Pu'anu

The Pu'anu tribe are the most numerous of the ethically Kahala'i hakanu. After the establishment of the Kahala Empire, their tribe became the second lowest major caste, that of artisans and merchants. The Pu'anu originated on the banks of the Tapu River and Kora Bay into which it flows. For most of the history of Kahala, they were the dominant force in the region. They possessed the best arable land in the otherwise mountainous northern half of the continent as well as iron and silver mines and the protected Kora Bay.

Despite their wealth and power, they were despised by the the Ka'ani tribes to the north in Amitari as soft and weak and without honor. The Tohuna to the west despised them as profane worshippers of wealth with no regard for the holy ancestors, the Koroua. The Pu'anu disregarded them both as no more than jealous mountain folk. The Ka'ani took their coin to guard their trade and lands from the Talani'i savages to the south and the Tohuna took their coin to say prayers to the Koroua for them.

Then came Tohuna Otahani and the holy campaigns known as the Purifying Fire that established the Kahala'i Empire and sole worship of Ila'Makau. The Pu'anu rulers resisted the longest of the Kahala'i and suffered the consequences by their complete destruction. The Pu'anu tribe were declared to be the lowest of the castes in Kahala. They remained the lowest until the conquest of Wai Hu'a and the subjugation of the Kua tribe.

Despite being the second lowest caste, they remain powerful and many Pu'anu merchant houses have made close connections with foreign governments and merchants across Torvalen, giving them the edge over the insular and suspicious Tohuna, To'ani and Ka'ani castes. Some believe that with the rise of Enu Kua, the Kahala Empire will sooner or later be plunged into full scale civil war, and quietly prepare for both the dangers and the opportunities it presents.