Tənas Palach

The Giving People

The Tənas Palach (Chinook Jargon or Chinuk Wawa for "gift children") are heavily inspired by northwest coast people groups, especially the Tlingit. Please see the author's notes at the bottom of the article for more.

The Tənas Palach (literally "gift people") are the broad term for a vareity of groups in the Salmon Coast region, encompassing a vareity of species including Littlefolk (also called "halflings" or "gnomes") and somewhat more distinctly Elves. Dragonborn are also sometimes present in Tənas Palach bands. Some groups are related to the Sasquets.

Social Structure

Social stratification and organization within the Tənas Palach is complex, and varied greatly between individual groups. Below, the general form is detailed - but any specific tribe may deviate from this outline greatly.

Lineage

All Tənas Palach groups observe the importance of lineages, which are typically tracked from the mother (matrilineal) but sometimes from the father (patrilineal). Lineage determines tribe, band, moiety, house, etc. As such, whichever gender lineage is passed down through tends to have greater power within that particular tribe.

Tribe

Within Tənas Palach societies, a tribe is a pair of moieties working and living together as a whole social unit. Tribes have their own unique names, and may speak seperate dialects of the Tənas Palach language. Tribes also typically have their own distinct mythological traditions, and are effectively their own seperate people within the larger Tənas Palach group.

Chiefdoms

Throughout history, sometimes a group of tribes join together to form a chiefdom or confederacy, though these are often wartime alliances and not permanent states. With potlatches becoming more and more common due to an influx of goods via trade, war amongst the Tənas Palach has been nigh eliminated, making such chiefdoms rare. The Silverstand Chiefdom are one such chiefdom.

Moieties

Moieties dominat many - but not all - Tənas Palach tribes' social structures. Each tribe has two moieties, typically named after significant figures in local folklore (commonly Raven and Wolf or Eagle). Membership in a moiety is determined by lineage, and all marriages happen between the two moieties. In a matrilineal society, the groom lives with the bride and their children belong to the mother's moiety, and vis versa for a patrilineal society. Moieties often hold the rights to certain artistic motifs and pieces of folklore (called "crests") which can only be shared and used among members of that moiety. Sometimes, as compensation for wrongdoing, a moiety will give a crest up to their rival.

House

The core unit of many Tənas Palach societies, the house is quite literally a house. Houses are all the families within a particular long house. Each house is led by a nobleman or woman who was quite wealthy and typically maintains their wealth through many slaves and spouses to create luxury goods. The house then has commoners and slaves within it, making it a wholistic social unit. Everyone within a house belongs to the same moiety. Houses own the most crests of any social unit, and display some of them as background paintings on their longhouses and within their heraldic poles (see below).

Clan or Band

Some Tənas Palach groups have clan or band units within their houses. These typically consist of one immediate family, and they may split off from the house at large for certain tasks (i.e. a band may individually go out on a fishin trip, or migrate along for a season, etc). Bands were more common in more migratory groups, while clans were predominant in the more sedintary tribes.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Tənas Palach society is ranked but not stratified. That is to say, there is unequal access to prestige and status, but relatively equal access to wealth and power. This is maintained via a class system of nobles, commoners, and slaves as well as the potlatch economy. Wealth is believed to only be legitimate if it is periodically given away. This perception of wealth extends beyond material goods, and included wisdom about the natural world and the rights to certain songs, artistic motifs, and techniques.

Furthermore, Tənas Palach peoples have a deep connection to the spirit world, where the spirits of animals and nature reside and interact with the natural world. Some groups (especially elf ones, which originate from the spirit world) migrate to the spirit realm to live with and commune with these entities within during the winter, so as to avoid Ringshadow. Their respect for the natural world takes the form of spiritual stories, the practice of acquiring the powers of a spirit helper, and the thanking of spirits for the resources they provide.

Average technological level

While limited by the lack of mining activity among the Tənas Palach, their technology is impressive. Combining magical prowess with a mastery of carpentry and woodworking, as well as resourceful useage of bone, sinew, and other organic resources has resulted in a variety of tools, buildings, vehicles, and techniques. The Tənas Palach's primary domesticated animals are dogs, and the only metal they work is some cold-worked copper and other metals they find on the surface.

Their canoes are second to none, as many groups must make boats that can withstand the mild summers and very cold winters - requiring either twice as many canoes or extremely durable vessels. Their tools are similarly excellent, made with local wood (sometimes literally gifted to them by trees) and bone, stone, or copper - and usually blessed by spirit helpers to withstand the centuries of use the littlefolk will live with them for.

The long lifespan of the littlefolk (and extra longevity of elves) means that tools, artwork, vehicles, and houses fashioned by elder mastercraftsmen are the culimantion of centuries of practice and lessons added to generations of knowlegde. The Tənas Palach never sought out metal or industrialization because they never needed too.

