Wonao people

The **Wonao people** (Unified Eosome: **Wonaorörō**, "the people who work together"; Bujanski: **Vonaureiskij**, **Vonaureiskije**, **Vonaurei**) are the native inhabitants of the Kingdom of Bujan, which they call **Resovjant**.

They also live on the nearby archipelagoes, forming great and ancient nations such as the Kingdom of Makkadal.

## Appearance

Wonao people have dark brown skin, and wavy black or brown hair. Their eyes are in various shades of brown, with occasional pure-blooded people born with pale green or hazel eyes.

## History

### Ancient history

The Wonao people were unified into a great civilisation to the east of Pinoguni, as a thalassocracy that boasted a trove of literature. It may had been the basis for the myths of Penglai on Jerde for the civilisation of Daizhou for its easterly location and its mystery.

The ancestors of the Wonaos were ultimately from Iozae, known in their folklore as the Summer Lands. At the end of the Second Age, they left in great fleets to avoid a war, settling on various islands.

Long ago, Resovjant was ruled by nine kingdoms, the greatest of them being Daruval, Varu, and Vaikoro. All of them were ruined by a great blizzard, plunging the whole island into chaos and murder.

### Unification

The first unifier of Resovjant, as Bujan was known in ancient times, was Motakol. He created a set of laws to guide his people, the Krudaka Laws. Like many civilisations across the ocean, their ancient technology was mostly learned from the Daizhouvians, although they also developed their own innovations.

Cats were also introduced to Resovjant by the Daizhouvians. Although they were mostly small feral creatures that thrived in the northwest of the island, they became commonplace pets popular among the Wonaos. Later, the first cats, 50 of them, were brought to Makkadal as a birthday gift.

The Wonaos of Irajon, Makkadal, and Ohon also created sophisticated civilisations south of Bujan. Makkadal and Ohon established a triple alliance with Resovjant at the Seventh Age.

Wonao nobles, along with the more richer households, tend to send their sons to study classical literature and philosophy in Daizhou. This led to the establishment of Buddhism in western Resovjant, which survives as a traditional faith in modern times. It eventually also led to the popularity of Hindu classics in the kingdom.

Resovjant later built a fleet of ships that returned foreign coins to nearby nations, including Darros, every summer.

### Alien invasion

During the Eighth Age, the Wonaos were united under the Kingdom of Ida. They were known as among the best smiths in the region, having forged armour and weapons from a toughened steel. One of their kings led an army into several Aspuruk aliens' ships, and slaughtered most of the personnel to plunder their crafts. They were able to tear even the doors and armour of the aliens using their swords, scaring the Aspuruks to avoid the island. The Aspuruk prisoners of the king later provided information that helped the Ecumene develop better technology from whatever the defeated invaders left behind.

### Tuksharan colonisation and revolt

Resovjant was conquered by the Tuksharan Empire, who somewhat modernised the locals from a mediaeval society that mostly used steel, gunpowder, and minimal Aspuruk machinery, rather than completely used alien technology as the Tuksharans did. Under Tuksharan rule, a simplified alphabet was developed for their common Eosome language, to write it in typewriters and keyboards when communicating with their governors.

During the Sixteenth Age, the Wonao people revolted against the Tuksharan despots who exploited the island. The revolutionaries were united into the Kingdom of Resovjant. This was when the elective monarchy was practiced, which continued into the Bujanid civilisation and its modern descendant.

However, their home was also affected by global catastrophies, such as the Aspuruk invasions and the great wars of the Sixteenth Age, all the way to the Terran invasions and the 3900 Pandemic. Nonetheless, it survived many conquests and invasions.

To protect themselves from total destruction or enslavement by the Terrans, the Kingdom of Resovjant joined the Denlotia. The Denlotia also aided an ally of Resovjant, Tinoval (now Joltaraata), by building many farm towers on its mountainous surface and within the cliffs, resulting in abundant food that made it into the region breadbasket.

### Arrival of the Slavs

The modern Wonao peoples have partial Slavic descent, a result of a mostly-peaceful coexistence with Koschei's Slavs that integrated them into their traditional society. They considered Koschei's Bujan as simply the continuation of their kingdom, which was conquered and enslaved by the Sarmelonid Empire. So Koschei and his people were not liberators, but simply additions and new co-heirs to their kingdom.

