Njóþans

Njóþic: T'warak ju Ninnirt Zö /tʼwarak^h ju nɪnːɪːrt^h zœː/ (formal) , Njóþpin /ɲouːθp^hɪːn/ (informal)
Q'eillic: Dwara ju Ninnirt Zö /twara ju nɪːnːɪrʈ zʏː/
Þrínic: Ninertil /nɪːnɛːrt^hɪːl/

Númric: Njóþólór /njouːθoulour/

The njóþans¹ are the inhabitants of Ninnirt Zö in southern Ójom in southeastern Jælondis, and one of the main groups of Lowland Dwarves in Ójom along with the Kikrans to the north.

History

The ancestors of the njóþans spread to Ójom from the Qug Mountains to during the neolithic period, though whereas the Dwarves who settled further north in what is now Kikra supplanted the native human population for the most part, early njóþans often allowed the natives, particularly the nomadic ones, some autonomy in exchange for regular tributes. This was in part because the their innate resistance to cold weather gave the dwarves less advantage over the humans in the milder climate of modern Ninnirt Zö, though the latter gradually integrated into njóþan society, particularly after the arrival of Goblins further east.
Eastern njóþans became subjects of the goblins as their empire of Onþók expanded into the ójomic hinterlands, though they were able to resist them for longer than the dwarves further north and revolts were frequent in the region for centuries. As a result, when the empire declined into a civil war, the njóþans drove the onþókans back beyond the river Úkún with relative ease, except for those who had sided with during the struggle, whose descendants are now known as Axaxans.
Today, njóþans are the most populous lowland dwarves in Jælondis and the Southlands, with the latter mostly found in their former colony of Tos Q'eillen in eastern Rúþría, and their language serves as a common tongue throughout eastern Jælondis (except Narúrt) as well as parts of Ytvía to the south.

Culture

Cuisine

Traditional njóþan cuisine is similar to that of the kikrans, though much less influenced by the goblins to the east and more so by the ytvían dwarves to the southwest. Roasted barley, lupine beans, sauerkraut, mandrakes, the meat of llamas, sheep and pigs, cheese, fish (especially pollock) and barley beer much like our world's chhaang all feature heavily in their diet, along with myriad types of bread and sausages (including ones similar to weisswurst).
Meat and fish are most commonly braised and grilled, respectively, and while njóþans often add various örkrazic spices and sugar into their food like ytvían dwarves, they to so in moderation compared to the latter.
One notable aspect of njóþan cuisine is religious fasting, which is observed far more closely compared to their neighbours and thus affects the availability of certain food and ingredients at certain times of year. Most njóþans observe the four major fasts of the year, namely White Fast, Blue Fast, Red Fast and Yellow Fast.

During White Fast, njóþans abstain from eating crias, piglets and other young animals as well as eggs. More pious ones also avoid eating grains and sprouts.

During Blue Fast, meat from land animals is forbidden, and some abstain from eating anything but aquatic fauna and flora. Traditionally, a pearl is added into meals and those who find it usually incorporate it into special jewelry or prayer beads.

During Red Fast, only uncooked food is allowed, whether in raw, cured, smoked or fermented form. Small lumps of butter mixed barley flour are often eaten during that period, as is the njóþan equivalent of mettwurst and -in the hinterlands- certain kinds of clay.

During Yellow Fast, njóþans abstain from the use of sugar, herbs and spices and preferably only add flavour food with salt. This tradition is much more recent than the aforementioned ones, dating only two and a half centuries back to the Pfu'uzó Monastery as a reaction against the usage of cane sugar from Örkraz.

Religion

Most njóþans adhere a branch of teraftism that includes several faiths derived from the teachings of Nannwin, a saint believed to have received visions from the fertility goddess Teraft around six and a half centuries ago. This school of thought emphasizes the importance of both feasts and periods of fasting throughout the year to both celebrate the goddess as well as to remind people not to take her gifts for granted, originally meant to observed by the aristocracy and monastics alone but has since spread to the common people as well.
As njóþic teraftism spread throughout the country and into southern Kikra, it incorporated aspects of older religious traditions, including elaborate theatrical performances reenacting scenes from mythology during festivals, and the use of certain instruments to announce the beginning and end of fasts.

¹Original icelandic: Njóþar, singular: Njóþi.