Harakaar
Harakaar is the term used by the native Human peoples living in the Outremeer region of the continent of Notios to describe themselves. They are a hearty and fiercely independent people that have only become aware of the existence of other Human cultures beyond their own for the last 81 years. No accurate census has ever been taken, but estimates based on city size and trade networks have been made that put the current population of Harakaar at around 3 million souls, with some estimates going as high as 5 million.
The universal religious practice maintained by the Harakaar is known as Annukaaric. It is a cult of veneration and worship of beings called Annukaar in the local tongue that seems to be unique in that the deities worshiped by the Harakaar actually appear to the faithful physically and converse with them frequently.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
All the people encountered by explorers from Thrae thus far have spoken a dialect of single common Harakaar language, called Harakesh by Gnomish scholars. To date, nothing is known about the origin of the language.
Four distinct dialects have been documented, and scholars have given them the following classifications: western, central, eastern and insular. All four dialects are mutually understandable, but vocabulary, syntax and inflection can easily identify the regional origins of one speaker to another.
Average technological level
Prior to the arrival of the first Arian ship to Outremeer, the Harakaar people had progressed as a culture to a bronze-age level of technology. Nearly all weapons, ornamentation and household utensils were made exclusively from copper or bronze. Only the most expensive items were made of a low-grade steel or (more commonly) wrought iron. Since contact with the peoples of Thrae, iron and steel working has grown to nearly every corner of Outremeer and many tools and weapons are now found constructed of remarkably high-grade metal. Traditional tools and weapons are still made of (or with) local bronze, however.
One technology where the Harakaar excel is in open ocean navigation. The small, swift craft favored by the Harakaar can navigate thousands of miles of open water at will and are routinely able (and expected) to arrive exactly at their intended destination, allowing less than two miles in error usually.
Foods & Cuisine
Harakaar cuisine has proven to be some of the spiciest known in all the world. Travelers from Thrae are frequently shocked at how hot and spicy even the simplest of preparations can be at a Harakaar table. Even their beverages are spicy, with one particular alcoholic drink (called potasha) which is served slightly warmed in rough unglazed clay cups that is so incredibly spicy, only the bravest of foreigners will finish a portion once served.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
The Harakaar people are unique in all the world in that they worship a diverse pantheon of local and regional "gods" that they all see and can speak to on a regular basis. These gods are collectively referred to as Annukaar ("heavenly beings") and very nearly every single native person one meets in Outremeer has at least seen, if not conversed with, one or more Annukaar. The Harakaar take this for granted and cannot seem to understand how any rational being could worship a "god" they could not converse with or even sit down and eat a meal with.
A Harakaar warrior
A Harakaar woman