This may be why Wonao people usually call Bujan "Resovjant" instead of "Burjanda" (another archaic name). It shows that Bujan is ruled by them and their Bujanski fellows, not a Bujanski colonial state, but instead as their own rule.

The Pact of Koschei continued the Wonao natives' authority over their own island home, but also allowed the Bujanski Slavs to share the same authority as fellow-citizens. As a result, many Wonaos are part of the aristocracy of modern Bujan, from some of the dukes whose sons were elected as Kings, to Wonaos being among the richest citizens of the island.

The Wonao tribes of the islands south of Bujan elected to become fellow-subjects of the Bujanski monarchy, ensuring a quick upgrade to all of their roads and energy grids. Their leaders also organised those islands into five autonomous constituent states, governing themselves under the protection of their fellow Bujanski, effectively making their nation a federation.

### Wannaenid reign of terror

Like most Zvestarids, many Wonaos were among the supporters of the Salvation Party and its opponents. Most of them went with their Zvestarid compatriots as they abandoned the Salvationists to their doom. This was later condemned as the greatest mistake of the Zvestarids, as it allowed the Wannaenids to conquer the nearby lands and put their people to slavery.

Wonaos were among the worst-treated inhabitants during Wannaenid rule, largely because they looked too different from the Terran rulers. Their cultures were mocked, their gods blasphemed, their holy sites defiled, and their people enslaved like the majority of all locals who did not surrender to the Salvationists. Many Terrans even compared the Wonaos, reducing their history and comparing them to barbarians as they looked "exotic". For that, Wonaos who willingly supported and practiced the Salvationists' way of life were condemned and attacked as traitors by the resistance.

Many of the resistance groups that fought Wannaenid oppression were also of Wonao origin, seeking to redeem themselves before the Gods and be purified of their sin. As the resistance started prevailing over the Wannaenids, they were joined by the exiled Zvestarids, including many Wonao descendants who sought to liberate their homeland and undo the mistakes of their ancestors. When Bujan became independent and the Wannaenid-Terran rulers defeated, some Wonao groups banded together to stop the massacres that broke out all over the island.

Later, they allowed the five countries south of Bujan to willingly join it and create a federal nation, to create a stronger pan-Wonao nation to defend against any future invasions.

## Culture

### Food

Wonao people love to eat rice and pork. Fruit juices are a part of Wonao cuisine.

Noodles, along with chopsticks and spoons, became common in Wonao meals due to Daizhouvian influence: they also became a traditional Bujanski meal for Vodokres, in honour of restaurants that opened earlier as everyone else was praying. Usually, Wonao noodle dishes are either doused in soup, fried with oil, or doused in black oil made from beans. Dry noodles are never accepted in Wonao cuisine.

### Animals

Tigers, turtles, sharks, and cranes are venerated in Wonao culture. Tigers are considered lesser gods in Wonao religion, and ancient kings even kept pet tigers as sacred animals. However, only the kings were allowed to approach tigers without wearing armour, while everyone else was given an easy set of armour before even the royal tigers approached. No one, not even kings, were allowed to turn their backs on a tiger, mainly to avoid being mistaken for food. The death of a royal tiger was treated like the death of a prince, when the subjects also mourned and prayed as they cremated the holy animal.

While white cats are more preferred in Wonao culture due to their adorable appearance, black cats are seen as better swimmers and hunters, possibly due to a breed of feline in the northwest kept by river fishermen. Toludurians love orange tabbies due to their resemblance to tigers, sacred animals in Wonao culture.

The number 1,006 is a lucky number to Wonaos, because it represents determination and courage. It was from an ancient folk tale where a cat jumps this number of times to the sky. On the last attempt, the gods were so pleased by his determination, that they made the cat fly to a star, where he was transformed into a tiger god.

Sharks are also venerated in Wonao culture as a marine equivalent of the tigers, seen as servants of water deities.

### Colours

Saffron and other shades of orange are traditional colours, raised either for celebrations, worship, or for courage. While in Dharma, saffron represents self-sacrifice and devotion to the Gods, saffron in Wonao culture represents happiness, faith, and courage. This may have led to the popularity of Dharma in Resovjant and later Bujan, because the Dharmics are pleased that in Wonao culture, saffron is the colour of happiness and courage.

