Southern Walkingfolk

The Ni'Anman

The Southern Walkingfolk are an ethnicity of the Walkingfolk, and are found on the Southeastern and Central-Eastern coasts of The Inbound Lands.
Until recently, they were divided from their cousins, the Northern Walkingfolk, by the territories of the Bean.

Origin of the Name

Ni'Anman is a word of Birdfolk origin, literally translated as "Water Others," but better understood as "Those who go into the Sea." In Aengli, they refer to themselves as "Southern Walkingfolk," or, prior to formation of The Green, as simply "Southerners."
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Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Ni'Anman use:

Aengli: The common language spoken by the Anman. While there has been some vernacular diversion in the language due to the Divide, the language itself is fairly consistent across Walkingfolk. In the South, the major variation is in the unique coastal ridge dialect of "Southern Aengli," which is known for its lengthened vowels, lilt, and softened interior consonants with more focus and sharpness on the ends of words instead.

Glyf: The written alphabet of the Walkingfolk. Though there are some stylistic, spelling, and grammatical variations between the North and the South, it is relatively consistent.

Plains Sign - Though a less unified visual language than its Northern Cousin, a unique sign language exists within Ni'Anman culture. Used initially in early communications with the Ni'kashiga, Plains Sign evolved into a relatively rigorous language and is still commonplace across Caravans. Different caravans often have their own unique symbols.

Most Ni'Anman are capable of speaking at least Low forms of Tongue. "Low" is a more casual, "jumbled" form commonly seen in nonnative speakers, and is distinctly separate from "High" in some ways, making direct translation difficult.
In addition, most Ni'Anman know a little bit of Tradespeak, a pidgin language consisting of words in Tongue, Aengli, and Plains Sign. Tradespeak is most often found in the areas of Bone, particularly around the Left Fork and The City of The Fingers, and its spread is largely attributed to the Caravans and Caravels.

Related Organizations

• Ochi Maninhka
• Ochi O'hka

A Ni'Anman, with distinctive dark hair, and skin in shades of brown to black