Chilseongsin (t͡ɕʰil.sʰʌŋ.ɕin)
"The way the Empire of Wamato treats the Chilseongsin is an atrocity, and we should do whatever it takes to change it."
The Chilseongsin are an ethnic group of Kikipua from the Seom Islands. Their ancestors were classified as Low Nakaal by the Empire of Muria, but their own cultural traditions claim a much earlier origin and history. During the several centuries, the Chilseongsin have been enslaved and oppressed by the Empire of Wamato.
Physical Appearance
Like all Kikipua, the Chilseongsin have a reptilian appearance, with scaled skin, clawed hands, and a long tail. They are easily distinguished from other ethnic groups of Kikipua by the vivid colors of their scales - they are usually bright red, orange, or yellow and stand out when compared to the darker, more muted tones common among other Kikipua.
The Chilseongsin are usually smaller than other Kikipua, with an average height around five feet. Like all Kikipua, there is little variation in size between male and female Chilseongsin. Most have a slender, serpentine build, and they may have small spines or horns on their heads and along their spine.
Common Dress & Style
The Chilseongsin typically wear a two-piece outfit consisting of a yu and a sang. A yu is a shirt which has long, wide sleeves and wraps around the wearer's upper body. It is tucked into the sang, and secured with a belt. A sang is is a skirt, which can reach to the ground, or be cut as high as the wearer's knees. Both garments can be made from a variety of fabrics, including leather, wool, or silk, and they are often dyed bright colors and then embroidered with intricate patterns.
Social Structure
The Chilseongsin are matriarchal, investing responsibility for the community with those who lay eggs and control the future. The most prominent member of any Chilseongsin dyo is the Haemu, or 'Sea-Mother', who controls the income of the dyo and sets the rules they live by. She is most often assisted by the the Haehalmŏni of the family; these 'Sea-Grandmothers' are women who have retired from active life to focus on the dyo's needs. It is not uncommon for a Haemu to retire and become one of the Haehalmŏni, and sometimes it goes the other way, where a Haehalmŏni will choose to take on the role of Haemu and lead the dyo.
Religion & Folklore
Like the Rengo, the Chilseongsin worship a group of Numina called the Ryeong. These gods and spirits are found throughout the Seom Islands, and are equally responsive to both their human and Kikipua worshippers.
One of the traditions among the Chilseongsin is the construction of Saeun-gil, or luck-towers. These are small round buildings made of stone, standing no more than two or three feet high. They are considered sacred to the spirits of the land where they are placed, and the Chilseongsin will place offerings to those spirits within the doorway of the saeun-gil in order to garner their favor. It is believed that these offerings will be repaid with a small amount of good fortune, and many Chilseongsin will make an offering before any major life event.
Those Chilseongsin who live in the Daemado Islands primarily interact with a subgroup of the Ryeong known as the Tokkaebi. These spirits of the Musahae are dangerous tricksters, but the Imugi have made bargains with them, and their ships are protected by special statues known as the Giljabi Tokkaebi.
The Rengo & the Chilseongsin
When the Empire of Muria pulled humans into this world, the ritual relied on similarities and the law of Association to create connections across the Dream. Sometimes the fit was approximate, but in the Seom Islands, it was as close a match as could be imagined. The Rengo and the Chilseongsin are cultural twins, with a shared language, similar beliefs, and gods. Nowhere else in the Great Ring are there two cultures so closely matched, and it has raised many philosophical questions about the nature of culture and how much its development is influenced by cross-world associations.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Main Article: Rengota
The Chilseongsin speak a dialect of Rengota, a language they share with the Rengo people. The language appears to have developed independently in both human and Kikipua populations before humans arrived in the Great Ring, and is only one example of the two groups' extraordinary cultural similarities.
Foods & Cuisine
Most traditional Chilseongsin food is derived from the sea. They have a long tradition of freediving, collecting many forms of shellfish and other marine foodstuffs from the ocean floor. A signature Chilseongsin dish is Haenamgochu, a very spicy stew made from shellfish and peppers. This dish is occasionally presented to outsiders without warning, to the great amusement of the Chilseongsin.
Enslaved by Wamato
When the Empire of Wamato conquered the Seom Islands in 3515, it marked the first time they had to deal with a large number of non-human sophonts as residents within the borders of the Empire. The officials of the Empire did not know how to treat the Chilseongsin who they had conquered, and appealed to Emperor Ashikaga Tomoyuki for guidance.
His response was to draft the Teikoku Nintei-sho, a document which classified all the types of sophonts the Empire might encounter into six categories, or bunrui, and established the legal status of each class. In the Teikoku Nintei-sho, the Chilseongsin were placed in the Jūjin bunrui. This was the lowest class, and assigned them a legal status equivalent to livestock. You can read more about the Teikoku Nintei-sho here.
Pirates and Rebels
Not all of the Chilseongsin were captured and enslaved by Wamato. Those who escaped the invasion found a shelter in the Daemado Islands, deep within the perilous Musahae region of the Middlesea. From there, they have become a thorn in the side of the Empire. They raid the shipping going to and from Imperial territory, attack isolated communities, and liberate other Chilseongsin whenever they can. They call themselves the Imugi, and they are dedicated to driving the Empire of Wamato out of the Seom Islands, and reestablishing the Kingdom of Seomna. You can read more about the Imugi here.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
I like the idea of the Haenamgochu. I imagine them offering it to some foreigner and then just gathering around to watch, as un-suspiciously as they can. XDDD
Yep - they actually can't taste the spices themselves (much like birds cannot taste capsaicin), so they think it is really funny that the mammals are so impacted by a simple dish.