Orange may also be associated with the divine tigers.

### Ropes

Ropes in Wonao culture represent time and longevity. To wish a person long life, they are given three long ropes, painted in several colours to represent the different eras of a person's past, present, and future. No noose is allowed to be tied in any of those ceremonial ropes, hung at shrines. When the person dies, the ropes are placed on the person's chest at the pyre, and burned.

### Three Crowns

In Wonao culture, three crowns are presented to each person at later stages of their lives. They are made of paper or silk.

The first crown is for the twenty-first birthday, when a person becomes an adult. The second crown is for the birth of the person's child, or their old age if they are childless. The third crown is placed on the person when they die of old age.

The twenty-first birthday of a person is when he or she is not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke. Wonao superstition claims that anyone who drinks alcohol on that day may risk drinking too much to an early death. Wonaos also believe that people must not drink alcohol on the 22nd to their 30th birthdays, and only on those days. On other days, alcohol is permitted as usual, and from the 31st birthday onwards, the person may drink alcohol on their birthday.

This leads to several morbid expressions that are considered inauspicious:

* "he got all three crowns" - he died
* "he got all three crowns early" - he died before he was an adult
* "he got his third crown" - he passed away of old age.
* "now yet crowned" - alive
* "will be crowned" - doomed
* "third crown", "three crowns" - death
* "white crown" - death
* "to wear all of his crowns" - to die
* "two crowns" - grew old, old age
* "tower of crowns" - a death wish, death, a very brutal death
* "first crown" - adulthood, 21st birthday, 21
* "crown day" - 21st birthday
* "a crown" - the number 21
* "two crowns" - 42
* "three crowns", "death", "destruction", "ending" - 63
* 63 (three "crowns", 3 x 21) - death, dead, rest in peace
* "may you have your crowns", "they will have their crowns", "they got their crowns" - "that person will die/has died"

Images with three crowns at once may be seen as inauspicious in Wonao culture, unless if they already existed as a traditional symbol or an emblem. Still, some devout or superstitious Wonaos may pray for protection if they have to see or display one. They also do not mind the "crowns" being the name of their country's official currency, the *venchasi*, since it is only money and not literal crowns.

It is unlucky and offensive to present another person with a crown at once, especially if it is made of paper, foil, or silk. It is even worse if a person gives three crowns at the same time, as it is a Wonao symbol for death. That is considered like calling for a person to die.

To present multiple crowns to a person, the crowns must be placed one by one, either on the ground, or in a box or tray. The wearer must wear them one by one, not at once or too quickly, or it would look like as if they are wearing three crowns and calling for their own death. Alternatively, a fourth crown must be used for any coronation in Bujan that may use three ritual crowns.

### Kahulon or Kahulan

At the end of a month, Wonaos celebrate one or several days, known as the "kahulan" or "kahulon". This is marked by decorations to call for blessings, bonuses, party games, dances, special meals, or musical performances.

Every month has its own kahulan pole, known as a rota or rotatal.

### Music

The ikiril is a traditional musical instrument in Wonao culture, made of three sticks. The middle stick has a ball or pad at the top to make noises when one shakes the rattle. Other musical instruments include:

* ngagao - great drum
* kapeo - middle drum
* tagaëk - clapping sticks
* wolena - flute
* valtar - tambour (small drum) with stick
* kutorik, kotorik - a broad stick beaten with a small stick. This stick is beaten by processions on festivals.
* sirisa - jingles

### Mangrove-expansion

50 years after the reign of Motakol's son, a young man discovered that mangroves would slowly add more land to his farm through sediment. More Wonao people practiced it, resulting in southern Bujan getting more farmland, food, and wood from dead trees. Later, other nations began adopting the practice, including some Daizhouvian farmers at the eastern riverlands.

Due to this, mangrove trees are considered sacred, and any wooden object carved from mangrove trees are already consecrated even before they get carved. Mangrove wood is used in the construction of temples, shrines, idols, spears, pikes, torches, and flagpoles.

### Joint rule of lands

Since ancient times, Wonao nations tend to practice condominiums, where two or three nations may share a certain area. Many people born from those areas are dual or triple citizens, allowed to work and live in those countries by birthright as long as they presented a bronze disc indicating their nationalities. Anyone who loses the disk will lose their dual citizenship, unless they were already known or they show any records of their work and presence.

