Eiji

The Eiji are the dominant ethnic group of the Eiji Empire.

The Eiji likely originated in the foothills of the Kuutham mountain range. Their early migration to the coast gave them a taste for seafood, which is now a staple of this ethnicity's cuisine.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Himansa

Shared customary codes and values

In alignment with their ideals, Eiji households display a so-called "traditional" understanding of patriarchal leadership. (It may seem traditional to the Eiji now, but this tradition is not timeless like they think it is.)

Common Etiquette rules

If you pass by a military veteran in public, it is proper to give him a quick wave, smile, and "thank you."

Common Dress code

In general, the Eiji wear shifts or tunics over leggings. The length and number of the shifts or tunics depends on age, gender, and veteran status.

Military veterans wear deep red scarves with the military's logo embroidered on each end. While it is not required for any veteran to wear his scarf out in public, it would be surprising if one did not wish to, because these scarves are symbols of honor, courage, and pride. Those who are not veterans are forbidden from wearing veteran scarves unless they get permission from the scarf's owner.

Young children wear loose white shifts. Children who can relieve themselves on their own wear loose shifts and leggings, colored pink for boys and pale green for girls.

From puberty onward, girls and women wear a knee-length undergarment shift, an ankle-length main tunic, and an ankle-length outer tunic to hide their body shape. In warmer weather, female Eiji may remove their outer tunics, but not without risk of critical looks from relatives and other women or speculative looks from men (and occasionally, their male relatives).

When an Eiji boy turns 16, he outgrows the pink clothes of his youth; from then onward, he wears tunics accented in red to emphasize his manhood.

Coming of Age Rites

Menarche: When an adolescent girl reaches menarche, her mother or other female guardian gifts her with a pair of black leggings. The dark shade of these leggings conceal bloodstains, so a girl is less likely to embarrass herself with stained clothing out in public, and her male peers are less likely to become uncomfortable at the sight of menstrual blood.

Common Taboos

It is unacceptable to falsify or mistreat a veteran scarf (except, perhaps, if you are a young child, in the privacy of your home, playing with your grandfather's scarf because you do not know any better). This can put stage productions featuring veteran characters in an uncomfortable position if the actor playing the character is not a veteran himself. In such cases, there are two options. The troupe may borrow a veteran's scarf, in which case the troupe must make it explicit in all cases (on advertising posters, in programs, etc.) that the scarf was borrowed with permission, and must credit the veteran by name. Alternatively, the troupe may depict the veteran character without a scarf, and thus play to the audience's willing suspension of disbelief.

A woman wearing red is a source of mockery; she is considered to be like a child playing pretend. A man wearing green might be considered to be like a child playing pretend or a person who has lost touch with reality.

Common Myths and Legends

In the earliest part of the Eiji's existence, the Eiji people believed in a sky god and an earth goddess who were husband and wife. These two would later become the Creator and his subservient Ridge Wife.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

To the Eiji, there are strictly two genders that align with biological sex: male and female. They define not only their own people but other cultures' people by these genders. When doing so proves difficult (see literally every Oba culture), the Eiji find it very distressing and often distrust the other culture.

Eiji men are, above all, strong protectors of the family and the nation. They are expected to be courageous. They are required to serve in the military. The Eiji associate the color red with men, representing their courage and the blood that they ought to be willing to shed.

The Eiji associate the color green with women, representing growth and fertility.