Races of Heimland: Vedda
The Vedda, also known as the Tree-Folk, are the second-most populous race of Heimland. Said to be relatives or even precursors of the common people, the Vedda are deeply entwined with the Yea'haa'weh, and are even said to be humanoid reincarnations of them, according to their beliefs.
The legend of Vedda states that the Vedda are descended from Prince Vijaya (roughly 2 million DE), the founding-father of the nation of the Old Folk, who originated from somewhere near the Tagaloa and married Kuveni, a Yea'haa'weh woman of the indigenous "Yakkha" tribe with whom his soldiers married. Following the repudiation of Kuveni by Vijaya, in favor of a high-caste Indagarian princess from the kingdom of Pandya in Indagar, their two children, a boy and a girl, departed to the region of Sumanakuta (a place of caves and waterfalls in the Heimish-Forests), where they multiplied, giving rise to the Vedda.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Vedda, having lived in the forests for so long, have reduced canines and molars, although they are still relatively larger than in common people. In appearance they look just like the common people, brown-skinned (although their skin will sometimes have a green tinge) humanoid folk with bright green eyes and black hair which they braid, much like the Yea'haa'weh. They decorate their beards with beads and wear necklaces of moonstones and sometimes Pango-teeth. They are partially arboreal, preferring to spend their time in the trees.use four legs when walking on large, stable branches and when swinging underneath slightly smaller branches, but are bipedal and maintain their legs very straight when using multiple small, flexible branches, while also using their arms for balance and additional support. This enables them to get nearer to the edge of the tree-canopy to grasp fruit or cross to another tree. Vedda rarely spend time on the ground and, when they do, they will abruptly go back into the trees as their feet are sensitive to the hard earth and will blister and bruise easily if they walk on the ground for too long. In overall anatomy, their pelvis is far more human-like than ape-like. Their iliac-blades are short and wide, their sacrum is wide and positioned directly behind the hip-joint, and a strong attachment for the knee extensors is clear. While the pelvis is not wholly human-like (being markedly wide, or flared, with laterally oriented iliac-blades), these features point to a structure that can be considered radically remodeled. Importantly, the femur also angles in toward the knee from the hip. This trait allows the foot to fall closer to the midline of the body, and is a strong indication of habitual bipedal locomotion. The feet also feature big toes, making it difficult if not impossible to grasp branches with the hindlimbs. Bones of the foot are split into two, and they have eight toes on each foot (two big toes, for balancing in the branches). They each have ten fingers on each hand (a ring-finger, middle-finger, four little-fingers, two index-fingers and two opposable thumbs).
The Vedda are separated into four main tribes across the Heimish-Forests: the Crimson-Pelt Tribe (Vedda of the northern regions. As the name describes, they possess a blood-red pelt riddled with tattoos, runes and sacred-markings they carve with homemade inks and dyes. They rely upon fruits for nourishment when young, which according to legend was what caused them to gain their scarlet skin. They are savagely territorial), Fire-Skein Tribe (the most dangerous tribe, worshipers of fire. They are Vedda who have given up on their bodies and become one with the elements of fire and heat. This makes them walking mountains of fire and magma as well as living plumes of smoke. They are much bigger than other tribes, but less numerous and are constantly fighting over territory against each other), Soot-Ash Tribe (those who live at the higher levels of trees, choosing the high points of the canopies to avoid the threats proven by those down below. Their skin is ashen gray, stained by the soot which they are constantly exposed to when they build arboreal fires for warmth and protection. Their eyes have special membranes to protect them from smoke and their lungs are strong enough to hold air for 20 minutes in order to avoid toxic fumes. Strangely, most likely due to biological mutations, they posses leathery bat-like vestigial wings, too small for flight but big enough to help them glide from tree to tree. Only the leaders of the tribe have fully developed wings, and as such a leader is determined by his wing-size at birth. The tribe is the most peaceful of the four, focusing more on intellectual pursuits rather than violence. People from the Soot-Ash Tribe have been known to be natural architects and artisans), Iron-Clad Tribe (a tribe of Vedda who have evolved to gain an extra layer of skin which look like scales. They are the hardiest of the tribes, capable of withstanding great temperatures and taking a great deal of force to pierce. They are not invulnerable to heat, only extremely resistant to it. They are also the fiercest warriors of the four tribes).
Apart from key differences (skin-color, limbs etc.), the tribes still share common ancestry and bloodlines, enabling them to mingle and intermarry with ease.
Biological Traits
They are genetically related to the common people, and the natives of the Tagaloa. Their closest non-commoner relatives are the Indagarians.