Some lands, even as large as small provinces and islands, were shifted between two different nations between different times of the year. For example, a town belongs to this kingdom at the west on summer, and on winter the kingdom shifts to the eastern kingdom. Anyone born on summer and autumn belong to the west kingdom, and anyone from winter or spring belong to the east kingdom.

This practice was codified at some point before the reign of Motakol, when the Wonaos first learned to build cities and forge metal from Daizhouvian sailors and merchants.

### Families

Wonaos have different words for any family, known as "*tavalau*". If the *taval* has more than 5 children, it is known as a *bajantol*. An extended family is known as a *tōrukal*, and a clan (which is a much bigger family of more than four households) is known as *kōjol*.

Bajantolau (families with more than five children) are viewed in Wonao culture either as rich people; teachers who hold classes for any child; or poorer, dysfunctional households.

In ancient times, aristocratic families tended to be *bajantolau* or *kojolau*, due to their greater wealth and land. This allowed them to become more closely-knit, rather than splitting into smaller households. Their wealth also allowed them to study and emulate Daizhouvian formal traditions, adapting them over time into their own culture. Some of these aristocratic families became prominent enough to become among the thirty-three noble houses who elected the monarchs of Resovjant.

### Physicians

People who were neither male nor female, or who changed their gender, worked as judges, mediators, and physicians. They are known as tanilunau (singular: tanilun), believed to represent the male and female genders.

Not every physician or advisor is a tanilun, but most tanilunau work either as priests, physicians, or counsellors and judges.

Another person outside the two genders is the reruna, a sort of priest.

## Religion

See also: Wonao mythology

Most Wonaos practice their native polytheism, known as Rumai Kor (Way of the Gods). The one in Bujan was first codified during the reign of King Motakol.

In Bujan, some Wonaos in western regions are Buddhists, due to Daizhouvian influence. Later, certain Wonaos in some provinces and districts converted to Hinduism, the Vozonid religion, and Rodnovery.

### Religious practices

Wonaos tie saffron or orange banners or ribbons around a place to consecrate or exorcise it. Saffron is also considered a holy colour in Wonao culture: as it is the colour of happiness and the dawn, it attracts the presence of the Gods and other benevolent supernatural beings.

On the other hand, tying blue and white ribbons on a tree is a symbol of mourning. When there are trees tied in blue and white ribbons, there is a funeral going on, and visitors are adviced to be more respectful and quiet.

Spirals, sea turtles, and tigers are also considered holy to Wonaos. Spirals represent the whirlpool, or the powers of the Gods that keep the universe alive.

Wonao people also practice the *baikorai*, a procession where several worshippers walk around with a pole bearing a holy object. The pole is tied with small bells, to announce others to pray. *Baikorai* walks with white mineral orbs represent the Kalamot or Alatyr stone, a symbol of the monarchy, so those are prayers for national well-being.

### Sins

Human sacrifice is considered the same sin as cannibalism, as both drive people to mass murder. Whoever who sacrifices a human and kills them, even to a Wonao god, is executed as a murderer and cursed to demonic torment in the afterlife before annihilation in Hell. The victims of human sacrifices are instead raised by the Gods as blessed saints, or even revived as fairies of the woods, waters, and plains.

Other unforgivable sins in Wonao culture include:

* Laughing and making fun of victims of a disaster (such as a flood)
* Attacking and killing people who flee from a disaster
* Eating the intestines or brain of an animal - When Motakol became king, many Wonaos refused to eat intestines or even the brain of any animal, because they were traumatised by cannibalistic enemies. When they tear an animal to meat after killing it, they sacrifice its intestines and brain as a burnt offering to the gods.
	+ The ban on eating intestines was one of hundreds of laws requested from them, and then codified by King Motakol.

In ancient times, people who committed unforgivable sins were executed or murdered. The family of the offender was shunned as outcasts, unless they undergo a rite proving themselves that they rejected the offender and banished them from the family. However, angry mobs may also call for killing every member of the offender's family, sparing only youths. Said youths may end up being publicly shamed for a few months, or until they undergo a rite that proves they reject the offender's actions.

