Huri People (/hɘri:/ (Huri: (Huri: /hte:ra:/))
Composed of refugees fleeing the Fall of the Yulan-Tai, the Huri peoples have made the land of Huria their own. Despite never being heads of a strong state, and often, including in the present day, being subjugated by more militant neighbors, the Huri have fiercely held on to their culture. Huri peoples are scattered throughout their homelands in Huria, and in smaller numbers abroad. These bands, generally nomadic in nature are centered around extended familial communities that occasionally join with other groups to form larger bands.
The exact origins of the progenitors to the Huri are unknown, but it is believed that those who would become the Huri came from several other groups from all over southern Galisea. There these people were likely held in bondage by the Yulan-Tai where the nature of servitude often resulted in a cultural melting pot for enslaved persons. When the Yulan-Tai Empire eventually collapsed enslaved peoples from throughout the empire scattered from the Empire's core territories. Many of these people settled in the deserts north of Yulan-Tai territory.
The Huri people generally favor extraordinarily communitarian values with the good of each individual's local community (often called a clan, tribe, or family) being valued quite highly. Huri peoples are generally expected to take up, at a young age, a duty within their community that they will pursue to its fullest. Once they have achieved mastery they are generally expected to take a new skillset to learn, to build wisdom. It is rare fore somebody to commit to a single path for their entire life, and those who do are often referred to as Vâlímânt or the Living Dead. Huri peoples are generally trained to become exceptionally vigilant, and capable of surviving in the rough conditions of their homeland.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Feminine names tend to end in vowel sounds, and are as a general rule more vowel intensive generally. Heavy usage of /ei/, /a/, and /i/ sounds are usually more common for feminine names than masculine.
Common feminine Huri names include: Áirá, Ásta, Dulá, Gáre, Gierá, Helbme, Henná, Ikká, Janihtá, Kearte, Lohcca, Mákke, Piijá, Sáddja, Uksáhkká, Virba
Masculine names
Feminine names tend to end in consonant sounds, and are as a general rule more vowel intensive generally. Heavy usage of /t/, /s/, and /n/ sounds are usually more common for masculine names than feminine.
Common masculine Huri names include: Ábrrán, Ámmon, Bánnos, Beaivvet, Doaivvot, Eret, Feles, Gállagas, Hánas, Heigen, Irján Morten, Náinnas, Olmen, Rásttoš, Valljáš
Family names
The family name is almost always one belonging to the greater extended community, with each individual smaller family unit adopting their own subname. In most cases, the clan has a simple name (eg: Vâl), with the subnames being appended as suffixes to the clan name, when recorded by foreigners (as the Huri lack their own written tongue) a hyphen is placed between the forename and subname (eg: Vâl-Eshàbá). Names are inherited matrilineally with children receiving the familial name of their mother in every case except clan name, where name adoption is dependent on which clan parents are living in at the moment; though it defaults to the mother in case of confusion.
Other names
Many Huri communities, in addition to providing a given name, also allow those who are coming of age, the opportunity to give themselves an additional name, usually as part of their rites of passage. Oftentimes this comes after a young person achieving something great. When doing so, they can adopt a name they believe suits them, and many nonbinary or transpersons use this opportunity to identify thesmelves. Indeed, in many clans, a person is not considered to be truly named until they have chosen one to adopt for this very reason. Official pairings instead serve more as an anchor and generally kids mothered by one member of the pairing are raised as children of the mother and the mother alone.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The overwhelming majority of the Huri people speak the Huri language, an ancient tongue with its roots lying with the Yulan-Tai empire, and the dialects developed by the persons enslaved by the Empire. Huri language lacks writing, and instead language, records, and shared stories are passed down largely through the filter of human memory and stories told by those who keep them. Many Huri also speak different second languages, with those they trade with Nabi, Indric, Cyrenic, Terruk, and Aeillan being the most common. In recent years, as the Terruk-Mal entrench themselves in Huria, more Huri, especially those who have become outcasts adopt Terruk as their main tongue and serve as extensions of the Khagan's will in the region, extracting taxes and manpower for the Terruk-War machine.
