Ibarian People

The Ibariat People is the primary ethnic group of Itharii which settled on Earth in 2002.

## **Lifestyle**

### **Dwellings**

Ibarian dwellings are typically composed of one large common room and alcoves curtained off serving as private rooms for sleeping or worshiping. Furniture tend to be sparse and low profile, with inhabitants sitting on the ground, mats or cushion rather than on chairs or couches.

Private rooms are invariably small, only containing a bed and storage for its inhabitant’s personal effects as Itharii are expected to spend their time in communal areas with their loved ones. Itharii typically sleep in groups with mates or clutchmates sharing the same bed.

Most houses are dominated by a large bath taking the center of the common room that is kept at lukewarm temperature. This bath serves as both a social area and for Itharii reproduction.

### **Family Life**

Ibariat households are typically headed by a mated pair of adults living with their children. Children are typically expected to live with their parents until they have found a mate and wish to have their own little ones.

Ibariats have no taboo about same-gender couples which are openly welcomed. Due to the large size of Itharii clutches, a remnant of the time when larval mortality was high, it is extremely common for mated pairs to give some of their eggs to other pairs, a practice known as Katzu, with adoptee called katzun and parents katzi. Typically eggs are divided into groups of two or three so that all youth will grow with at least one of their clutchmates.

It is common for Itharii pairs to have several generations of children in their life time, typically reproducing or adopting when their current young are approaching or have entered adolescence. It was typical for Ithar born Itharii to have a dozen siblings raised by the same parents. Itharii keep extensive breeding archives which are publicly accessible to track genetic lineage.

### **Meals**

Itharii love food. Eating was a central part of most Itharii cultures on Ithar, an Itharii saying profess that all things important in life are done with food. Rather than strong hearty meals, Itharii tend to have one large communal meal every day at mid day and many more smaller meals through which are used as occasions to socialize or make professional arrangement.

Itharii exclusively relied on seafood for edible animal products with land animals often being considered taboo. Although the same taboo does not apply to earth animals, Itharii struggle with digesting red meat.

Due to their weak sense of taste and smell compared to humans, Itharii meals tend to be unbearably seasoned for human taste, something taken into account in human cathering business such as the Itharii market.

### **Clothing**

Being sensitive to heavy sunlight, Itharii tend to wear lots of clothes as to avoid having their skin becoming dried and cracking. Itharii clothes are almost always open at the front which close with zips, buttons or hooks, and sleeveless to facilitate being put on.

Typical Itharii attire include a sleeveless jacket which may or may not have a hood, long loose pants and long gloves or arm warmers reaching their upper arms. Itharii do not typically wear underwear. If lacking a hood Itharii will typically protect themselves from the sun by wrapping scarves around their neck and head. Itharii always swim naked and are unphased by nudity.

## **Religion**

Most Itharii on earth, estimated at seventy percent, are religious. Several religions exist although the faith of the First Born is the dominant religion with ninety percent of religious Itharii adhering to it.

### **Faith of the First Born**

Native to Ibaria, the faith of the first born is a duotheist religion worshiping the original beings; eggmates Eaht and Uat who according to their creation myth hatched together from a cosmic egg into the void, the pair then metamorphosing into the land and sea of Ithar.

The Faith is strongly orthopraxic, believing that acting righteously is more important than belief. A core tenet of the faith is to harm none without reason, which extends to all living being; only allowing killing in self defense, to protect one’s livelihood or for consumption. The faith also does not believe in divine atonement, with all wrongs needing to be addressed in this life by apologizing, making reparations and becoming better in the wake of one’s mistakes.

Religious festivities are held on seasonal basis, with individual communities split between using Ithar’s calendar or Earth’s. All steps of the Itharii lifecycle are important celebrations; Itharii are baptized on the third night after coming out of their pupal stage and the choosing of one’s sex is a crucial rite of passage.

One of the most important element of the Faith is the reverence of Eggmates; the result of a single embryo splitting and creating two twins within a single egg, such children are typically taken in to the church and raised as priests from birth as the chosen of the firstborns.

The faith believes in reincarnation with the souls of the deceased going through a second life on the ‘far shores’ where they are cleansed of their trauma and unresolved problems until they are ready to be born again. It is believed that if two Itharii go through the trials together, they will be reborn and be together in the next life; which gave the rise to the declaration that a dying Itharii will wait for their mate on the far shores.

The Faith of the First born has so far rejected any attempt from humans at converting, believing that their religion is simply not appropriate for humans and their radically different life cycle.

### **The Sorrows**

A small religion within Ibaria, the sorrows as they are called are deists who believe that the world was left flawed due to the creator’s disappointment toward the flawed nature of the Itharii.

Sorrows typically eschew physical pleasures in favor of asceticism, meditation, prayer and self control. They believe that only by being pure of heart and soul can they please the creator into saving their souls.

The Sorrows see the destruction of Ithar at the hand of the Hierarchy as divine judgement destroying sinners unworthy of redemption.

## **Language**

Ibariat, the most spoken language among earth Itharii has become a fairly common sight around the world with many schools teaching in and in the wake of Itharii cultural craze in some cities it’s common for many people to know a few words or idiom.

Even when speaking other languages, Itharii tend to favor their own terms translated into whatever language they are speaking rather than more usual words. As such Itharii invariably refer to their romantic partners as mates, children as little ones and siblings as clutchmates or broodmates.

#### Naming Tradition

Ibarian names follow a specific format of [Given name] [Brood Name] [Birth Brood]. Every children is born with one brood name (The one of the couple who raised them, regardless of who their biological parents would be.)

Once mated, adult Itharii change their brood name which will apply to their new family unit. It is traditional to pick brood name representing a trait or set of traits they wish their children to posses. Which can be a virtue, a idea or an animal which has the trait they seek.