The practice of collective punishment was commonplace in ancient times in Wonao society, that it also led to the Bujanski killing Terrans over seemingly petty acts, like using slurs and posting death threats online.

### Spirit pole

"Spirit poles" are raised on various locations, especially at windy weather, to invoke the gods and other good beings to bless these places and their visitors. They consist of wood, coral, or metal, topped with a sacred symbol and accompanied with up to four or eight orange banners.

### Holy war

Whenever a danger has become great enough, such as an invading empire, the Wonao kingdoms would raise armies to fight the threat. That is like a holy war, a crusade bent to defeat, subdue, and stop the threat and force any survivors to retreat. In Eosome, this holy war is known as an "antoræsat" or "antæsad", a "rainbow war", compared to rainbow-like beams shot from heavenly warriors' bows.

Warriors and soldiers participating in that crusade wore ribbons of three colours, red, green, and blue, in any order and number as long as the three colours were present. They were based on traditional depictions of rainbows in ancient Wonao art. Weapons used in such a war were also tied with colourful ribbons, alongside weapons tied with orange ribbons that consecrated them to the Gods.

Five examples of *antæsadau*, or crusades, in Wonao history, are Motakol's unification of Bujan, the overthrow of the Tuksharan Empire's rule, the counter-offensives against the Pinogunians, the Bujanski War of Independence, and battles to stop the mobs of Black July from exterminating everything else in Bujan.

### Ancient Wonao penance and collective punishment

Since the days of Motakol, a system of forgiveness was implemented in Wonao culture. It involves forcing offenders to confess their crimes to their victims, if they were not sentenced to death. The victims or society will pose several conditions for an offender to stop being an outcast and a scapegoat, such as rebuilding, working in construction or menial labour, or being forced to pay a fee or work as a humiliated servant of the victim.

During that time, the offender would live in a prison cell, or (if the victim permits) a lowly room near the victim as the victim's servant. The offender was forced to wear a bronze gauntlet that may be occasionally heated to burn the offender's wrist, and publicly shamed and cursed by other people. However, as soon as other people could see the gauntlet of shame, they will not beat up or kill the offender so they would live in shame.

Although collective punishment was a standard practice in ancient Wonao culture, other people associated with the offender were subjected only to public shaming, bans from certain venues, people avoiding sitting near them, and prohibitions from owning certain objects (like luxury items and very colourful clothes). In some eras, they were ordered to wear white or grey rags, and only permitted to work in menial jobs or workplaces with small blue banners, where criminals undergoing probation also worked.

The period of penance, by law, was mandated to last for up to eight months in maximum. In some eras, some penances lasted for up to three or nine years, with one notorious case leading to a penance of twenty-one years without any extension. After that, the offender was forced to kneel and bow to the victim as the victim declares the offender forgiven.

### Painlings

"Painlings" or "children of pain" were people who were subjected to collective punishments.

### Grudges

Traditionally, grudges were also considered sins, if the offense was considered small enough (like shunning people who were not criminals, rudeness, or bullying). To avoid possible cycles of murder and revenge, the system of penance was imposed to force offenders to repent to their victims.

Before a Wonao passes away from old age, one custom was to write down every grudge they kept in life. They must relinquish each grudge, one by one, until all of their grudges were abandoned. For grudges involving greater sins, the tablets or notes where they were written were put to a temple, and shown in a hall. Those offenses were elevated to grievances, which would curse the perpetrators to misery or death, even extending to their relatives and descendants.

### Unforgivable sins

Some offenses were unforgivable, such as cannibalism, violation of the body, and human sacrifice. Since those who committed such crimes were never forgiven, they were subjected to the death penalty.

In historical records, executions involved beheading, impalement, burning on stakes, and being shot with arrows.

### Bujanski penance

The practice continued through Koschei's founding of Bujan, as one of the terms suggested by the Wonao kings and most of their subjects. The Slavic arrivals were not subjected to such restrictions, but instead mocked for their association with earlier invaders, until a campaign to choose a new Eosome-language name for themselves led to fairer treatment of the Slavs.

In the Bujanski Slavs' veneration of justice, the system of forgiveness became part of their traditional culture. Offenders were not forgiven until they did whatever their victims demanded, and brothers had to keep proving themselves by being nice to each other.

