Islander
Islanders are a proud, close-knit people. They believe strongly in their independence and fought fiercely against the Aelgari Empire during their annexation. They are insular and traditional, resisting violently against attempts to be brought into Aelgari culture.
Naming Traditions
Unisex names
Roki, Kalawua, Siasen, Ehiwu, Nroc, Lohanra, Kali, Onihi, Mikanroc, A'alwi, Unswi, Ulro, Mehameha
Family names
Ami'i, Kostua, Nreilowa, Akili
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Culture and cultural heritage
The elders are revered and ancient traditions are considered essential to daily life. However, during the K'hili-Monomak Alliance's resistance against the Aelgari Empire, most of the Weavers were killed. Weavers could manipulate Life Threads but they were often also storytellers and historians, so the culture of the Islanders is slowly dissolving. However there is still a deeply woven mistrust of outsiders, or honras.
Shared customary codes and values
All Islanders from the same island are considered family, and Islanders from different Islands are considered cousins. They believe that the sky and the sea are deities, which in K'hili also means lovers. The sea is a huge part of daily life, and every single Islander mends and uses their own Ilirok, a type of small personal ship.
Common Dress code
Generally clothes are made of hides or reeds and are relatively water-proof, with the large amount of fishing and sailing that is done on a daily basis. Hair is usually cut to the chin or shoulders, because if it's much longer than that, it could interfere.
Art & Architecture
Everything is considered connected, through magic as well as metaphorically. The sphere and circle are considered sacred representations of life and the world - used in clothes, armor, magic, and architecture. They generally live in reed longhouse structures, with sections for each family to live and fires to keep them warm.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Each town has a sphere that is the composite of all the family spheres. Each family sphere is about 5 cm radius. When you reach of age, you weave a reed into your family sphere. When you marry, you connect your family spheres with another reed.
Funerary and Memorial customs
When someone dies, they are put on their ilirok. The ilirok is lit on fire and sent out to sea, so that the person who died can join Lohai, the god of the sea, below.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Beautiful people are considered to have bright sea-green eyes and smooth uncalloused skin. Brown smooth hair is also considered beautiful. Size is a matter of beauty as well. The more fat or muscle you have, the more beautiful you have (which anthropologists have indicated size as a reflection of one's ability to feed oneself, and therefore an indication of wealth).
Gender Ideals
Much like the Aelgari, gender is rather fluid. Not a single word in K'hili, their language, distinguishes between gender. However, as they are forced to be less insular by the Aelgari Empire, there are more and more definitions of gender being introduced.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship generally begins with going on outings, fishing, or hunting together, and continues with a series of gifts and exchanges. When two people have courted each other for a long time, they may reach out to the Island elders for approval. Proposing is a very romantic moment, when someone offers to weave their threads together forever. (This ceremony is figurative and literal, as a couple will literally weave their threads together in their family's spheres, and believe that their Life Threads are forever tangled together.)
Diverged ethnicities
Related Organizations
Related Items
Languages spoken
Related Locations
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