Vanu

The Vanu people are an ethnic minority in the far north of Keta. They have a highly complex and tradition-based culture, which many people find hard to integrate into, causing them to be fairly isolated from their siblings of other cultures.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

The Vanu often prefer feminine names to flow sweetly and have meaning that directly links the child to their birthplace. One of the most popular feminine names for the Vanu is Ozna, meaning crystal, as most of the Vanu civilization is located in extremely mountainous regions. Other popular feminine names include Eyyogga, Rirnu, Nïrnetya, and Gernï.

Masculine names

Masculine names for Vanu are usually meant to convey features of the child or their family, or features that it's hoped the child will acquire in time. Vachkir, meaning strength, is a very common name given to children, especially those born in the harsh winters when it's unlikely they will survive. Other popular masculine names include Ratheng, Nïkev, Antavriv, and Ayïrïj.

Unisex names

All names in Vanu culture are considered unisex, and it's incredibly uncommon to find a name only given to a single gender. Some of the names that are most evenly distributed, and some of the most popular names in general, are Geyi, Guzdin, Thete, Nïtïrchuj, and Ikdej.

Family names

Family names, or more fittingly, Clan names, are an important part of identity for the Vanu people. Many clan names are based on the occupation that the founder of the clan had prior to becoming the founder, such as Ayïgïngï, meaning trader or merchant. The five largest clans among the Vanu are the Ayïnek, Tagnag Gare, Ayïvantïte, Ayïchinge, and Ayïvan.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

In the days when the Vanu people were a much larger civilization, multiple languages were spoken throughout their branches in the north and south. Today, only a small part of the northern branch remained separate from other cultures that formed from or absorbed the Vanu. Many Vanu only speak Vennan, their native language, but those who live in villages slightly further south or the city of Nangï also tend to speak Rahuki or Tsōdīian.

Common Dress code

The Vanu value self-expression highly, and have little dress codes for their people. Since the large majority of Vanu live in cold regions, warm clothing is considered important, and those who can afford lots and lots of layers and furs are often regarded as the wealthiest, regardless of actual wealth.
In many larger towns and in Nangï, it's expected that each person wears some symbol of their clan. Some clans place permanent marks on the skin, in the form of tattoos or burn marks, while others make broaches, hairpins, shawls, jewelry, or other forms of clothing for this purpose.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The Vanu believe that everything in life is predetermined by tïg chakii, the fates, including death. Because of this, all deaths are considered equal, and privilege isn't given to dying in battle or of age as is in some other cultures.
When a person dies, the most important thing to do is cover their eyes, where it's said the soul can escape from their bodies if it sees the world it's left for too long and may become a taggak thorthï, an evil spirit.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

In Vanu folklore, there exists a set of divine siblings called tïg jichar, the first, named Vuktï and Gavra. Simplified greatly, they were gods of humanity and people, and were the most beautiful people in tïg non thï tïg thuu, the world and the heavens. It's said that they sprang from the frozen corpse of Ovïk, the Elder God, and run across the earth and sky, playing an endless game, stopping every night to rest and sing and feast. The beauty standard of the Vanu is largely based on the description of these two in various myths and folktales. It also focuses heavily on features such as hair and eyes, as these features on Vuktï and Gavra were exceptionally unusual and considered extremely important.
Vuktï, elder sister to Gavra, is said to have been tall, sturdy, and muscular, with a gut from days of ale and meat and mischievous, thin eyes. She is said to have had coiled hair the color of coal and eyes yellow like the sun. 
Gavra, younger brother to Vuktï, was supposedly shorter and lithe. He's said to have had long, straight hair, either snow-white or pale gold. His eyes were pale gray and round.
The ideal beauty standerad for most Vanu people is something similer. The feminine form of unltimate beauty would be dark, coiled or curly hair, a tall, strong and husky build, and amber eyes. The masculine counterpart rather included, long, straight, light hair, and a short, lithe figure, with pale eyes.

Gender Ideals

There are seven genders recognized by the Vanu, dunchugnat, dunrokïr, guyïthchugnat, guyïthrokïr, vïdnïjok, urjok, and tinjok.
Dunchugnat describes someone who was described as the feminine gender at birth, and still considers themself of the feminine gender. Dunrokïr describes someone who was described as the masculine gender at birth, and still considers themself of the masculine gender.
Guyïthchugnat describes someone who was described as the masculine gender at birth, and considers themself of the feminine gender. Guyïthrokïr describes someone who was described as the feminine gender at birth, and considers themself of the masculine gender.
People of the vïdnïjok, urjok, and tinjok genders can have been described as any gender at birth, and now considers themself a combination of or neither of the feminine and masculine genders (vïdnïjok), both of the genders simultaneously (urjok), or as not having gender as described by those around them at all (tinjok).
Much of Keta assigns roles to the various genders they recognize, but Keta rather assigns roles based solely on age, capability, and skill set. For example, someone born deaf, a child, and someone that's never held a weapon would not be selected to be hunters, but the deaf person might be an amazing builder, the child an assistant or apprentice, and the last might prefer to be a gardener.

Courtship Ideals

The Vanu have a very specific set of rules for formal courtship, which should be followed unless absolutely impossible. Gender plays little to no role in courtship.
The first step in any courtship is for the suitor to announce their intentions, whether it be a long-term relationship or simply to see if the two truly like each other. It's looked down upon to the point of occasional exile to lie about one's intentions in this first step. More traditional clans will announce this to both the lover and their immediate family.
After this, the two will pick times and dates to meet each other once a month, and other than those times, make a conscious effort to avoid each other as much as possible. If, during their meetings, they can hardly wait to see each other, and when they're apart, they miss each other while doing things they enjoy and being with other people. This continues for three months, and if the couple can survive so long and still care for each other, when they are ready, they may form a union called Onchijenïj.
Onchijenïj is similar to marriage in that it's meant to be a lifelong connection, and dissimilar in that it doesn't have to remain romantic. The couple will build a shrine to Voyath, the god of love, and to a different deity of their choice out of wood, hay, and stone. They will host a feast around these shrines for three nights, and at dawn on the fourth morning, give one another their most prized possession, as a promise and for safekeeping. After this, the shrines will be set on fire and the couple will be joined.
Romantic relationships formed without this process are societally not considered valid, though there aren't any sort of restrictions past inter-clan and child unions of any sort on who can court who.

Relationship Ideals

The Vanu, compared to much of the rest of Keta, are extremely lenient and accepting when it comes to the demographics of romantic relationships, provided the people in involved are of similar age and come from different clans. Relationships consisting of those of the same gender, more than two people, and (though rarely occurring, due to the isolated nature of the Vanu) folks of differing languages, cultures, and ethnicities are common and treated the same as any other.

Languages spoken

• Vennan