It eventually led to harsh punishments upon Terrans after independence. Nearly every Terran who was not a member of the Free North group was subjected to such punishments, forced to answer for their collective crimes to condition them to abandon their supremacist and militant views for good.

### Wonao tribes of Bujan

* Ēosomê (northwest) - the lingua franca used by most of the natives: back then, they were united by a dynasty of Eosome kings.
* Laumakol (northwest)
* Tornoeken (west) - it was they who gave Lheum Wok (Mount Matjegron) its name. The priests of Tornoeken's temples are required by law to be of Tornoeken descent, both native and Rodnover.
* Kunawik (west)
* Prukkevei (west)
* Chauno (north) - one of three languages that writes in ideograms
* Nulpatara (north) - one of three languages that writes in ideograms
* Hiokonno (west)
* Cherma (west)
* Jurmado (southwest) - known for their large wooden ships
* Tuulun (south)
* Naonaere (southeast and east) - the native people of Starij Province, alongside the very related Ielorete tribe to the north.
* Ielorete (east and northeast) - one of three languages that writes in ideograms
* Kramadar (northwest) - the third Supreme Volkhov of modern Bujan, Ethiammedau Lutiawilok, was from this tribe. He was the first Wonao priest in the modern kingdom's history to be a Supreme Volkhov, the head of Bujan's state religion and assistant of the King.
* Koedaker (centre) - the native people of Koscheigrad. Although they still preserve their native culture, their proximity and easier access to amenities in the capital city made them a very affluent people. Like most people in Koscheigrad, many Koedakerau people live a lifestyle imitating nobility, wearing top hats, suits, and frilly dresses from richer materials. They were also known for being among the first to revolt against Wannaenid rule.
	+ The symbol of the Koedaker is simply a spiral, a whirlpool.
	+ Koedakerau are often seen as snobs because many of them happen to be among the wealthiest people in Bujan. They spend a lot for many services of the country and still have enough for luxuries.
* Drevobojanse (mostly southeast) - these are the mixed descendants of Slavic and Wonao families, who are mostly Wonao-ised. Many of them speak either the language of their respective families or a direct descendant of the Slavic language of King Koschei that was heavily influenced by native speech: the language's name means "Old Bujanski", claiming themselves as among the living descendants of King Koschei's followers.
	+ In Bujanski law, all mixed Wonao-Slav people are considered Drevbojanse if they refuse to be listed as any of the tribes of Wonao people.

### Wonaos in outer parts of Bujan

* Tselanians (west)
	+ Tselanians are well-known for carpentry and smithing.
	+ Their language is a tonal language.
* Makkadalish
	+ The Makkadalish are a regal, proud people, viewing Resovjant (ancient Bujan) and Ohon as worthy, respected rivals in terms of sophistication. Their civilisation existed since the Third Age as minor kingdoms, and one of the oldest-attested Wonao languages, before the Treaty of Six Princes unified them into the Makkadal kingdom's earliest form.
	+ They love dances, metalworking, and dark and gold colours.
* Joltaraatian
	+ The Joltaraatians are miners and farmers. From their membership in the Denlotia onwards, they learned to build farm towers, making their country the "Breadbasket of the Five Realms".
	+ Although the Joltaraatian Wonaos are outnumbered by the growing Slavic families, they still remained on the island. In fact, their population slowly grew by the thousands, leading to the creation of artificial islands around Joltaraata.
* Toludurian
	+ The most industrialised and modern of the Outer Realms, the Toludurian Wonaos are proud of their wealth and technology.
	+ Toludurians also love cats a lot, and orange tabbies are the most popular. This also leads to their country having around 300 cat cafes, the most in the Five Realms.
* Oenlamtian
	+ They have a long tradition of carpentry and gardening, due to the vast forests on their islands.
* Ohonian
	+ Ohonians have a tradition of cooking and stone architecture.
	+ Pumpkins, purple, and orange are traditional symbols in Ohon.

### Non-Bujanski Wonaos

* Meninsko Eenians
* Nariskovians
* Menarin-Aenians
* Sommemmovians
* Baidovians
* native Irajonians
* Vaiposheans
	+ The native peoples of Waiposo, a large island east of Pinoguni and west of Irajon. They consist of three nations.
	+ Influenced by Pinogunian culture since ancient times, but managed to be independent from the Shogunate.

