the chiefs diminished to the point that their role in the process is to simply attend the crowning ceremony.
Culture
Cuisine
While their diet is now quite similar to neighbouring tribes around the lakes, a notable difference between the kvatúls and locals is that they generally don't grow túlmikkían rice, -a crop that's common both among other vevúni as well as Tederans in the region- and prefer peanuts instead. On the other hand, passenger pigeons are eaten in great quantities by the kvatúls, more so than anywhere else around the lakes, usually served with yams and flavoured with bee balm.1Original icelandic: Kvatúlar, singular: Kvatúli.
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