Aamu

Aamu are tall, muscular and strong-boned inhabitants of the boreal forests of the long continent, which they call Nakhwum. They subsist on hunting game and whaling, as well as the plants that can be gathered from the forest.

Anatomy

Aamu average between 69 and 80 inches and weigh between 145 and 245 pounds when healthy. Their faces are oval and often chubby, but not quite porcine. They have tusks coming out either side of their mouths, which don't close properly, with the result that there is a constant trickle of drool coming out the sides. Their ears are long and rounded, they have large reddish noses, and brown to black eyes. Their skin colour is light brown to dark beige.
Aamu are mammalian, possessed of two arms and two legs, and having no tail. Although they mate with individuals of the opposite sex, sexual dimorphism is somewhat limited. Young are carried for eight to nine months, after which they undergo live birth.

Dietary Needs

Aamu are omnivores with a preference for meat or blubber when they can get it. Hunting is a competition among all members of the satrah, regardless of gender. The person who takes an animal or spears a whale is honoured at a feast, in which they are expected to share with other members of the satrah to gain standing. Plant gathering is seen as a lesser activity, though necessary, and is not surrounded with the same pomp.

Behaviour

The Aamu are a people organized into smaller groups, called satrahs. These groups are further divided into extended families, called u'a. Although fighing is forbidden within u'ap, these groupings are justified in attacking each other in times of scarcity if they feel other u'ap are not generous enough in their redistribution. Both u'ap will fight with enthusiasm, as these raids are considered to keep the Aamu people strong. Although satrahs could fight each other in principle, their lack of organization at this scale combined with the difference in livelihoods make it unlikely at the present time.

Social Structure

The Aamu currently have very little social structure, as they are organized into very small groups. There is some standing among those who are successful at getting meat or blubber, but this is only retained by those who redistribute their kills among others. The resulting structure is mostly egalitarian, with a few who are charismatic or successful in the hunt having a bit more good will among the others.
Kinship is traced through the mother, though there is a very limited number of roles that result. They include: mother, father, sister, brother, son and daughter. Beyond the mother and father, all adults are sisters and brothers, and all young sons and daughters. This means that children are parented by the entire u'ap.

Geographic Distribution

Aamu inhabit the highlands and pine forests of the southern coast of Nakhwum. The climate is primarily sub-arctic and can be quite cold. They live in small collections of conical tents, several people to a tent to promote warmth while sleeping.

Potential

The Aamu, despite their fierce disposition, have shown themselves to be a relatively intelligent people. They are particularly quick to take on new ways of doing things, and to improve on them.

Related Ethnicities

• Satrah Samni
• Satrah Utas

Glossary of Aamuit Terms

Aamu: A species of mammal similar to other humanoids.
Anut: Bear.
K'irsis: Spear. Ma'miq: Hawk.
Nakhwum: The long continent of the southern hemisphere.
Samni: An eponymous ancesor of Satrah Samni.
Satrah: A grouping of extended families, similar to clans.
U'a: Extended family, the basic unit of Aamu life. It's plural is u'ap.

Samni Feeds the Satrah

Samni huddled beneath a criss-cross of pine branches and the cones dangling from them, hardly daring to breathe. His last breath had left the scent in his nose that he hoped would attract the ferocious anut to him. He fingered the k'irsis tip, so like the point of his own tusk, thrust on a carved stick of wood. It was an extension of his own mouth.
He heard the massive creature stalk toward the honey-smeared pine and gripped the k'irsis more tightly. With a rustle the anut's claws pulled the pine toward it and the creature grunted in frustration as it felt the pricks. Samni leapt from the pit at its confusion, pushing the k'irsis tip into the soft flesh of its neck. He cried out in fear when the blood rained down on him and rolled from the thrashing body. Samni ran to a tree and climbed it, anut stalking him in rage. He lay along a high branch, praying he kept attuned to the forest and didn't sleep.
The anut thrashed about at the base of the tree and finally was still. Samni put his fingers into his mouth and blew the shrill call of the ma'miq. His people would know he had taken the anut as the ma'miq takes its four-legged prey from the air, and they would come help him take the carcass to the u'a.