Shared customary codes and values
The central pillar of Huri society is the Htén, usually translated as the clan, the commune, the collective, or the family. This clan serves as the central bedrock for the Huri peoples, working collectively together to husband herds of grazing animals as they move from place to place. Clan rules are generally to be held in the highest regard, and working to ensure the wellbeing of the clan is seen as absolutely essential. It is in service to the clan that every Huri must develop their skills to the fullest, adopting a life's path at a young age, and once mastering it adopting another. Failure to do so could very well weaken the clan and leave it, and the people under it, unable to survive in a hostile environment. Those who fail in their duties are shunned, and in extreme cases, cast out from their group, left to die in the desert. Those who become too dogmatic in their duties, and refuse to take more than one life's path are pitied seen as, functionally speaking, already dead in many ways.
Average technological level
The Huri people seemingly are extraordinarily primitive, with most only using simple wooden tools, with no organized engineering or agriculture to speak of. Upon closer examination, the situation is more complex. Huri peoples do possess knowledge of more advanced technology, and do make use of whatever they can use in their travels Indeed, many clans have developed a reliable method to smith iron and steel without compromising their mobility, and most are perfectly willing to trade for more advanced technology. Huri people despite their primitivism have become eager adopters of firearms, using them against larger predatory animals that stalk their herds. The simplicity of tools in commun Huri use is more a matter of practicality and access to resources more than knowledge.
Common Etiquette rules
Huri culture, being built on mutual respect observes certain rituals of etiquette that are rare outside their own custom. Notions of personal space are more confined than is the norm for settled people, and greetings are often quite close. It is common for those greeting each other to kiss their hands before extending the arms in preparation for a hug as an example. The Huri are generally relatively laid back once the initial rites and rituals have been observed, and a generally laid back attitude is to be expected in daily life.
Common Dress code
The Huri people have a relatively lax formal dress code, with people allowed by societal custom to wear whatever they like, or nothing at all if they so choose. In practice however, the pragmatic necessities of their homeland means certain kinds of clothing are worn. Most Huri people wear simple tunics, loosely covering most of the body, and almost always with light colors. Usually these robes are unadorned, and with only fairly basic decoration, though some people may favor greater decoration, particularly older people who have begun to slowly shift towards laboring more in safer environs. During the day, it is common to cover the head with a lightly colored headscarf, though at night, except in poor weather, heads go uncovered.
Art & Architecture
Huri favor arts which can be carried with them, and that which bears spiritual significance. As a result small icons, often those of noteworthy and venerated ancestors make up a significant amount of the art found in Huri communities. Many of these icons can become increasingly elaborate over time as their owners improve upon the work over generations. The largest such icons eventually are planted in the ground permanently and serve as signs of safe stopping places and creating places of veneration. Music and dance are also popular in Huri society, with simple drums and string instruments being the most common. There is no permanent architecture in Huri society thanks in large part to their nomadism, with small simple tents being the only structures in wide use.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Huri peoples generally have a few major rituals not centered around major life milestones. A festival occurs twice a year at both ends of the usual nomadic routes of a clan, where some of the animals are slaughtered, and meat eaten fresh. This is often in celebration for the survival of the clan for another half year, a day of rest for the hard work of gathering and preparing food for the journey in the opposite direction. The second of these is held around the summer solstice, where people take the day off, under cover and offer quiet entreaties to their ancestors to hasten the sun's movement through the sky. The last ceremony is held for those who find the exceptionally rare Desert Rose their hair will permanently dyed blond with the juices of the rose becoming "rosemarked", a position of spiritual honor, though little actual political power.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
The start of life is greeted with little fanfare as, due to the pragmatic necessities of the of their lives, many children do not survive infancy. As a result, a new life isn't properly celebrated until a child has generally reached two or three years of age. It is at this point, a relatively modest ritual where the child is given their first name, takes place. After this ritual, a child is generally expected to slowly be phased into their membership in the clan. Children at this age are given their first duties as clan members shortly after being given names, though these duties are usually relatively mild.
Coming of Age Rites
Coming of age is perhaps the most important lifetime milestone. During the process of becoming an adult, children learn many of the skills necessary to maintain the tribe, but it is later in childhood, that they choose a "life path" in which to commit to, and develop their skills beyond the basics into proper mastery. They are taken under the tutorship of one of the living dead, who have mastered one path to a degree unmatched by most other clan members, generally at the expense of others. At the end of this process, a special naming ceremony occurs where the young adult chooses a name. If a young person has become Rosemarked they are often encouraged to take up lifepaths where attention to detail and memory are necessary.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Those who die are subject to a simple ritual. In Huri tradition, those who die are to be return to the dust from which they arose. The dead are thus interned in the sands with few offerings left behind. Instead, there are assurances made by the storykeepers that those who have died are now at peace as they will no longer have to struggle. Family members of the deceased will often be responsible for laying them to rest. From each, a cherished possession is taken and is often made into an icon. The dead are left in the sands, to return to the sands.
