Eltiri
Eltiri were the ancestors of the many people of the northern continent of Tenwä, having migrated to the region of Ïwajalaï before the beginning of the First Age. By the time their descendants walked the earth only a few myths and legends remained of their life and history.
As nomadic people the Eltiri traversed around the waters of Ïwajalaï region during summer months as lone clans or even two or even three clans alongside one another. Harsh winter months were spent in more permanent residences dug partly beneath the ground located along lake shores where fishing was enough to sustain them until the next spring.
Culture
Art & Architecture
In the summer the Eltiri put up tall, round tents (called sëra) using animal skins supported by long, thin pieces of wood which came together at the top of the structure to form a hole from which smoke could escape. Firepit was dug at the center where food could be cooked in comfortable warmth. A camp in its entirety was called a sërajï, a word found in many of the languages spoken by descendants of the Eltiri.
The winter huts of the Eltiri were similarly round in shape with their foundations dug partway into the ground and covered with earth and turf for better insulation and protection against the cruel winter winds. These winter towns or camps the Eltiri named lusërajï.
Carven Marks
From the earliest remembered times the Eltiri had a tradition of carving into wood or tree bark a mark of their own, designed by their own mind and drawn by their hand. Whether this originally had a use other than as an expression of individuality is not know, however it did become an important part of the culture both in matters of life and of death.
These markings and carvings could portray anything, though motifs of various flora and fauna were popular, sometimes accompanied by humanoid features or silhouettes. Size and complexity were similarly different from one person to another and overall styles varied greatly between different regions.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Alkasana, or birth name, was the first name a child would receive. It was given to a newborn weeks, months or even up to a year after their birth. The ritual of choosing and bestowing the name was a private one, attended by the baby, their parents and the clan's sage.
The sage was responsible for finding out whose soul or elwä had settled into the newborn body, and to this end there were different ways each clan preferred and developed. The first names tended to be wishes for the child's future, with meanings such as "strength", "wisdom" or "loved".
The act of receiving a name was seen as the self of a person fully settling into the body, something it would not be able to do without the naming ritual. It was thought that foresaking the proper proceedings could lead to the child becoming cold, aloof, unattached, dull or otherwise wrong or twisted, or perhaps unable to memorize and remember things others had no difficulty with.
Coming of Age Rites
A member of the clan was not considered fully one before they had reached the age of fifteen and completed their own hunting and fishing trips as the leader of the pack. These trips were attended by other hunters and fishermen, who nonetheless were only there to observe and obey whatever orders the fledgling leader gave.
What the soon-to-be adults caught during their first time was remembered by the rest, whether it was a lonely hare or a great bear. After completing the various challenges and proving themselves ready for adulthood, people gathered together to feast and celebrate a new adult entering their clan in place of the child they had known for so long.
The festivities differed in detail depending on the exact clan, but one important tradition was the settling of the individual's personal mark. It was carven into a tree with a part of its bark stripped. Before that moment the mark could be changed or improved upon but much like the adult themselves, the mark was considered fairly set in stone afterward.
Lastly the adult could now pick a name of their own. This could be a reference to their skills, personality or physical traits, an event in their past or an achievement. It was a name the clan would continue to call them, while the birth name they were given before became more of a private matter used only by closest friends and family.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Elwä was a person's self, their spirit, all their wants and fears and memories. The Eltiri believed it was this part of them that broke away from the body and descended to the other side as the rest of the body and soul fell apart and returned to earth and wherever they were drawn from. The self of a person was not gone, and could follow the clan in the form of a bird or as a presence revealed in dreams as a guide or comfort.
When it was possible, the Eltiri tended to bury their dead near a stream or otherwise in a forest. Burying their dead, however, was not always possible, as winter froze the land and earth became impossible to dig into. Instead the people found other ways to return the body to nature from which it was believed to have come from. They could be covered with rocks or within a cave, or when in lack of a better choice, even burned on a pyre.
However the burial itself was done, the Eltiri celebrated the lives of their dead and honored their passings with dance, fire and feasts. Sacrifices were left behind even in the midst of deepest winters and earliest springs when resources such as food were most scarce.
Afterward, near the burial site on a tree was carved the personal mark of that individual, so that if and when the spirit found themselves awakened on the wrong side, they would know of their fate and could safely move on.
Oldblood of the North
Pronunciation
/ˈel.tiˌri/
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