Ninifin
The Ninifin people originate in the tropical regions of the Arnorin continent, just north of the equator. While many people in Arnor will just group them in with Eloorin, they are more likely to be acknowledged as a separate people due the presence of their own country of Ninifin smack dab in the middle of Arnor.
On average, Ninifins tend to be slightly shorter than most of Arnorin peoples. Men average around 5'7" and women around 5'4". They have copper brown skin and tend towards wide shoulders and slightly stocky builds. Hair is almost universally black (though it greys in old age), although occasionally shades of dark brown are seen. Eyes are usually brown or grey, though green eyes are not uncommon.
The majority of Ninifins live in Ninifin itself, although there are many living in the Arnorin provinces of Nallin and Lothal, as well as some in Orwin and Friaz. Ninifins are much rarer beyond these places.
Naming Traditions
Unisex names
Ninifin names do not have much distinction between genders. Some names may be more common with one gender than another (Akna, for example, is more common as a girl's name), but even these names are often used with a different gender.
Family names
Ninifins do not traditionally have family names, though some Ninifins living outside Ninifin, particularly those who have married into Eloorin households, have adopted the practice from Arnorin customs.
Other names
In Ninifin, all people of worker class or higher have one of three honorifics that forms the beginning of their names. The honorific is dependent on the time of year they were born: Nin for children born in the first four months of the year, Fra for those born in the middle four, and Ses for those born in the final four. For example, NinAkna, FraMecatl, or SesIzel . In general only immediate family members (parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles) and people specifically granted permission (usually only close friends and lovers) may address a Ninifin without their honorific. To do so is considered rude and an insult, and people doing this may find themselves ostracized.
Outside Ninifin, most Ninifins have discarded the use of honorifics. Even in Ninifin, a few have started to discard its use as they see it as a symbol of the tyrannical rule of the priests.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The language of Ninifin shares the same roots as Arnorgue, though the two languages have developed in significantly different ways. Both languages share the same script, however. Ninifin is only commonly spoken in the country of Ninifin itself. Ninifins living outside Ninifin rarely use it and those who were born and grew up outside Ninifin may not even know the language at all.
The Ninifin language has very little distinction between genders. There is only a single gender-neutral pronoun, and nouns very rarely have a masculine or feminine form, the only notable exceptions being the words for man and woman themselves (the language also has a word for someone who is neither a man nor a woman, something not seen in any other modern language on the continent) and the words for king and queen. There is not even a distinction between brother and sister; there is only a single genderless word for sibling. Non-Ninifin translators will sometimes make a distinction between words like priest and priestess when translating Ninifin texts; however, this is frowned upon by Ninifins themselves, since there is only one word in the Ninifin language. In general, they prefer that the masculine form be used in other languages (even though Ninifin priests are almost exclusively women) since the feminine form in most other languages tends to bring with it a subtle meaning of inferiority.
Common Dress code
Outside Ninifin, people commonly believe that Ninifins dress in bright, multi-coloured clothing. This is because priests travelling outside Ninifin to proselytize dress in clothes that show all four sacred colours (green, yellow, white, and hints of blue). However, inside Ninifin, no Ninifin dresses this way. Priests dress in the single sacred colour representing the same god that their honorific represents. Warriors dress mostly in black with some red.
The common people of Ninifin cannot afford expensive dyes to colour their clothing and so dress in the natural colours of the fabrics, which means mostly dull browns and beige.
Historical figures
The most revered person in Ninifin history was Eleuia, who is regarded as the founder of modern day Ninifin. Two centuries ago, she led the most significant resistance against the Dragon (a tyrannical Eloorin wizard whose real name is never spoken by any devout Ninifin) and the armies of Elooria. She was eventually caught and burned at the stake by the Dragon, and her resistance movement was ultimately unsuccessful. It took the Folith armies led by Martan the Conqueror to finally defeat the Dragon. Nonetheless her name continued to inspire people to fight for their independence from the Foliths and to establish the nation of Ninifin.
Ninifins see Eleuia as a semi-divine figure. She spoke directly to the gods themselves, and passed what they told her onto her people, thus outlining the tenets of modern Ninifin society. All her proclamations were faithfully recorded by her close friend NinPapan in a collection of many books. After Eleuia's death, NinPapan continued to spread Eleuia's teachings and worked to establish the Ninifins' independence from the Foliths. NinPapan eventually became the first Queen of the new Ninifin.
Eleuia's name does not have an honorific as she is considered immediate family to all Ninifins.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Tattoos are very common amongst Ninifins, particularly amongst the more devout. It is rare for any Ninifin to not have at least one tattoo, even amongst the lower classes. Priests, nobles, and warriors often cover most of their bodies with tattoos. Tattoos are of generally of abstract design and make only sparing use of colour. Sun designs are common as wells as sacred animals like jaguars, snakes, winged snakes, and quetzals.
Relationship Ideals
Ninifins do not marry, and see nothing wrong or shameful with having multiple lovers at the same time. Though it is not uncommon for some romantic relationships to last for the lifetimes of the participants, Ninifins generally do not see romance as a permanent relationship.
When a relationship produces children, the biological father usually has no role in the lives of the children (the mother may not even know who the actual father is). Instead, a mother's brothers and childless sisters assist in the raising of children. If the mother has no brothers (or childless sisters), uncles or other family members will step in to assist instead. Even after the children have grown and started their own homes, a woman and her brothers will usually continue to share the same home.
Ninifins also have no taboos regarding any kind of sexuality. A relationship between two men or two women is not seen as any different than a relationship between a man and a woman.
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