In the far north, in the foothills of the mountains and in open plains where only sparse trees could grow, the Manashin people made their lives. When
The Forest began to spread, their people were split between those that retreated to the mountains, and those that retreated to the lakes farther south. Today, neither group has had contact with the other in over 100 years, and they are unsure if their cousin community survives.
The Manashins who went south made their home in
Lake Jondush, and established the nation of
Manashina. They have contact with the Veiamic peoples who live throughout the rest of the lake system, and frequently trade with them.
Music and Magic
The most prominent Manashin instrument is the drum. Many traditional songs are performed by multiple players beating a large drum in unison, sometime with smaller drums accompanying. Drums are made from caribou pelts stretched over a wooden frame.
Manashinian Spirituality forbids using magic for purposes other than healing or restoration. For this reason, healing magic is the primary focus of generations of study. Many Veiamic
physiciana travel to Manashina for further study. Even in the days before the Forest, ill or injured Veiamic people occasionally made a journey to the north in the hopes of finding a Manashin doctor who could cure them.
Using magic for non-healing purposes is traditionally thought to disrupt the balance of the universe and is frowned upon. This has given the Manashins a reputation as pacifists, although in truth they are no more or less willing to take up physical arms than any other people. In the modern age, plenty of Manashins use Veiamic magical traditions for more offensive or transformative magic, though this is discouraged by traditionalists.
Lifestyle
Manashins were formerly a nomadic people who herded caribou. In the summer, they herded caribou and lived in tents, cycling around to the same camp sites year after year.
In the winter, they returned to permanent villages with turf houses. Generally a village consisted of two or three bands that overwinter together, and then separate for the summer herding season.
A single band consisted of around a dozen families, generally 50 - 100 people.
They were forced to give up this lifestyle when they established communities on contained islands. For the first time, they settled into permanent towns and villages, and acquire resources through trade rather than hunting and gathering on their traditional lands. Having multiple bands forced to live in close proximity year-round caused tension, especially in the first decades of relocation.
There was an effort to maintain a band identity, but they groups became so intermixed over the years that any sense of band identification has long since been lost to most Manashins. Today, they have largely settled into their sedentary lifestyle, although many traditionalists long for a return to the old ways, even if their former herding lands are now forever lost to the consuming forest.
Kinship
In the
Manashin language, familial terms are used a bit differently. The relative's that share a clan, i.e., on the maternal side, are given the same kinship terms as direct family. So, one's mother's brother is also referred to as Father. One's mother's sister is also referred to as Mother. Conversely, a father's sister is an Aunt and a father's brother is an Uncle. The children of one's mother's sister are Brother and Sister, because they are the cousins that share a clan.
The children of one's mother's brother (the man referred to as Father) are called cousins, because they inherited their clan from their own mother. Because marrying someone from the same clan is taboo, it would never be the case that those cousins happened to be of the same clan.
When speaking Veiamic, most Manashins simply translate to the kinship terms the Veiamic person would be familiar with (i.e., all parents' siblings are aunt or uncle) to reduce confusion. This is thought to be the source of the persistent rumour among Veiamic people that Manashins practive polygamy and incest, having misunderstand a Manashin person referring to their mother's brother as their 'father', or referring to multiple mothers.
Clan System
Manashin people all belong to one of six clans. A clan is not the same thing as a band. Your clan is passed down from your mother. When a man marries, he joins his wife's band but remains a member of his clan. A band generally had two or three clans represented within it, and members of each clan were wide distrubuted among the bands. Marriage between members of the same clan is forbidden, and deeply taboo.
Today, with the band system broken down, clans are the most important kinship element in Manashin culture. All people know their clan, even if the traditional roles associated with them have broken down with the changes to society. Modern Manashins are not restricted to only the professions associated with the clan, especially because their lifestyle now demands jobs not covered such as merchants or carpenters, but there is a passive assumption that these are the careers you would be
best at, and you will find the most success in life if you pursue something along these lines.
| Clan |
Traditional Role |
| Owl |
Teachers and scholars |
| Crane |
Community leaders |
| Magpie |
External communication, foreign relations |
| Raven |
Scouts and hunters |
| Eagle |
Warriors and defenders |
| Loon |
Healers and spiritualists |
Appearance
Manashins are, on average, shorter than Veiamic people. They are recognizable by their darker complexions and monolid eyes. Their hair ranges from pure black to dark brown.
Clothing
Their clothing was traditionally made from caribou skin, though in modern times they're just as likely to use wool or linen. Clothing styles did not traditionally differ much between men and women, with both wearing leggings and knee-length tunics. The tunics were dyed in dark colours, such as blue or black, and adorned with brightly coloured beads and embroidery.
Today, many Manashins have adopted Veiamic styles of dress, especially in the more urban areas. Traditional dress is rarely seen on Manashins outside of Manashina. Modern styles have blended the two fashions, so that many young Manashin women wear Veiamic-style dresses and aprons but in dark colours with distinctive bead-work, or young men wearing Veiamic-style vests with traditional embroidery patterns.
A tradition that persists is the bearskin cloak, which is awarded to someone by agreement of the elders of the community for a display of valour. Bearskin is not worn in any other contexts; it is incredibly disrespectful to wear a bearskin you have not earned. Veiamic people, however, have taken a liking to the fine cloaks and wealthy people will pay extraordinary prices to acquire an authentic Manashin bearskin cloak. Knock-offs are common, and the whole practice is considered offensive by most Manashins.
Manashins were formerly a nomadic people who herded caribou. In the summer, they herded caribou and lived in tents, cycling around to the same camp sites year after year.
In the winter, they returned to permanent villages with turf houses. Generally a village consisted of two or three bands that overwinter together, and then separate for the summer herding season.
A single band consisted of around a dozen families, generally 50 - 100 people.
They were forced to give up this lifestyle when they established communities on contained islands. For the first time, they settled into permanent towns and villages, and acquire resources through trade rather than hunting and gathering on their traditional lands. Having multiple bands forced to live in close proximity year-round caused tension, especially in the first decades of relocation.
There was an effort to maintain a band identity, but they groups became so intermixed over the years that any sense of band identification has long since been lost to most Manashins. Today, they have largely settled into their sedentary lifestyle, although many traditionalists long for a return to the old ways, even if their former herding lands are now forever lost to the consuming forest.
In the Manashin language, familial terms are used a bit differently. The relative's that share a clan, i.e., on the maternal side, are given the same kinship terms as direct family. So, one's mother's brother is also referred to as Father. One's mother's sister is also referred to as Mother. Conversely, a father's sister is an Aunt and a father's brother is an Uncle. The children of one's mother's sister are Brother and Sister, because they are the cousins that share a clan.
The children of one's mother's brother (the man referred to as Father) are called cousins, because they inherited their clan from their own mother. Because marrying someone from the same clan is taboo, it would never be the case that those cousins happened to be of the same clan.
When speaking Veiamic, most Manashins simply translate to the kinship terms the Veiamic person would be familiar with (i.e., all parents' siblings are aunt or uncle) to reduce confusion. This is thought to be the source of the persistent rumour among Veiamic people that Manashins practive polygamy and incest, having misunderstand a Manashin person referring to their mother's brother as their 'father', or referring to multiple mothers.