Yagupa

The Yagupa are the outsiders of the Weinadi communities in the Wulei Ranifa region. Their language is distinct, their customs are different, and their chosen place to live runs anathema to all common sense ways of thinking for a Weinadi.
But they are the mountain dwellers, and they are proud of this, and of the sapphires that they wield as an economic weapon.

A Brief Background

The Yagupa came to the region after the Asayo-Djemndarra Accords were settled. They came from the north, a direction which historically had been somewhat isolated, due to the mountains where the Garruw lived. With the accords in place, and thus the threat of the Garruw somewhat neutralized, the Yagupa took advantage of this peace and moved south.
Of course, the south was already populated by the Basadu. The people who composed what became the Yagupa were extremely independent and wanted to keep their culture separate, so they chose to settle in the one place where the Basadu would never go: the mountains where the Garruw lived. There were a number of caves available in the area, and the Yagupa were able to build and settle the area easily.
Those caves were the Garruw mines that they used to gain materials for the technology, and with the Yagupa settling in them, things could have gotten difficult. But their leaders decided to make a deal. They did the mining for the Garruw, and in return they were able to live unmolested on the lower slopes.

The Sapphire Trade

When the Yagupa discovered the sapphires, they initially weren't able to mine them. The gemstones were difficult to remove from the surrounding rocks, and they saw little purpose in the blue stones. This changed when an artist began to use them in decorative patterns.
Gradually, the Yagupa figured out how to refine the sapphires, how to polish them, and they began to trade these with the other Weinadi.
Things really caught on when the Garruw began to need the sapphires to construct their computers. The Yagupa began to trade specifically with the Garruw on this point, and while it wasn't enough for them to become wealthy, they became comfortable in unique ways.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Primarily speak Yagupian, which is rather dissimilar from the other Weinadi languages in the area, since they hail from more northerly roots. Most of them do speak Dheizeiian as a second language, and a lot of the more prominent traders are fluent in Basadeiian. None of them speak more than a pidgin of Grazu, as a point of pride.

Average technological level

In some ways they are more advanced than the standard Industrial Age level of technology that most Weinadi around the world have achieved. However, most of this has been borrowed from the Garruw and is not necessarily things that they could replicate themselves. This dependency on technological trade has slowed their own natural scientific development.

Related Locations

• Wulei Ranifa