Saniori

Saniori was once a land with a flourishing and grand civilization. A cataclysm occurred several centuries ago; leaving only scattered tribes and a few isolated city-states to survive. Though the source of what the Saniori call “The Rupture” are not certain, they interpret it as a sign from nature that man's hubris would be punished. The Saniori believe another Rupture is just around the corner, and they continuously seek to warn the encroaching Dythonians of this fact so they can repent of their “Sky Watching” ways before it is too late.

Geography

Saniori has varied tropical and temperate climate zones, but the scars of the ancient cataclysm can be plainly seen on the shattered landscape.

The Azura Plains

The southern grasslands of Saniori are known for their wide sweeping vistas, shattered sandy hills, and numerous crags and sinkholes. Frequent rainstorms from both the eastward coastal areas and the western marshes leave the area with rain-forest-level precipitation year-round, but the only common vegetation is a few forms of thick golden grasses. Most land is not arable, no doubt a lingering effect of The Rupture. Most humans in this area are nomads living off of massive herds of armored mammoth-like creatures called Damût.

History

Government

There is no central authority that lays claim to the lands of Saniori. In the northern reaches Dythonian colonies exist, but all lack official mainland charters and Dythonian law exerts little real influence in these frontier communities.

Political Divisions

Saniori is organized into a vast intertwining network of political groups called Hita. While the term directly translates to “city-state” or “nation” they are more akin to clans as they are always based around a main family line, with many allied or doreji families serving them.

Hita structure

Hita are non-ideological and pragmatic organizations, and so have no formal structure. Most follow a similar pattern, however. Hita are usually logically divided by each village, or machunu. One machunu is usually the home of the hita elders, and thus acts as a capital. Hita lay no formal claim on territory, rather they lay claim on people. As long as rival hita give each other enough room there will be little conflict between them. This also means that hita can only incorporate as many machunu as they can effectively communicate with. The largest hita are only a collection of around a dozen villages.

Machunu structure

Almost all machunu are ruled by a patriarch or elder called a Oye. A Machunu may be an atomic entity, belonging only to a Hita of itself, in which case the Oye controls everything. If not the Oye will usually serve on a council for the Hita, with the Oye of the head machunu acting as chairman.

Most Machunu also have several other noble positions that are usually filled by another family head:

• Ki - Head warrior/hunter
• Sai - Head priest/shaman/lore-keeper
• Aoki - Head matchmaker

Economy

The Saniori economy is almost exclusively built around subsistence. Trade among machunu is rare, and lone traveling merchants are seen as family-less heathens. There is little interest in industry, luxury goods, science, or magical knowledge. While Dythonian settlers have a thriving frontier economy in the north, their progress is dwarfed by the poverty and tribal life of the natives elsewhere.

Demographics

Saniori divides itself into two main populations: native Saniori (~85%) and foreign immigrants (~15%). Ethnic Saniori are yellow-skinned with brown or black hair and light colored eyes of blues and grays. They are shorter and lighter than most Polus races, but are known for their endurance and hardiness.

Language

90% of the population speaks the aboriginal language - Saniori. Dythonian missionaries regularly open schools and teach Koine, and the Saniori have no taboo against attending as they see learning the foreign language as an opening to convert the “Sky Watchers.” Thus almost 15% of the population speaks koine fluently. Strangely enough, Halser is virtually unused by the native population. While dythonian missionaries try to teach it in addition to koine for the Saniori's economic benefit, there seems to be little interest in the trade language.

Religion

There is very little organized religion in Saniori. Over 80% of the population follows an animist belief-system called Anuri. Otherwise a small percentage of people have heard the call of missionaries from the Church of Eleytheria in Dythos, but these individuals are often exiled or indentured for their conversion to “Sky Watching.”

Education

Health

Crime and Law Enforcement

Culture

Often times the idea of a unified culture is a misnomer in Saniori, as local customs vary greatly by geography. There are enough threads of common experience, however, that most Saniori will overlook their neighbors differences in actions and state that their intentions are the same.

Family

The extended family is the central unit in Saniori society, and a residence might sometimes contain all living generations of a family. Family and marriage are at the forefront of most any Saniori social activity, and the harshest penalty for any crime is exile. Families are usually matriarchal, however matriarchs deal mostly with internal family affairs while the patriarchs hold political positions and give a public face to the family.

Slavery

Around 30% of the Saniori population is considered a doreji, or slave. The term is slightly different from the what most Agothonians picture when they hear the term, as slaves have many “rights” in Saniori society. They must be owned by a family not an individual, and can go to another family if they are being mistreated. They are very rarely given specific tasks to accomplish by masters, but instead are seen to have an eternal link to their owning family which they must strive to honor with their labor. In this way doreji families might resemble the “branch families” (bunke) of Touyou.

Tayne

A coming-of-age ritual commonly practiced in the Azura Plains, but various forms exist elsewhere in the region. Where practiced it is usually required for every male when he reaches his 12th spring. The ritual usually involves the young man hunting a wild beast of local significance. Most of the times it is to be done alone, however local nobility can usually afford to hire Yuuka or guardians to accompany him. In these case the boy is often expected to display leadership qualities to prove their merit as heirs to their family's position.

Clothing and Hair

Males and females both wear cloth robes of similar cut but usually differing styles. Males tend towards dark solid colors while women seek colorful and complicated patterns.

Similar to clothes both male and female keep their hair uncut but style them in different ways. Men always keep their hair into a large, tight top-knot, and shave the rest of their hair into a bowl shape that evenly distributes around the rest of their head. Women keep their hair up in elaborate and ornate ways. Single women will often use bone jewelry and other props to one-up their peers in what is considered a very serious and competitive social area. Once a women gives birth to an heir she may then start to wear her hair down, but almost always bundled together in some way.

Food

Sports