Common Myths and Legends
Huri society, though lacking in an organized religion nonetheless has spirtuality. In each clan (and oftentimes in each smaller subgroup), there is a storykeeper who is responsible for maintaining the spiritual wellbeing of their people. Storykeepers a clan of the histories of the clan. These stories are often highly localized, with only a few leaving the clans themselves. There is one, the story of Mshneli, that is shared by all the Huri peoples. Though some of the details are different, Mshneli is universally revered as they who brought the people from bondage and chaos into the harsh but fair lands in Huria.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Huri peoples generally favor relatively similar things between the various forms of gender expression, with Huri culture favoring a level of slight androgyny. Generally the ideal body type is comparatively short, with a slight, lean frame, no facial hair, and long straight hair. Those this color is not natural for the overwhelming majority of Huri people, blonde hair, usually dyed after an elaborate ritual, kept long is seen as ideal. Most Huri people are bronze skinned, though the beauty ideal is generally somewhat lighter. For masculine presenting persons (and for most nonbinary people as well), the most eroticized parts of the body are the shoulders, waist, and thighs. For feminine presenting persons, the hips, neck, and waist are most heavily eroticized.
Gender Ideals
Given the challenges and limitations of their lifestyle, gendered expectations are somewhat limited for Huri peoples, who favor a much more equal distribution of rights and responsibilities. As a result, most Huri, regardless of gender are expected to be self-sufficient, dedicated, and generally willing to put the betterment of their community over personal comfort. There are some more gender coded expectations however. More masculine people are generally expected to be better capable of fighting off predators, hostile peoples or other assorted threats to the flocks that they depend on. Feminine presenting persons are generally expected on the other hand to develop strong memories so they may keep the clan's story (as in most clans, the duties of community storyteller are reserved for women).
Courtship Ideals
Courtship in Huri culture is a highly ritualized affair. Most of the decision making is usually carried out by travelling matchmakers who watch young people growing up in various clans and making matches based on whom they deem to be most compatible. These travelling matchmakers known as Ròntí, vary greatly in their views, with some preferring to make inter-clan matches and being generally more accepting of same-sex couplings; and others intent on keeping clans kept together and being less accepting. Usually marriages are arranged according to the rulings of the Ròntí however, in most communities, it is acceptable to reject their matches. Doing so without taking care to respect them however, often results in the rejectors being spurned from any further attempts at pairings.
Relationship Ideals
Huri despite their highly ritualized courtship, generally have relatively casual attitudes towards romantic relationships. Couplings made formally may be considered, in the broadest sense, the most legitimate, however it is quite common, and usually totally acceptable for sexual and romantic relationships to be carried out outside of these couplings. Oftentimes, these relationships are same-sex, particularly in the case that the
Major organizations
The Huri generally have not historically formed large organizations on their own, favoring relatively small, tightly held together communities. They have however, been integrated into larger societies at several points in their history. Conflict with the Aarumites oftentimes resulted in clans coming together into larger warbands to see off the Aarumites, and Huria was at one point fully integrated into the Aeillan Empire. Of the most consequence in modern times however, is the conquest of Huria by the Terruk-Mal. The Terruk-Mal have come to Huri communities, appointing their own community leaders and extracting from the Huri taxes, and tithes of men to be integrated into the Terruk's armies. Indeed in this time, the Huri have contributed excellent hardy warriors by the hundreds, or even thousands to the Terruk despite their own limited numbers.
Huri Man and Woman by Javak
Recommended DnD (5e) Traits:
Note: These are rough guidelines, and not strict rules for those wishing to roleplay as Huri. If using Getninia Human • +1 to Wisdom, +1 to Dexterity• Proficiency in Survival, Insight, or Animal Handling
• Recommended Feats: Athlete, Durable, Healer, Mobile, Prodigy, Skill Expert, Tough