Art & Architecture

Woodworking

Tənas Palach woodcarvings are famous for their beauty and elegance. Utilizing the vast variety of trees at their disposal in the southern coastal plains, Tənas Palach peoples create houses, canoes, ceremonial masks, tools, hair pins, and infamously totem poles out of specific woods. For example, most groups specify yew is to be used for bows. Many groups practice woodworking to extreme lengths, creating ornate and complicated machines and tools with only wood, bone, and other easily accessible resources. Oftentimes, these wooden objects and devices are covered in paintings or carvings depicting animals, spirits, and people in a rich display of history and beliefs.

Music is dominated by drums and woodwinds, along with vocals and rattles.

Totem Poles

Totem Poles are a staple of Tənas Palach artwork. They represent people, houses, spirits, and/or history. Usually carved from cedar trees, the patterns on them are often the unique treasure ("intellectual property") of the family, house, or moiety who owns the totem pole. These poles are most frequently worked into housing, standing outside the house (herladic poles) and serving as the entrance, or being ornate support pillars within the long house.

Canoes

Canoes are central to the Tənas Palach, as much of their food is gathered from the Cobalt Sea and the rivers that feed into it. Carved from red cedar trees, canoes are often painted with animals and familial crests, espeically at the prow.

Houses

Tənas Palach houses (often called "long houses" or "plank houses") were also made of wood, in the form of interlocking planks. Many groups dug the ground down so there was more vertical space, allowing multiple levels of bunked beds. These long houses were large enough to contain the social unit of a house, which included people of all three social classes. Some groups (especially those living deeper in the woods, where there was less space) created pit-houses, where the floor was dug further down and a roof was constructed overtop.

Many groups used magical illusions and clever woodworking to hide their settlements from monsters and other hostile forces (though, given the potlatch economy, rarely other Tənas Palach bands) by making them blend in with the wilderness or be otherwise inaccessible - though this practice was not universal. In the most extreme cases - such as the elves of the Silverstand - entire villages would be constructed off the ground, worked into the tree canopy, to provide safety and closeness with the sky-world.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Potlatches

Potlatches are a powerful form of gift economy, which has decreased warfare among Tənas Palach bands and serves as a powerful equalizing force. The potlatch is essentially a feast or party where the host gives gifts to everyone they have invited. This is a display of wealth, and a way to strengthen friendships and alliances as well as maintain or achieve rank, and/or celebrate births, deaths, marriage, the creation of a house, and a variety of other purposes.

Potlatches are often employed to settle rivalries or disputes, where the two opposing parties each host potlatches, and whoever has the best party essentially "wins" the argument. Due to the resources used in a potlatch and the frequency at which they may occur, they are often planned well in advance.

The gifts given were just as varied (if not more so) than the occasions potlatches were celebrated for. They ranged from objects such as tools, weapons, valuables, or boats; to the rights to certain songs, dances, or art motifs; knowledge such as spiritual wisdom; and even slaves.

Spirit Helpers

As young adults, many Tənas Palach peoples go through great sacrifices to obtain Spirit Powers. These take the form of magical aid in life from spirits of the natural world, most commonly career spirits, who help with the mundane tasks of life. For example, a woodcarver might seek out the help of a spirit of the forest. Most infamously, doctors (known to outsiders as "shamans", "druids", or "clerics") have many great spirit powers that allow them to heal the sick and commune with the spirit realm. Doctors are spiritual and medical leaders within Tənas Palach tribes.

Common Myths and Legends

Tənas Palach spiritual practices are rich - and often private. Many of their stories are unique to (and treasures of) certain moieties, houses, or families, but some are more universal. One such unifying story is the tale of How Raven Stole the Sun, which is found in nearly every Tənas Palach people group, and even some groups beyond them.

Some elven peoples have differing versions of creation - for example, the Silverstand Elves describes a pair of sisters who went to the Sky Realm (the Spirit World), married stars, and the elder sister gave birth to the Moon and Sun. The moon - sometimes called "The Changer" - then changed the world, making it suitable for people to live in. The elves came down from the Sky Realm with the sisters, the younger of whom gave birth to the other peoples of the world.

Across groups, there is sometimes a "Great Spirit" or "Supreme Being" who is recognized as the ultimate source of creation; Raven's father, the creator of the world the Moon changed, and/or the parent of all spirits. This is the closest thing any littlefolk Tənas Palach group has to a deity, and in elven circles they are sometimes syncrotized with the Mistress of Memories as either the Great Spirit's spouse, or the same entitiy.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

While men and women are viewed as largely equal within Tənas Palach society (with the exception of lineage, which is usually female-dominated, and the position of chief, which is typically a man), there is still a strong division of labor along gendered lines. Men hunt, fish, gather, and generally take life while women are artisans, homemakers, gardeners, and generally create life. In this sense, gender in some groups is seen as a dualistic divide of creators (women) and destoryers (men).

Crossing gender lines, such as crossdressing, doing the work of the other sex, or being transgender was seen within some groups (especially elven ones) as a celebration of the fluidity of identity, but in others was seen as the breaking of taboo and disrespecting the natural order of the world.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships happen between moieties, which are usually matrilineal. This means that the bride and groom are from different moieties, and the groom moves in with the bride's family.

