Kaneeyi

The Kaneeyi people (Larawiyaki: Kanééyi'i, also known by the Euluskan exonym Larawak) were a large confederation of related indigenous inhabitants of Lakay. They were formed of countless groups of warriors, hunters, farmers, fishers, storytellers, and explorers with a rich history. They had green or red-undertoned skin of a medium to deep brown, with straight hair of black, blonde, or grey (even among the young). 
== Culture ==
=== Gender ===
The Kaneeyi people believed everyone had fragments of souls from the Creator inside them, which gave them special insight. Those who experienced life from not just the perspective of one gender were considered to be more enlightened and tended to make better leaders. On the other hand, those who experienced a soul neither masculine or feminine were thought of as objective and unbiased. These views were represented in identities, thought of as 'higher' than the physical form of the body:
* Hóówe - simultaneously masculine and feminine
* Kááwe - changing between masculine and feminine - either these or the Hóówe were prioritised as leaders generally
* Zianh - feminine
* Hké - masculine
* C'łeení - neither - often sought as objective, unbiased counsellors who acted as the second in command of chieftains
=== Adornment ===
The Kaneeyi believed their bodies to be canvases of the creator. They adorned themselves with parts of their environment. Tree-or mountain-living tribes used feathers or leaves; coastal dwellers used shark teeth and seashells, plains-dwellers used ochre and bark, etc. Common among the Kaneeyi was the custom of tattooing using squid ink. These tattoos told a person's life story, the fallen they honoured, and their great achievements. Even the face was tattooed - the only places that were not were the palms, ears, nose, genitals, and soles of the feet.
=== Blankets ===
Most Kaeenyi also had a special garment called ma:né or mâne. This was a blanket, shawl, poncho, kilt, or other fabric about two metres per side of various material. The pattern was important; it marked an individual as belonging to a certain tribe (by its colour) as well as being individual to their family lineage, passed down, expanded upon after achievements, etc. Upon marriage, they would be sewn together with one's partner's garment. 
=== Names ===
Kaneeyi were notable for taking and changing their names a few times in their life. They were given their first name as a child once they said their first word, but they took a new one to mark adulthood. This might be related to their kinship animal, special deed or triumph, physical characteristic, etc. They might change their name multiple times. Outsiders who were respected or reviled were also granted names. Some examples were Biting Shark (later 'Bringer of Liberty'); the Euluskan friend of the tribe Machavellio Disforza who was known as Cunning Bear; the chieftain Born of Thunder, et cetera.
It was tradition that names not be repeated after a person's death whilst they were in living memory, to avoid disrespecting or conflating their deeds with one's own.
=== Blood ===
The Kaneeyi believed there were two ancient lines of blood present in their people, remnants of the Creator. These were the Ts'kekané / Cekani and the Ósoka:ne / Osokani. The former were believed to carry the blood of the stars, sea, and ice; they were sought as peacetime leaders and healers. They were believed to be calm, clear-headed, and peaceful. On the other hand, the latter were thought of as great warriors, explorers, and wayfingers - called upon in times of strife due to their intensity and zeal. Whilst Kaneeyi clans were matrilineal and usually ruled by an elder grandmother, leadership might change during times of war, and back again during peace.
=== Reincarnation ===
The Kaneeyi believed that upon death, one would be reborn as a bird. Birds were highly sacred to the Kaneeyi, and to kill one was the highest crime. You would be exiled, and your name turned into a taboo - forbidden to speak aloud on pain of punishment. 
=== War ===
The Kaneeyi were, for all their artistic and mental beauty, also fearsome warriors. In history, some of their clans were known as savage skinners and torturers; others as powerful holy warriors, and everything in between. Just like Euluskans, they were a mixed bag. Their signature weapons included the bimaho war club, the Hugauc tomahawk, the spear-thrower, armoured ponchos, and bows-and-arrows. They did not believe in honourable combat by our standards, which made them dangerous. Killing a sleeping or surrendered enemy was the enemy's fault for showing weakness. 
== History ==
The Kaneeyi people migrated into Lakay several hundred thousand years ago. They were generally most clustered around the northeast coast, the tropical archipelagic Volkotti Isles, and the southeast. However, substantial isolated populations existed all across central and west Lakay everywhere but the western desert, clifftop eastern steppe and the central-north mountains. Their settlements sprang up along the mouths of rivers where there was plentiful food, fish, and fresh water. They fought with one another, and with the three other main Lakayan cultures (the Verdis, Bayut, and Uiyet). 
== Language ==
The Kaneeyi spoke various languages in their language family, some more isolated than its own. Mainly, they spoke Larawiyaki, which had several dialects of its own like Kaniwiyaki, Akowasiwiya, Ikyara, or Arahiyaw. Their languages were agglutinative and concept-based with free-form grammar. Some forms had two vowel tones (high and regular). All Larawiyaki languages lacked lexical stress and had quite a lot of context required to understand shorter sentences. The lack of lexical stress, and generally quite long open vowels led Euluskans to stereotype the Kaneeyi as monotonous. Many of the places they named were were drawn from natural descriptors, like "where the shark swims" or "where the partridge cries". 
== Modern History ==
In the 13th century, the Euluskan Empire began colonising northeast Lakay. They cut down trees, built on sacred land, and dammed waterways. The Euluskans and the Kaneeyi came to blows numerous times; further compounded when the Vortic Mercatorium also began colonising the northwest Volkotti Straits in the following years. Violent clashes were countless. In some places, the Vortics supplied the Kaneeyi with guns to then battle the Euluskans. The Euluskan Empire did fight the Great Lakayan Rebel War against the united Kaneeyi tribes from 1270-1299 under Empresses Dateriä II & III. This war was incredibly bloody and took place all over the northeast coast and the Volkotti straits - the Kaneeyi unleashed their pent-up anger, burning towns, lynching settlers, skinning soldiers, sinking ships, and more. A crushing reprisal was given, and the Kaneeyi were reduced in number greatly, and subjugated. Only centuries later in 1513 did they come to open war again alongside the Lakayan Liberators, with the Lera Kaneeyi helping to lead a revolt that overthrew the colonial administration. 
=== Revolution, Federation, Halcyon ===
In 1513, Machavellio Disforza secretly killed the leader of the Léra Larawaks, the calm Born of Thunder on an auspicious augur-wolf hunt, allowing her more hot-headed son Biting Shark to take over leadership of the clan. Only he and Alessandro Lucari knew this; they never told a soul. Max framed the attack as the Empire's doing, to give him a reason to want to wage war. Max and the rest of the Lakayan Liberators then united the Bayut, Uiyet, and Verdis tribes, and fought the Battle of Fort Helena to overthrow the colonial empire. They renamed Fort Helena in honour of the dead chieftess, naming it Fort Thunderlord. Through the 1510s to the 1560s, the Kaneeyi were finally as equals and leaders of the Lakayan Federation, rather than subjects like under the Empire. Their languages became official languages of the Federation, spoken by many of the leaders. Their populations began urbanising for the first time. When the Federation invaded liberated Halcyon in 1561 and the city and its environs became part of the greater Federation, there was a large emigration of the Kaneeyi to Halcyon, until they formed a significant minority there. It would not be uncommon to hear conversation in Larawiyaki in Halcyon. Halcyian Larawiyaki became a divergent dialect of the language, and in fact, many loanwords then entered Euluska that way.
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