### "Slavic Wonaos"

Just as a portion of Bujanski Slavs live among Wonaos and eventually adopt their culture, some ethnic Wonaos either become influenced by living among Slavs, or founded townships of "Slavic Wonaos".

On the other end are the inverse, the Reumokau. Reumokau are ethnic Slavs who are not of mixed Wonao ancestry who live among Wonaos. They also consist of Drevobojanse who are more closer to the Bujanski Slavs in terms of descent, to the point some

memberof many Wonao famllies s look more Slavi The word "Reumokau" means "the proper ones", referring to their adoption of Wonao traditions and assimilation into Wonao culture. They consist of a minority of Bujanski Slavs, making them descendants of a later migration and different from Drevobojanse.c.

## Notable Wonao characters

### Sophie's time

* Dramital Tohonda - a gentleman who was a fan of Sophie's drawings of Broken Plates characters. Unusually for a Bujanski patriot, he was merciful to Terrans, and wanted to help them get used to life in independent Bujan.
* Tazurol Könetariwe - a well-dressed woman who was also a fan of Sophie's fanart. She and Dramital are a couple.
	+ Notably, she also made her own fanart of Broken Plates. Her doodles of one character, Ilmetira, became more popular than Sophie's drawings, that led to the show being permitted in modern Bujan as a source of life lessons in spite of the characters' nasty attitude.

### Dva ili Tri

* Amaril Malgarid - one of Paxoti's friends, of the Naonaere tribe. She likes photography and helps her friends raise crops and a pony in an apartment.
* Tegalin Malgarid - Amaril's sister who studies at Skenchortnij Branch
* Vransamira Vlastimira Dobroglossa - Amaril's mother. In spite of her Wonao descent, she lives in a community of Naonaere who have adopted Slavic culture.
* Nimulon Noeredal - a newspaper seller
* Oralo Jundurtal - an eloquent gentleman who studies at Skenchortnij Branch
	+ He wanted to practice the formalistic style of popular radio stations in Bujan.
* Professor Rindzhalta
* Alamte Bokubira - a blonde Naonaere woman with Bujanski ancestry. She lives together with her husband Dobrodatjo at a hill southwest of Djaripol, selling art, dancing, and clowning around.
	+ Amaril was one of her frequent and favourite guests, being her first younger sister. Amaril likes to look at the many paintings made by Alamte and her husband.
	+ She changed her surname when she bought her own home, from Malgarid to Bokubira, as she was formerly a tomboy.

## Terminology

* Wonaorörō (singular); Wonaorörau (plural)
* Common: Wонаорѫро̄; Wонаорѫрау

### Positive

Bujanski Wonaos:

* Tiger Princes
* Children of the Tiger
* Children of the Mulberry
* Of the Rising Sun
* Clad in Saffron
* Clad in Sunrise
* They Who Love the Sun
* Civilised Ones
* Children of Law
* Children of the Gods
* Keepers of the Holy

Makkadalish Wonaos:

* The Ancient Ones
* Noble Princes
* Noble Kings

### Negative

There were many names used against Wonao people by various civilisations. Some of those names were so disgusting, that most Bujanski do not even want to list or see them.

* "Savages"
* "Island Dwellers"
* "Passing Race"
* "Little Ones"
* "Cannibals"
	+ Ironically, cannibalism is viewed as one of the most unforgivable sins in Wonao law. Cannibals were executed and murdered, seen as the worst of all criminals.
* "Barbarians"
	+ *Very* obviously debunked by their recorded history, metallurgy, and their majestic cities. Yet their enemies still call them that, either for not abiding by their imperial standards, or simply as an excuse to conquer and enslave their island.

### Terran curses

These were curses recorded in history from the words of the Terran tyrants who oppressed and waged war against Bujan during Wannaenid rule.

* "Skirt wearers"
* "Kulaks"
	+ As most Wonaos rejected communism, angering the Serpentians who attacked them for being Wonao. Notoriously, those groups practiced racist policies, using the Wonaos' rejection of communism as a pretext to kill them.
* "People of dirt"
* "Savages"
* "Dikari" - Tyrskan

## Gallery

Dramital and Tazurol, two Wonao people who lived at the independence of Bujan. Dramital is the man, and Tazurol is the woman. Their attire was from wanting to "be proper" like most revolutionary Bujanski, and the sashes represent devotion to their gods.Ancient Wonao commoners.King Motakol.Reenactors dressed up as Wonao warriors. One of them is also a Bujanski Slav, representing Wonao influence in Bujanski daily life.Alamte dressed as a Wonao noblewoman.