Genetics and Reproduction
Vedda reproduce the same way as common people, except gestation will normally take 13 months or longer. Babies are initially born covered in thick hair, but will shed it as they grow.
Growth Rate & Stages
The Vedda have the same stages of growth and child-bearing as the common people , albeit slightly quicker due to their increased aging.
Ecology and Habitats
Sumanakuta, in the Heimish-Forests of Heimland.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Vedda are primarily frugivores, favoring fruits consisting of a large seed and surrounded by a fleshy substance, such as durians, leeches, jack-fruit, breadfruit, and fig fruits. Insects are also a huge part of the Vedda diet; the most consumed types are ants. Their main diet can be broken up into five categories: fruits, insects, leaf-material, bark and other miscellaneous food-items. Vedda typically consume over 92 different kinds of fruit, 13 different kinds of leaves, 22 sorts of other vegetable material such as top-sprouts and pseudo-bulbs of orchids and 17 types of insects daily. Occasionally termites from mounds are ingested in small quantities.When there is low ripe fruit availability, Vedda will eat the meat of the Pongo, a nocturnal primate native to Heimland. Water is ingested from natural bowls created in the trees they live around. They also drink water from the leaves when rainfall is heavy.
Biological Cycle
Like primates, Vedda babies stay close to their mothers in their first week of like. The loss of a grasping hindlimb also increases the risk of an infant being dropped or falling, as baby Vedda typically hold onto their mothers while their mothers go about their daily business. Without the second set of grasping limbs, the infant cannot maintain as strong a grip, and has to be held with help from the mother. The problem of holding the infant is be multiplied if the mother also has to climb a tree. But infants that do live past this stage will reach adulthood in about 14-15 years.
Additional Information
Social Structure
The groups are ruled by the matriarchs, and they have no priests or generals.
Facial characteristics
Vedda possess a reduced chin, sloping forehead, and a large nose. They also have a thick brow-ridge and jutting jawbones, but still very much like common people.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Heimish-Forests
Average Intelligence
Greater than a common man.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Vedda have the most advanced hearing of any other race of Heimland, and can hear sounds from the other end of the island. Their impressive hearing is due to an evolutionary by-product in which during development in the womb the ear develops as 7 distinct structures: the inner-ear, inner-central ear, inner-middle ear, middle-ear, outer-central ear, outer-middle ear and the outer-ear. Each structure originates from a different germ layer: the ectoderm, exoderm, endoderm, collenchyma, parenchyma, sclerenchyma and mesenchyme.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
The names normally reference nature and various flora and fauna (e.g. Oakleaf, Deerchild, Greenriver, Treestump, Owlwood, Starblossom, Flowerwind, Riversong, Fairbranch, Greenroot, Deerbrook, Barkwood, Suntree and Flowerchild).
History
The original religion of Vedda is animism. The interior Vedda of the cities of the common people follow a mix of animism and nominal Kristyanitty follwed by the common people; whereas the east-coast Vedda follow a mix of animism and nominal paganism due to influence from Yea'haa'weh.
One of the most distinctive features of Vedda religion is the worship of dead ancestors, who are called "Naeyaku" among the Vedda and are invoked for good and prosperous harvests.There are also deities unique to the Vedda, such as "Kandeyakka", the "Mountain-God".
Vedda marriage is a simple ceremony. It consists of the bride tying a bark rope (Diyalanuva) that she has twisted, around the waist of the groom. This symbolizes the bride's acceptance of the man as her mate and life-partner. Although endogamous marriage between cross-cousins was the norm until recently, this has changed significantly, with Vedda women even contracting marriages with their Yea'haa'weh and commoner neighbors.
In Vedda society, women are in many respects men's relative equals. They are entitled to similar inheritance. Monogamy is the general rule, though a widow would frequently marry her husband's brother as a means of support and consolation (levirate-marriage). They also do not practice a caste system. Death, too, is a simple affair without ostentatious funeral ceremonies where sometimes the corpse of the deceased is promptly buried without the common rituals and a week of silence might be cancelled.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Homo-Simius-Intelligentes
Origin/Ancestry
The Old Folk, with their descendants being the common people.
Lifespan
50 years
Average Height
2.1 meters
Average Weight
60 kg
Average Physique
Since Vedda are a farming race, they are remarkably fit. Their skin is brown and tanned and with a greenish tint.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Their brown skin is sometimes a deep greenish-olive color. They use face-paint sometimes, but mostly for camouflage.
Related Ethnicities
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments