Taadži people

## The Taadži people

The Taadži people are a civilization within the region *Taadžipanu He.* The Taadži believe they are the children of two goddesses, the Sun and Moon. Their celestial mothers do not know the story of their own creation, and have produced children in an attempt to learn the process of creation. Each Taadži is an incarnation of one of these children. They temporarily set aside their memories of past lives to visit the physical world, learn something of its workings, and then return to their family in the world beyond. The Taadži organize themselves into regional tribes loosely led by local elders and shamans. The capitol is the settlement of *Misïgwohe,* where a council of high elders oversee matters that affect all of Taadžipanu He.

### Basic Information

* Name of the nation in local language: Taadžipanu He
* Years of existence: 0-present
* Ruling figure's name: Naiddahe Surdu Po'a ("Sunset Red Claw", speaker for the Elder Council)
* Founding player's name: Spider
* Controlling player's name: Spider
* Languages: Tade Taadži

### Unlocked Technology [UNDER RENOVATION]

**Level 1**

* **Interaction**
	+ Trade and Diplomacy
		- Nation’s Representative
			* Representatives of the Taadži are often accomplished scouts who have spent much of their time learning about the lands outside of Taadžipanu He, and have been selected by their elders to act as intermediaries to the outside world.
* **Education** (Complete!)
	+ Schools
		- Schools became a necessity after the invention of writing to increase literacy rates among the Taadži. Oral storytelling and memorization traditions are also maintained, due to the relative time investment of writing and reproducing texts. They also became a place to learn the basics of many trades. The preferred method of teaching most topics is to answer questions posed by the class, with good teachers balancing this with the need to steer the conversation towards fundamental principles of the subject at hand. Schools also became a meeting place to ask questions of travelers about the world outside their village.
	+ Indoctrination
		- Interactions with outsiders and questions from adult students made it clear that most Taadži had a patchwork understanding of their people's history and fundamental organizing principles, including their foundational myths. This was identified as a grave problem that would slow their religiously mandated goal: for each generation to learn more about the world, adding it to a store of knowledge kept by their immortal spirits in the world between lives. Therefore, messengers were sent from the council of elders to all schools to ensure that the people had a solid foundation from which to carry out their holy mission of exploration.
* **Inventions** (Complete!)
	+ Technology
		- Basic Recreation
			* Toys were developed to keep Taadži of all ages entertained during rainy seasons, when outdoor recreation is limited. Some communities also make equipment for variants of a popular team sport, *kavvurwo pnze.*
	+ Construction
		- Basic Paths
			* Simple path markers may include cairns or carving into tree bark, or may be more elaborate, including complicated knotwork designs tied around tree trunks, or pictographic proto-writing. Markers indicate safe passage, danger, resources that can be found on the way, or give passers-by a place to make offerings to the gods.
		- Stone Houses
			* Drystone houses are prioritized for elders living in areas where thatch quickly becomes rotted or infested. Healers are also prioritized. If no stable ground is available for building, the community will do what they can to reinforce roofs so they can be tiled with slate.

**Level 2**

* **Education**
	+ Apprenticeships
		- Larger settlements were having difficulty meeting the needs of both artisans and their hopeful apprentices or talented amateurs. A system was put in place to mediate between the two groups, and formalize the process of apprenticeship.
* **Inventions**
	+ Technology
		- Writing
			* A logo-phonetic script derived from pictograms created as path markers (see above). Read left to right, top to bottom, and preferentially arranged into 6x6 grids. Color and ligatures can be used for adornment. Certain decorated styles may fuse repeated glyphs or grammatical marks across horizontal or vertical writing space. An example can be seen here.

### Other info

#### Capital settlement

*Misïgwohe* ("Southwest land" or "Land of plenty") is a settlement near the region's most prominent river delta. The ready availability of food permits locals to remain in the area year-round, as opposed to the seasonal encampments favored by some Taadži in other regions. Misïgwohe includes an observatory, a teaching hall for healers, and other centers of learning.

#### Race

The Taadži are a humanoid race, standing 7-8 feet tall. They are essentially hairless, and have proportionately thicker skin that shades from gray to a blue- or green-tinged white. While their skin provides a measure of protection against parasites and the damp of their homeland, it also scars easily and can take a long time to heal from infection. They also have limited capacity to sweat, making it difficult to remain cool in dry environments. Their irises are large and very dark, which may give outsiders the impression that their eyes are entirely black.

Taadži blood contains high concentrations of biliverdin, which acts as a chemical component of their circulating immune system. This makes their flesh unpalatable or even toxic to many predators, and gives their blood a lime green color. This is especially visible in their mouths, which are strongly tinted blue-green. (This is akin to the real life genus *Prasinohaema*, a green-blooded skink that still uses hemoglobin as its oxygen carrier.)

## Taadži Culture

### Religion

The *Kabawãi Oggwu* faith ("to know the elements") is a polytheistic, ethnic tradition with a core imperative towards learning and observation of the natural world. Its practitioners believe that the world is split into (at least) five fundamental elements: Light, dark, stillness, motion, and thought. Spirits and gods live in an intangible realm of thought that cannot touch the physical world. All living creatures are embodied spirits, which have temporarily given up their memories in the process of incarnation. They come to the physical world to gather new experiences and then return to the heavens to regain their memories, contemplate what they've learned, and interact with their godly parents.

Taadži followers of the faith believe their spirits are children of the Sun or Moon, and their mission is to aid their mothers in their quest to master the elements, and learn the mystery of the gods' creation, which is unknown to all.

Taadži have a filial duty to the Sun and Moon, and followers are expected to speak to their mother goddess at a certain time of day and/or month, determined by their matrilineal descent and declarations made during their coming of age ritual.

While non-Taadži are not necessarily dissuaded from practicing the faith, they are seen as the children of other gods, which may seek goals that are not conducive to the Taadži's own.

The faith has no central organization, with rituals performed either in private personal worship or organized by village elders or shamans who pass down earthly knowledge of the gods, spirits, and elements. Elements can be invoked by certain prayer rituals. For example, a night time dance may be done to call for storms, or meditation beside a fire may be used to pray for warm weather.

As Kabawãi Oggwu practitioners believe each person is an immortal spirit that forgets their true self with each incarnation, children are given temporary names and referred to impersonally until they mature. Coming of age rituals are the culmination of a personal search for clues about their spirit's identity, culminating with the practitioner publicly declaring aspects of their spirit: most prominently, their name and their gender. While this is often seen as final, allowances are sometimes made for a practitioner "misremembering" themself.

Kabawãi Oggwu practitioners believe in a Death god that aids spirits in returning to the heavens, and who breaks down the bodies they leave behind into their component elements. Bodies are not considered sacred in the faith, and may be left for scavengers, composted, or autopsied to learn more about the body's function. After all, the body is a conveyance for the spirit: Learning how to fix it helps each practitioner make the most out of their incarnation, and teaches everyone about the mysteries of creation.

This interest in anatomy and medicine means that Kabawãi Oggwu practitioners can make for skilled healers, and their curiosity means they are willing to work with outsiders.

### Government

Taadžipanu He is governed by a council of elders, with a spokesperson acting as intermediary. The present spokesperson is named Naiddahe Surdu Po'a ("Sunset Red Claw"). The elder council oversees matters of ritual importance to all of Taadžipanu He, as well as settling disputes between tribes and regions. If there's an emergency in one region, they might use their influence to send aid. Factions within the council are generally based on the traditional lifestyle of an elder's home region (fishing, hunter-gatherers,  pastoralism, etc.).

Elders who do not show signs of senility are given prominent places in Taadži society at large. The senile are seen as pitiable but not as failures, given anatomical studies have permitted some measure of understanding into the physical origins of the disease. Elders who begin to show symptoms after attaining power can be recommended for removal by a professional council of healers. This council contains representatives from the regions of Taadžipanu He.

Crimes by Taadži are dealt with through shunning the offender and community acts of restitution toward the victim. The shunning period can be reduced through restitution proportionate to both the resources of the offender and the seriousness of the crime. Sufficiently serious crimes result in tattooing with a mark of shame, often followed by exile.

Capital punishment is not favored, as Kabawãi Oggwu practitioners believe the offender's spirit is immortal, and their return to the immaterial realm might not be expected by other spirits, who would normally restrain and reason with the angry dead. If a death is unexpected, an angry spirit may have a chance to bring bad luck to their former tribe, or quickly reincarnate to seek revenge.

When guilt cannot easily be established, accuser and accused will imbibe ritual intoxicants and then be questioned by an elder. If this does not work or no sufficiently impartial elder can act as judge, an outsider may be sought for.

When non-Taadži commit a crime against a Taadži, they are tattooed and may be expelled from Taadžipanu He.

### Moral values and principles

Taadži split their society into five gender roles, from most to least feminine. This defines the dress and adornment of an individual, and they are often marked with gender-appropriate body paint or tattoos, depending on the local tradition. Gender roles most prominently affect individuals in terms of how and when they participate in religious rituals and festivals.

Taadži are further split by their moiety, either claiming matrilineal descent from the Sun or Moon. Taadži do not traditionally practice monogamy, instead prohibiting relations between those who are born from the same moiety.

As the ethnic religion of the Taadži emphasizes learning and creation, study and creativity are laudable pursuits. This is not limited to academic practice or artistic pursuits: Every profession learns about the world in their own way. Fishermen and hunters learn to predict their quarry and refine their craft, cooks create edible food out of inedible parts, and parents aid and observe the process of a child slowly building a new body and mind.

Being able to coherently and profoundly articulate what one's experiences bring to the Taadži is a prized skill, and makes a person more likely to become a respected elder. Adults attempt to instill this in children from an early age.

Taadži with disabilities are cared for, and given what assistive technology is available to them. Certain disabilities or neurodivergence are believed to be "hints" from that Taadži's immortal spirit as to what they wish to focus their study on in a given incarnation: the blind might be there to study music, the lame may master a sedentary skill, the person who feels pain from the sights and sounds of boisterous festivals may have been born to focus their attention on a solitary pursuit or a quiet, meditative religious practice.

One mythic hero of the Taadži is Husuna the gatherer, who is said to have descended into the mountain caves where Death makes their home, and impressed Death with her bluntness and her gifts. In return, Death taught Husuna how to break down the wild plants that she collected, turning them into potent medicines and ritual potions. She is revered by her fellow gatherers, as well as by healers and herbalists, who count her as one of the first practitioners of their craft.

### Cultural traditions

Prominent festivals among Taadži worshipers follow lunar and solar calendars, especially when they coincide with local natural phenomena, such as fish spawning or seasonal weather events. Eclipses are special festival days, and predicting when they will occur is a task of great importance.

Coastal towns hold fishing festivals, where groups of canoers and/or divers harry a school of valuable fish and force them into traps or onto the shore.

The most common team sport in Taadži territory is *kavvurwo pnze* ("fastest egg"), which is either played competitively or as a collaborative exercise. The objective is to move a fragile object as fast as possible between two set points. Rules are variable, with the object often being an egg or delicate piece of pottery, and the terrain can include any obstacle. Tools may or may not be allowed.

Other sports include marksmanship demonstrations and contests, using thrown rocks, slingstones, spears or bolas. Bolas additionally may be used as a means of direct competition between players or teams, either in running or throwing a bolas to a goal, or attempting to ensnare a rival player in a sport known as "friend hunting", or *Kwummiruku*.

### Art

Taadži art favors curving lines in both figurative and geometric forms. Six-fold symmetry or six variations on a theme are common. Decorative knot-tying is also a common form of art or personal adornment. Black stone is favored for any carving, especially fine-grain basalt or obsidian.

Children's tales are usually collaborative exercises, where children ask questions to drive the story, or make observations to affect the outcome.

### Prejudice

Should the Taadži encounter other peoples, they will be objects of both interest and suspicion. They are a part of creation that the Taadži know little about, and are obliged to learn more when it is safe to do so. However, Kabawãi Oggwu teachings suggest that foreigners are the children of other gods. Some of these gods are siblings or housemates of the Sun and Moon, and are therefore friends of the Taadži in the world beyond.

However, other peoples may have different gods that put them in conflict with the Taadži mother deities. Stories are told about a tribe of foreign spirits attempting to steal Taadži away from their mothers in the time before they had physical bodies. Who was this tribe? Well, it could be anyone, because there's no way to tell what they'd look like now.

War is not looked upon favorably, as it generally disrupts the holy mission of the Taadži, and leads to angry spirits lashing out against all they can manage to influence from the spirit realm. War is only undertaken with significant cost in terms of resources spent on appeasement rituals, both in preparation for war and throughout its duration.

Atheists are tolerated, as questioning the fundamentals of the world is an acceptable exercise. However, most believers are happy to think that they'll eventually be proven right, when they meet back up with doubters in the spiritual realm.