## Trivia

* The Wonao people were influenced by Taiwanese aborigines, Polynesian peoples, and Yayoi-period Japanese.
	+ Ancient Wonaos were also based on the Japanese, Ryukyuans, and Koreans, peoples who were influenced by Chinese culture and technology.
	+ Specifically, ancient and traditional Wonao clothing was supposed to be based on Yayoi Japanese attire.
	+ Many Wonao words were from Daizhouvian, so the author used reconstructed historical pronunciations of Chinese for loanwords in Wonao languages.
	+ The idea of Wonaos sending their sons to study in Daizhouvian schools, and the existence of Buddhism in ancient Bujan, were influenced by relations between mediaeval Japan and the Tang Dynasty.
	+ One influence for the Wonaos was the Hilichurls from Genshin Impact, criticised as a stereotypical depiction of some tribes. They were also an inspiration for the Autean and Kekhaulid civilisations of southern Palkyras.
* Wonao people dislike stereotypical depictions of tropical natives, especially movies that depict tribesmen as barbaric cannibals.
	+ The Wonaos mostly think of said "tribal cannibals" as similar to outlaws and pirates in their own folklore, usually criminals who fled from society and were reduced to the murderous ways of the great war before Motakol's laws.
	+ They do get very angry if anyone depicts them as said cannibals. Some Wonaos compare wrongful depictions of themselves as monstrous cannibals to how Slavs and Norsemen were seen to some civilisations, also as "stupid, murderous savages", so they might pity them.
	+ In fact, in ancient Resovjant, cannibals were punished by beheading, burning, or having their bodies broken to pieces by beatings and then having their remains burned to ash. Wonaos believe that cannibals would have their souls condemned as mighty, demonic abominations, so they must destroy the body of a cannibal to prevent the criminal's spirit from becoming into a demon.
	+ Parts of the Wonaos' early history were inspired by a scene from the 2014 movie "Noah", where the main character wanders into a town inhabited by cannibals.
	+ Another, when they began emulating the Daizhouvians and aristocrats sending their sons to learn classical works, was influenced by the Nara and Heian periods of Japanese history.
	+ Wonaos hate depictions of tribesmen throwing people to volcanoes, as they consider human sacrifices to be blasphemous against the Wonao gods. They believe that the gods of volcanoes would adopt the souls of those sacrificed to volcanoes to become new mountain weights, or fairies; while cursing their killers to punish their desecration.
* The *antæsad* ("rainbow war") crusades were influenced by mediaeval European crusades and the Cruzob revolt in eastern Mexico. It may also be inspired by cultural associations of the rainbow in ancient mythologies, and possibly "Pride Month" fanart because the author liked the colours.
* Orange being the traditional colour of Wonao culture may be influenced by saffron being a holy colour in Hinduism. Hinduism also influenced Wonao culture to a minimal extent.
* The blue and white ribbons tied on trees was inspired by trees in Irkutsk tied with blue and white ribbons to celebrate the city's anniversary. Some activists also wrote messages opposing the invasion of Ukraine.
	+ The spirit poles used in Wonao religion were inspired by the prayer flags used in Mongolian ovoos, sacred mounds used to venerate the gods. Some prayer flags are in blue and white, representing Tengri, the king of the gods and the ruler of the sky. They were also inspired by the saffron flags used in Hindu temples.

## See also

* Eosome language
* Eosome glossary
* Naonaere language
* Naonaere glossary
* Koedaker glossary
* Bujanski language
* Drevobojanse glossary
* Wonao glossary
* Wonao mythology
* Wonao calendar
* Bujanski people

### Other indigenous peoples

* Sakautari people, the native peoples of the lands east of Vozolaz
* Kekhaulids, the native peoples of Rabydos and one of the earliest civilisations of the world

### Other Bujanski peoples

* Bujanski Ontemazei
* Bujanski Arnadjanai