Many Tənas Palach groups see polygamy as perfectly normal, especially the practice of a male chief (or other noble) having multiple wives (one of the few times women moved in with men), but there are often social limitations on who can have multiple partners (usually only nobles of the noble class) due to the resources required to have multiple weddings.

Typically, homosexuality is only accepted in groups with large populations due to reproductive pressures. The couple can sometimes decide which moiety they would join (usually the group where they would have more social prestige), but in other situations the leaders of each moiety would negotiate the newlywed's membership.

Major organizations

• Silverstand Chiefdom
  
• The Longest House
  

Ringshadow

Ringshadow is a constant of winter for the Jan Pana people. Elves, being a species originally from the spirit realm, return to their initial homeland in the winter to live with the spirit-beings and avoid the harsh winters. As such, some Littlefolk populations who live near elves have taken to migrating with them. However, predominantly Littlefolk groups (and groups with other racial majorities) tend to stay in the material plane year-round, surviving winter through food stocks, defenses (mundane and magical), and the occasional helpful spirit power obtained from spirit helpers.

The Sky World

The Sky World, sometimes called the Sky Realm, is the Tənas Palach conception of the Spirit World. They believe this faerie realm where the spirits of nature and the dead dwell is in the sky, and as such many Tənas Palach spirit crossings are in places of high altitude: a faerie ring atop a hill, the peak of a sacred mountain, or the top of a tree. This is not to say there are no spirit crossings in more "traditional" locations, just that they tend to be rarer. Some groups - especially the elven tribes - describe the World's Arch as the literal sky realm, while others differ in story and tradition. Keoish scholars who bother to consider such questions tend to dismiss the concept of the World's Arch being the Sky Realm, but the occasional foreign metaphysician dissent does agree with the Tənas Palach. After all, if the Spirit Realm is a reflection of the Material Plane, it stands to reason the World's Arch would be at least part of that.

Related Organizations

• Empire of Keoland
• Silverstand Chiefdom

Related Myths

• How Raven Stole the Sun

Related Locations

• Salmon Coast

Tənas PalachCharacters

If you are playing a character from the Tənas Palach group, the Halfling (stout, lightfoot, and lotusden) and Gnome (forest and rock) can be representative of the Littlefolk (see below), with the forest gnomes specifically being littlefolk exposed to the Sky World during winter pilgrimages, and lotusden halflings being those with particular blessings from the spirits - or vis versa; talk with your DM. Rock gnomes are representative of Tənas Palach who have fully joined the Imperial notions of technological prowess and as such have abandoned their traditional woodworking mastery in favor for the dwarven world of steel and gears.

Elves, meanwhile, are most typically represented by wood elves, but high elves can also be appropriate. For a more druidic flavor instead of high elves, the Vahadar elves from Plane Shift: Kaladesh can also be used. Pallid elves might be those with a particular connection to the Changer, and Eladrin or Shadar-kai are of course from the spirit world, and as such may be appropriate in Tənas Palach society.

Dragonborn, occasional Genasi, and the rare Teifling or Aasimar might be present in the region, but the specific tribes of Tənas Palach people may react to these dragon- or plane-touched folks differently. If you want to play one of those four races as a Tənas Palach, discuss the implications of such with your DM.

In terms of character design, Tənas Palach material culture - along with how it interplays with that of the Empire's - should be kept in mind. For example, full battle dress for a Tənas Palach soldier might look something like this:

Tlingit Warrior by LordGood

bards are common and important for culture and often also warfare. Bladesingers are a noble warrior class, druids and rangers are shamans and soldiers, artificers are craftsmen, etc. etc.

The Littlefolk

In the world of Matelo Kaloje, there is no distinction between gnomes and haflings - there is only the Littlefolk. The littlefolk, sometimes called "halflings", "gnomes", etc. reach maturity around 30, and live for about three centuries - though those more exposed to the Spirit World are more likely to live even longer, and conversely will have drawn out youth if they visit the Sky Realm at a young age.

Elves among the Tənas Palach

Elves are not from the Prime Material but rather come from the Spirit World. Long ago, some elves (but not all, as seen with the Eladrin and Shadar-Kai) migrated from the lands of faerie and spirit and into the real world. There they adapted to their surroundings, becoming Wood Elves, High Elves, and Sea Elves. These elves retained some of their inherent magical abilities, and serve as bridges between people and the spirits and stewards of nature. This meant that they fit in with the Tənas Palach people perfectly, and the wood elves of Matelo Kaloje even adopted the migratory patterns of some Tənas Palach groups, moving back to the spirit world and seeking shelter from Ringshadow with the Queen of Air and Darkness. In this sense, elves are sort of people and sort of manifestations of the Tənas Palach's spirit helpers. They are a liminal people, and their bands and tribes often have a sense of architecture and way of life that is even more magically integrated with the natural order of things than the other Tənas Palach's lifeways already are.