Hokku

Children of the Bear and Winds

For a long time, the Kazeoshima Isles have been blasted by the winds of great spirts and the echoing cry of storms. However, though many people of Kantō think that life simply cannot flourish there, it flourishes nonetheless. None are quite sure of the origins of the Hokku people, but it is without a shadow of a doubt that they are the natives of the land. It is believed they do share some ancestry with tribes of early Kantōnese and Ujik peoples immigrating to the land at a time lost to the ages. Regardless of the true origins, the Hokku people have existed since the dawn of time, and they believe that they are born of the god of bears. It was the spirts who taught the first Hokku to hunt, and how to respect the animals that they hunted so that the spirts may live in harmony and unity. 
However, their came times that where harmony was disrupted by foreign invaders, the warriors of Kantō being the one to invade the most. However, despite the great martial prowess of the samurai, all invaders fell before the might of Hokku bows and the skill of their blades. It is said the Hokku fought with the spirts of wild animals against those who disrupt their way of life, but their greatest challenge came from the dreaded oni and corrupted spirts of the Weeping Lands when it first formed. Terrible storms of blood and death came upon the land, and the screams of a trillion deranged wails plagued the land for years before the Hokku managed to fight them off. However, fight them off they did, and the Hokku emerged more hardened and proud then ever. Since then the Hokku have kept to themselves, making sure to fight any instances of monsters from the weeping lands coming to their isles, and also to trade and protect their way of life no matter the threat.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Opere, Hotene, Ipokash, Umakashte, Umoshmatek, Toitoi, Etunrachich, Horpecha, Monashir, Unkatuye, Huisak, Katkemat

Masculine names

Resak, Akihi, Petennouk, Unayanke, Shiratekka, Apniainu, Shitekka, Shinriki, Menkakush, Itakshir, Pasekur, Shitona, Munkeke, Shiromainu

Family names

The Hokku people do not typically use family names, instead most Hokku people are simply named for events when they were young, or simply whatever the parents think sounds best. Hokku people also do not repeat names as some homage to the dead, for they see no real point to it. Some Hokku also use Kantonese names as well.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Hokku speak Kantōnese, but also have their own native tongue called Hokka

Culture and cultural heritage

The culture of the Hokku is quite different from their neighbors of Kantō. Known for their skill at horse archery and skirmish combat, they have resisted all hostile forms of contact, and as of now are simply traded with from time to time. Craftsmanship is an important aspect of Hokku life, and if an item is made of subpar quality, its not worth making in the first place.
The Hokku are also people of great faith, for one must be to resist the temptations of the fiendish entities nearby in the Weeping Lands. Hokku religon is largely animistic, with them believing that everything found in nature has a kamuy (god or spirt). The Hokku people do not have priests, with the village chief helping preside over any spiritual or religious occasion. The greatest gods in their religion are the Kimaun, god of bears and mountains, Rekapa, god of fisihing and sea, and Kamhuka, goddess of hearth and home. Kimaun is considered the chief deity of the Hokku pantheon, for bears not only provide food for the people but are also creatures of immense power. So valuated are bears that the Hokku regularly tame and even ride bears around the plains. One who owns a bear bonds with them for life with a special magical ritual to link the spirts of the two together.

Average technological level

The Hokku trade with the people of Orliea and anyone who comes to their ports, they also have valuable minerals in their land which sometimes invites invasion from the Kantōnese, but these invasions are usually short lived and don't slow trade relations.

Common Etiquette rules

It is common etiquette to ask permission before entering a home, and to also thank someone for granting permission. This is done so as to thank the spirts of the home for allowing them inside.

Common Dress code

Traditional clothing are robes spun from the inner bark of elm trees, with many styles existing such as short robes with straight sleeves being the most popular. The fur of animals was also a very popular piece of clothing such as bear pelts, deerskin leggings, and dire wolf cloaks.

Art & Architecture

Hokku houses are simple but efficent, being able to keep occupants warm while also not taking a long time to set up. The common traditional Hokku house was known as a Cise and made of grass, bamboo grass, bark, and other such materials.

Foods & Cuisine

Being hunter gatherers, most of their food revolves around salmon, trout, bears, hares, foxes, deer, sea eagles, ravens and other animals. They also harvested many plants native to the Kazeoshima Isles. The Hokku people commonly hunt with trained dogs or birds, and sometimes even bears.

Common Taboos

Wasting the meat of animals and not harvest a hunted animal for all of its material is considered disgusting and greatly wasteful, and risks angering the spirts.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Hokku people tend to not shave their facial hair after a certain age. Most also either have pony tails or keep their hair to not go past their shoulders. Women also typically paint their mouths with dye, as a sort of coming of age ritual, however not every woman does it.

Gender Ideals

The Hokku are an egalitarian people

Courtship Ideals

Marriages are either arranged or people simple marry who they wish. When one wishes to seal the deal, they shall visit them in their home, as the person being asked cooks a meal for them. With candles surrounding them, the one asking for marriage will eat half of the food and give the rest to their partner. If they accept they will finish the meal, however if they decline they put the meal to the side.

Major organizations

The Hokku people live in tribes scattered around the Kazeoshima Isles