Oqa
The people of kayaks and reindeer
The Oqa are a nomadic hunter-gatherer people scattered across the The Far North region of Nakun. Their culture has been shaped by the cold and harsh tundra environment which they call home, but they value friendship, kindness, and community. Their homes are framed with mammoth tusks and covered with mammoth hide, designed to be easy to pack up and carry on their sleds pulled by reindeer when it is time to move. The spirits of nature live and breathe with the Oqa, through their kayaks and huts and spears and robes. The gods and magic are inseperable from their culture, but they are tolerant and accepting of differences. In 2372 AC, forces of the Jokanen Empire attacked the Oqa. The tribe ended up splitting into three factions. One retreated even farther north and became the modern Oqa people. Another was captured and brought south as slaves to the empire. A third group fled the Far North and went around to the highlands through the East Coast of Nakun. They became the Kodori, and later the Korjuv.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Masha, Ikta, Kumi, Tuwarraa, Mikta, T'aami
Masculine names
Nyiwan, Wangai, Aashukt, Jaatkim, Qayukt, Wai'aak
Family names
Iktut, Tutakumi, Nyatuk, Wakteen, T'kutnya, Huktaa
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
They all speak the Oqa language, but because of their almost continual isolation in small family groups, there are hundreds of dialects. Some of the most common are Muktaat, spoken on the edge of the Korjuv Mountains, Aktarjaanuktut, spoken in the farthest north regions of Nakun, and Kektuutnaar, spoken along the eastern coast of the Far North.
Shared customary codes and values
The Oqa value kindness, sharing, community, and family. They are always ready to share or help a friend or neighbor in need.
Common Etiquette rules
Oqa should always bow when they meet someone, though the depth depends on whether they are an inferior, and equal, or a superior. In the presence of a superior, Oqa should always keep their eyes downcast unless told not to. Honorifics are also always used unless they are very close friends or siblings.
Common Dress code
The standard Oqa dress code is reindeer-hide tunics, leggings, and boots. Elaborate robes are worn by elders during ceremonial occasions. Clothes are usually decorated with fringe, ivory beads, or painted designs. Different clothing designs also signal one's status. A snowy owl wing hung from one's belt signifies one is a clan elder, while the skin of a polar bear worn as a cape means that one is a tribal elder or shaman. A wolfskin cape shows that one is a good hunter.
Art & Architecture
The Oqa put art into all of their objects, from gold-studded reindeer harnesses to painted designs on their simple mammoth-skin huts to exquisitely carved ceremonial spears. Most of their art feature animals and plants native to their tundra home, Oqa gods, and The People themselves.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Oqa usually celebrate events in the natural world, such as migrations, full moons, eclipses, and signs of the seasons changing. Usually these festivals involve dancing, singing, drumming, feasting, and praying. Divine or magical events are also celebrated with prayer and druidic spells of good fortune from a shaman. When the Oqa meet strangers, they are required by tradition to welcome them. There are also many festivals for great deeds done like the birth of an ancient dragonrider or a hunting celebration.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
When an Oqa child is born, they are washed in the salty cold seawater and given a blessing by a shaman. Incense is burned and the child has its first milk by the fire in the warm hut. Relatives and friends of the parents come to congratulate the new parents and give their blessings to the baby. It is wrapped in soft hare-fur and has lullabies sung to it by family members all through the night.
Coming of Age Rites
When young boys begin training to become hunters, in a ceremonial ritual their hair is braided and the rest of their head is shaved. They are given a red bead to wear on their belt, to signify they are learners. They are given a ritual harpoon and instructed to spear a ceremonial seal. They wash themselves in the cold seawater to show they do not fear the cold, then spend the night in a wild celebration.
Girls are doused with scented water and dressed in a new tunic fringed and painted. Then their mother, grandmothers, and other female relatives braid their hair for the first time in many small braids, decorated with carved and painted ivory beads.
Funerary and Memorial customs
When an Oqa dies, their possessions are passed on to family and close friends. They are cremated all night, with relatives and friends singing and chanting tales of their life all night. When the night is over, their ashes are mixed with ceremonial herbs and given a final blessing by a shaman. Then they are scattered on the wind, across the ice, and into the sea while their mourners chant their name, loud at first, then getting softer as the ashes are scattered, then fading to nothing as the ritual ends.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
A man should be well-groomed and clean-shaven. His hair should be neatly tied away when he is on the hunt. A woman should have shiny, healthy hair neatly braided up.
Gender Ideals
Men should be good hunters and not afraid of the cold. They should ride their reindeer when it is time to move and protect others. Women should help with the hunts and carry things when it is time to move. They should ride when they migrate on the sled to help protect the children and babies.
Courtship Ideals
A man should ask a woman when it is his time if she will marry him. She can choose another man if she wishes. They should both never cheat on each other.
Relationship Ideals
A husband and wife should always be kind and loving to each other. They should help each other with tasks and both take care of the children. Cheating is an unspeakable offense.
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